Agreement on the Scotland Bill: A step to full independence

Thursday, 22 March 2012 20:34

64 Comments

By Hazel Lewry

On Budget day there was a news item, buried by the budget news, which was spun by the Unionist press as a capitulation by Alex Salmond: the SNP had agreed not to obstruct the Scotland bill. This is presently only an agreement in principle, but it should be anticipated to progress in good faith.

Scotland’s gender scandal: Part 2 – If you’re a woman in Scottish business, it pays not to be Scottish

Thursday, 22 March 2012 02:47

7 Comments

By Kenneth Roy

The UK government wants to achieve 25% female representation in corporate boardrooms by 2015. But is the public sector setting an example which the private sector might feel inclined to follow? We showed yesterday how, in Scotland, it is not.

We named a couple of dozen major public bodies – including such institutions as Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Water, VisitScotland, Creative Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Law Commission – which fail to meet the modest 25% target. We named three organisations – Quality Meat, the Lands Tribunal, the Water Industry Commission – which are female-free zones.

Big trouble in Labour’s last strongholds

Wednesday, 21 March 2012 21:41

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By Alistair Whyte

Labour are in turmoil, both in Glasgow and in Lanarkshire. These two councils have been Labour Strongholds for decades. I live in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire.

Even in the days before North Lanarkshire, Cumbernauld belonged to Cumbernauld & Kilsyth District Council, and at a higher level, Dumbartonshire.

Why 16 year olds should be allowed to vote in the Scottish referendum

Wednesday, 21 March 2012 18:53

21 Comments

By Angela Miller

I’m going to begin this article by explaining why this issue is particularly close to my heart. My son, who is currently 13 and a half will be 16 years old in the summer before the Referendum.

We’ve discussed this with him, as we often discuss politics in our house, and he is very keen to be able to vote on Scotland’s future. It will be his Scotland after all, at least he’ll have a part share of Scotland with all of our young people.

The Fourth Most Unequal Country in the Developed World

Wednesday, 21 March 2012 03:35

30 Comments

By Gerry Hassan, The Scotsman, March 17th 2012

One of the most important influences shaping the coming debate on the future of Scotland will be the nature of Britain.

While various anti-independence campaigners interrogate every aspect of the Scottish Government’s case, they overall fail to deal with the reality of modern day Britain. The actions and reputation of the British government matter, along with the condition of the state, society, economy and culture.