Sometimes We Win
After the heartbreaking defeats of several popular anti-cuts campaigns in the last few months, we can sometimes forget that campaigning isn't always a futile activity. But yesterday, after a six-month-long…
Three things about the independence referendum scrap
First: let's get one thing straight. Nations have a right to self determination in international law. David Cameron may quibble about the devolved powers of the Holyrood Parliament under the…
Privatisation and the SNP
While Alex Salmond received a hero's welcome at the SNP conference in Inverness last weekend, controversy has been brewing back in Edinburgh. On Thursday, the City of Edinburgh Council –…
On the North Sea oil spill
So, it turns out that the Shell oil leak is anything but contained. After three days of telling no one that there was a leak in the North Sea, Shell…
Save Our Services: East Edinburgh Edition
Sometimes, something happens that restores your faith in activism, and humanity in general. This week, I had one of those moments at a public meeting for Save Our Services East…
On the future of food in Scotland – an interview with Pete Ritchie (part 2)
Part 1 appeared yesterday, you can read it here And thus politics comes into full focus. There is a lot that can be said about the SNP’s recent landslide in…
The SNP won through faith; now they must make it real
I was asked to write a contribution to the Our Kingdom debate on the Scottish Spring. This piece first appeared there. If you aren't from Scotland, the scale of the…
Together we will stand
Marco was elected as the new SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central on Thursday night. When Caroline Lucas argued that instead of big tent politics she would prefer lots of little…
Time for reflection
Like many people, I've spent much of today asleep. The day after results night is always a strange one - a day of jubilation, or a day of disappointment. For…
Lessons for Labour (and the left)
It should have been Labour's year. Only 12 months ago, Scots turned out in droves to send Gordon Brown back to Downing Street. Yet today, it looks like Iain Gray's…