The union Equity is calling for a national Scottish broadcaster to be created regardless of the outcome of the independence referendum in September. Meanwhile, BBC Trust director Jeremy Peat warned the…
Will answering in the affirmative ever be politically neutral again?
Andrew Milligan/PA
To make an obvious point, the younger generation’s opinions on the referendum have not been formed by as much experience as those of the older generation. Many potential voters were not alive throughout…
“Great Britain vs Little England” was the stark choice posed by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in his debates with UKIP leader Nigel Farage. This pitch follows hard on the heels of former prime minister…
Kolkata and Scotland are both going to the polls this year.
lecercle
Kolkata may seem a long way from the Scottish independence referendum, but on a recent journey to the subcontinent the author and creative writing professor Kirsty Gunn found inspiration to consider the…
Poll after poll shows Scottish women are considerably less keen on independence than men. Alex Salmond has been reaching out to women voters since the campaign kicked off two years ago. We asked our panel…
Go back to your constituencies and prepare to vote Labour!
Danny Lawson/PA
Of all the party conference speeches SNP leader Alex Salmond has made over the years, Saturday’s in Aberdeen was probably the biggest. As the last conference speech before referendum day on 18 September…
Irish situation is delicate enough without talk of referendums anywhere near Stormont.
Joel Riley
Northern Ireland’s oldest joke is that a man is asked, “Are you Protestant or Catholic?” to which he replies, “Actually I’m Jewish”. His questioner responds: “Yes but are you a Protestant or a Catholic…
Not many Quebecers share this sentiment at present.
Quinn Dombrowski
Welcome to the second part of Breaking Nations, a series of articles that examines independence movements across the globe ahead of the Scottish referendum in September. For this edition, Francois Gelineau…
One of Scotland’s most popular politicians.
Andrew Milligan/PA
The Scottish Parliament prides itself in the number of visitors it receives. They might hope for a sighting of the first minister, but Margo MacDonald was the member the public was keenest to actually…
The poll tax was a key milestone on the road to the Scottish referendum.
Stephen Fyfe
This week saw the 25th anniversary of one of the key events in recent Scottish political history. On 1 April 1989, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government introduced a new tax in Scotland to replace…
The Veneto region, with its picturesque capital Venice, has voted in a referendum for independence from Italy.
Matthew Gast/Flickr
Just as Venice risks disappearing beneath its waters, it is making a remarkable political reappearance. The Venetian Republic existed for more than 1000 years until it came to an end at the hands of Napoleon…
Britain’s most significant political event of 2014 takes place on September 18, when the people of Scotland will vote on whether it should become an independent country. It is a referendum with massive…
Scots would continue to use the pound as part of a formal currency union after independence, the SNP long argued. But Chancellor George Osborne ruled that out in a recent speech, following advice from…
Don’t believe the hawks.
Cpl Ashley Keates RAF/Crown Copyright
Former British Vice Admiral John McAnally entered into the Scottish constitutional debate the other day by warning of the “dire” defence implications for Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom should…
Opinion polls can have a profound influence on the atmosphere of a campaign. If they suggest that one side is well ahead, the media loses interest. The politicians get less space and perhaps airtime, while…
Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont launched an awkward compromise.
David Cheskin/PA Archive
The publication of the Labour Party’s Devolution Commission leaves the Conservatives as the only significant pro-union party yet to declare what further devolution it would consider in the event of a no…
More austerity will mean more unhappy referendum voters in months to come.
NUS Scotland
Chancellor George Osborne has delivered his last budget before the September referendum in Scotland. He did so with one eye on the UK election in May 2015. But the other was firmly focused on the Scottish…