Scotland
The economic case for the Union isn't enough
There is a certain kind of critic of independence who hears the news that public funding for Scotland is 30…
Boris has a trump card in denying Sturgeon an 'illegal' referendum
Amidst all the dry economic arguments, one of the more emotive fronts on which the 2016 referendum was fought was…
Sturgeon's rush for a referendum could backfire
The Holyrood election campaign kicks off with Nicola Sturgeon buoyed by James Hamilton’s report concluding that she did not break…
The Crown Office, The Spectator and a fight for a free press
The power wielded by Nicola Sturgeon and her Scottish government means it’s hard to hold her to account for basic…
George Galloway is toxic to the Unionist cause
My mob originates, we have come to assume, from somewhere in Ireland, though exactly where we don’t know. Humza Yousaf,…
Scottish Tories must be more than the angry party of no
Among the many challenges facing Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has been the question of definition. It is difficult to…
Is Sturgeon losing support for Scottish independence?
Every politician likes to say that they don’t pay attention to opinion polls. In my experience, this is almost universally…
Letters: What happens if interest rates rise?
Spinning plates Sir: Kate Andrews is right to highlight the looming risk of inflation (‘Rishi’s nightmare’, 6 March), but to…
Alex Salmond and the trouble with revenge
Ancient Greeks were not slow to express their enthusiasm for taking revenge. Observing the recent proceedings in the Scottish parliament,…
Will the SNP finally see sense on its flawed Hate Crime Bill?
The saga of the SNP’s Hate Crime Bill is drawing to a conclusion. This week, Holyrood will cast a decisive vote…
Portrait of the week: A Covid Budget, a Cotswold meteor and Angelina Jolie sells Churchill’s painting
Home First-dose coronavirus vaccinations totalled more than 20 million. A study suggested that in the over-eighties, a single dose of…
Emmanuel Macron’s vaccine muddle
In 2000, this magazine dipped its toe in murky Irish water. Stephen Glover wrote three articles, one provocatively entitled ‘The…
Letters: The key to Scotland’s future
The key to the Union Sir: ‘Love-bombing’ the Scottish electorate with supplemental spending in devolved areas (‘The break-up’, 27 February)…
The Sturgeon case exposes the fatal flaw in Scottish devolution
The campaign for a Scottish parliament was rooted in the notion of a ‘democratic deficit’. Scotland kept voting Labour but…
Scotland could become the EU's next great problem
It is generally acknowledged, even by diehard Remainers, that the European Union’s handling of Cameron’s attempted renegotiation of the UK’s…
There is something rotten in Scottish politics
It is now two years since Nicola Sturgeon accepted the need for a parliamentary inquiry into how, and why, her…
Does the SNP really want to copy Norway's gender revolution?
Five years ago, in June 2016, Norway allowed anyone to change their legal gender. Legislative Decree 71 was everything that…
Why Boris Johnson must say no to a second Scottish referendum
It’s hard to believe in these early weeks of 2021, when the country is grappling with an unprecedented national health…
Is the SNP prepared for Scotland's next financial crisis?
As the world continues its fight against Covid-19, the Scottish National Party has been busy plotting Scotland’s exit from the UK. If…
Sturgeon and the impunity of the SNP
Scottish politics tends to go through long bouts of single-party dominance. In the 19th century, the Liberals were in charge.…
The age of de-enlightenment
Depictions of Thomas Carlyle and David Hume in the Scottish Portrait Gallery will be altered to make it clear they…
The Sturgeon paradox: the worse she does, the more popular she becomes
Despite her record, nothing can stop Nicola Sturgeon
Leaving the Union would harm Scotland more than Brexit
The Spectator recently ran a piece by Andrew Wilson, author of the SNP’s Sustainable Growth Commission, under the headline ‘Scotland…
We don't want pandemic novels – we want gentle escapism
I’m often asked when I’ll write a pandemic novel. I’m not sure I’d ever be tempted, though the backdrop of…
More devolution in England could save the Union
Tory MPs are already starting to talk about May’s various elections. Boris Johnson’s first post-Covid electoral test will take place…
