Local Council Elections: A Unionist View

In every way possible to measure success we can clearly see that the SNP won the election, but the story of the night is how they lost. Why? Well, that's just the story we're reporting.

Tom Harris: A youtube resignation

A reminder of the importance of Scotland in the UK

If you want independence...

VOTE SNP.

It was one of the stand out messages of the Holyrood campaign, a simple, effective and clear rallying call to the supporters of self-determination in Scotland. Independence = the SNP and the SNP = independence. You know who to vote for. There was just one small problem. The argument wasn’t delivered by Alex Salmond, or any nationalist, it was made by Tavish Scott, the leader of the Liberal Democrats in Scotland.

On Thursday, May the 5^th the electorate went to the polls to deliver their verdict, and by Friday afternoon the SNP were up by 23 seats, gaining 32 constituencies along the way. The Liberals lost 11 seats, reducing them to just 5. Let’s not mention the 25 deposits they lost worth a total of £12,500. Okay, well lets.

As much as Mr Scott might lament Nick Clegg’s fatal union with David Cameron at Westminster he might also take time to consider why he spent so much of the election campaign outlining the SNP’s position to the electorate.

That’s not to say that everyone who voted for the SNP wants independence, it would be wrong to even suggest it. But the primary concern of any Liberal Democrat leader must be to outline the Liberal Democrat’s policies. You’ve got to pick your battle grounds wisely and Tavish Scott chose to fight Alex Salmond on his own turf. Bringing up the independence question allowed Alex Salmond to remind everyone that the SNP’s policy was to have a referendum, a policy which most people support.

Tavish Scott said of Alex Salmond during the TV debates that he was a “canny” and “wily” politician. The fact he saw that as a negative perhaps goes some way to explaining why he is no longer the leader of a vastly reduced Liberal Democrat party in Scotland.

Sectarianism: it's not my shame

Neil Lennon takes a soft punch at Tynecastle

I condemn sectarianism. It is an utterly contemptible phenomenon. There is no justification for persecution, intimidation or violence against people for any reason, let alone their religious beliefs, and there should be no hiding place for sectarianism in Scottish football.

After last night’s incident with Neil Lennon at Tynecastle the issue of sectarianism once again rears its ugly head and we are reminded by the media of “Scotland’s shame”.

Commenting on the issue Eddie Seeley of the Lurgan Glasgow Celtic Supporter’s club said there was an “underlying problem in Scottish society of sectarianism".

It is an oft-repeated "truth". So as a Scotsman myself I feel it is my responsibility to tell you a story about my personal experiences with sectarianism and how it has affected my life.

But I can’t. I have never experienced it. As a concept and as a fact of life it is something that is totally foreign to me.

Hailing from Aberdeen, sectarianism was something that I, my friends and my family rarely thought about or discussed. We were barely aware of it. If it was ever mentioned at all it was something “that lot down there” practiced, a yardstick by which to measure contempt for the Old Firm. I don't say that with any glee, that's just the way it was and still is in many cases.

The reality, whether you like it or not, is that these two clubs have become the public face of sectarianism in Scotland. In dealing with it some might make the argument for a collective responsibility; that this is an issue for all of us to deal with together. They are wrong. A united condemnation of those culpable is what’s required. No deflection. No apologists.

The incident may have taken place at Tynecastle but sectarianism has most readily found a home, a place to grow and thrive, within the two Glasgow clubs. Last night’s events may prove to be wholly unrelated, but religious bigotry and violence has now reached such fever pitch within the game it hardly seems to matter any more.

The verdict is clear: when it comes to sectarianism football is presumed guilty until proved innocent. That is not an acceptable situation to have arrived at.

I reject the idea that this is Scotland’s shame, but Scotland is watching. The time for action is now.

SNP 3-0 Unionist Party Utd

Annabel Goldie, the leader of the Conservative party in Scotland, will stand down in the Autumn. She resigns following the party’s disappointing showing in the Scottish general election.

Goldie fought the campaign on a “common sense” platform and claimed she could continue to keep the “excesses” of Alex Salmond’s nationalism in check. With the SNP winning an overall majority this time around it was a claim that lost all authenticity.

Earlier Goldie seemed of a mind to stay on, but a demand from major party donor John McGlynn that she "do the decent thing and resign" spelled the end for the feisty politician.

Annabel Goldie is the last of the Unionist party leaders to declare her resignation after Iain Gray and Tavish Scott both announced their departure.

In comparison to Labour and the Liberal Democrats the Tories had a respectable campaign but, “Being the least worst was, in the end, not good enough", admitted Goldie.

Unionists call for referendum now

The dust has yet to settle on a stunning electoral victory for Alex Salmond's SNP but prominent figures within the unionist camp have already called for the party to hold its referendum on independence now.

Unionist politicians want the First Minister to accelerate towards a referendum they had opposed during the last parliamentary term.

"I continue to maintain that holding a referendum now would create too much uncertainty”, said Iain Gray, “But, to minimise the damage, they should just go ahead now and do it quickly”.

Labour’s inept ex-leader-in-waiting continued, “I must repeat that, when I travelled over the length and breadth of Scotland over the last six weeks, no one brought up the issue of a referendum on the doorstep.”

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Murdo Fraser went as far as to say the party should give “very serious consideration” to holding a referendum of their own, an idea backed by other members of his party including David Mundell and Lord Forsyth.

Of the upcoming referendum on independence, Michael Moore, the Liberal Democrat Scottish Secretary said the ball was now in Salmond’s court. He was only partly correct. What Moore and his unionist colleagues have failed to fully recognise, either through hubris or as a political manoeuvring strategy, is that the true face of Scottish politics now has a vastly changed complexion.

The truth is, not only is the ball in Salmond’s court but the ball belongs to Salmond. The turf and the net belong to Alex Salmond and so do the racquets with which to knock the ball back and forth. The juice and the half time oranges are for Alex Salmond. And not to say that he will, but if Alex Salmond wants to hand pick the Umpire to preside over Alex Salmond’s court then Alex Salmond most definitely can.

In Alex Salmond’s statesmanlike victory speech he said “although the SNP has a majority of the seats, we don't have a monopoly of wisdom”. It suggests a leader who is quite happy to let the opposition parties play a bit, but to demand he plays to their time table? I think we'll declare that ball 'out'. Alex Salmond to serve.