07 December 2017 Lens on the Week UK AN IRISH KNOT: Forget when and what the DUP knew. Forget whether the choreography of Mrs May’s meeting with Mr Juncker was premature. The problem of the Irish border which currently bedevils the Brexit negotiations is a real one and the best way to disentangle the strands… Continue reading Issue 132 :2017 11 07:Lens on the week
Tag: Ruth Davidson
Issue 125:2017 10 19:Diary of a Corbynista (Don Urquhart)
19 October 2017 Diary of a Corbynista To the Conference and Beyond by Don Urquhart 26 September Theresa May desperately needs something before next week’s Tory Party conference. This week she is meeting Donald Tusk, the European Council President. If it looks as if she has achieved a breakthrough she can then proclaim herself a… Continue reading Issue 125:2017 10 19:Diary of a Corbynista (Don Urquhart)
Issue 108:2017 06 08:Doing the splits (J.R.Thomas)
8 June 2017 Doing the Splits After May, who? by J.R.Thomas Mrs May is famous for her love of walking; by this Friday she will be very relieved if she is not going for a long one. It is almost unknown for an election campaign to result in such an extraordinary reversal of fortunes.… Continue reading Issue 108:2017 06 08:Doing the splits (J.R.Thomas)
Issue 107: 2017 06 01: General elections 2017 – Scottish version (Antoninus)
01 June 2017 General Election 2017 – Scottish Version A view from north of the border. By Antoninus It scarcely seems yesterday (it was 12 January – Ed.) that Antoninus wished his Shaw Sheet readers a ‘Happy Hogmanay’ and offered a forecast for Scottish politics for the year ahead, confidently assuming that the call to… Continue reading Issue 107: 2017 06 01: General elections 2017 – Scottish version (Antoninus)
Issue 101: 2017 04 20: Draining the swamp (John Watson)
20 April 2017 Draining The Swamp Mrs May’s appeal to the people. by John Watson Gosh, for a political magazine like the Shaw Sheet, the year 2017 has cherries on it. We were looking forward to the French and German elections, popcorn at the ready, sauvignon blanc in the fridge, avidly reading Richard Pooley’s articles… Continue reading Issue 101: 2017 04 20: Draining the swamp (John Watson)
Issue 87:2017 01 12:North of the border(Antoninus)
12 January 2017 New Year’s Greetings from North of the Border Happy Hogmanay By Antoninus By the time you read this it may be mid-January. Never mind. I still wish you a happy new year. In Scotland we wish folk a happy new year until … oh, it seems like forever if we haven’t met… Continue reading Issue 87:2017 01 12:North of the border(Antoninus)
Issue 76: 2016 10 20: Broad Kilts (J R Thomas)
20 October 2016 Broad Kilts Storm clouds over the Scottish Highlands? by J R Thomas This is a wonderful time to be in the Scottish Highlands. The heather is black and brown now, so even in October sunshine the hills are dark shaded, but the leaves are turning gold on the beech trees in the… Continue reading Issue 76: 2016 10 20: Broad Kilts (J R Thomas)
Issue 74: 2016 10 06: Week in Brief: UK
06 October 2016 Week in Brief: UK Government Policy BIRMINGHAM: Normally party conferences are for the benefit of activists, with back-slapping aplenty and occasionally some fancy oratory. The rest of the world raises a weary eyebrow and takes little notice. The Conservative party conference this year is different because it provides the first insights into… Continue reading Issue 74: 2016 10 06: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 70: 2016 09 08: Week in Brief: UK
08 September 2016 Week in Brief: UK General Politics CHILD ABUSE ENQUIRY: Dame Lowell Goddard, the New Zealand judge who recently resigned from the chairmanship of the abuse enquiry, has said that its extensive scale and size makes it unmanageable. She has suggested that her resignation presents an opportunity to remodel it with less focus… Continue reading Issue 70: 2016 09 08: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 59:2016 06 23:Anatomy of a debate (Don Urquhart)
23 June 2016 Anatomy of a Debate A different way of keeping the score by Don Urquhart The worst are full of passionate intensity wrote Yeats just after the Great War. The words came into my mind just before the great EU referendum debate. On Tuesday 21st June 2016, David Dimbleby hosted a debate at… Continue reading Issue 59:2016 06 23:Anatomy of a debate (Don Urquhart)
Issue 53: 2016 05 12: Fright Night (J.R.Thomas)
12 May 2016 Fright Night by J.R.Thomas As any hard bitten fast talking cigar chomping PR man will tell you, the great danger with publicity comes when you start to believe your own. It’s time that somebody from Mr Cameron’s close knit team of supporters nervously spoke up from the back and warned him of… Continue reading Issue 53: 2016 05 12: Fright Night (J.R.Thomas)
Issue 53: 2016 05 12: The Local Elections (John Watson)
12 May 2016 The Local Elections A political health check By John Watson Election results are the political equivalent of medical scans. They provide copious information while leaving plenty of scope for the commentators to decide what is important and what is not. Which of the results is a symptom of a tectonic movement? Which,… Continue reading Issue 53: 2016 05 12: The Local Elections (John Watson)
Issue 53: 2016 05 12: Week in Brief: UK
12 May 2016 News in Brief: UK Referendum TRUMP: Republican nominee Donald Trump has said that Britain is better off outside the EU, citing the EU’s role in pushing migration. BANKING LAWS: The Deputy Governor of the Bank of England has said that Britain’s only ability to influence EU Banking laws is a right to… Continue reading Issue 53: 2016 05 12: Week in Brief: UK