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A pro-independence blog by James Kelly - one of Scotland's five most-read political blogs.
Saturday, December 18, 2021
Why are the BBC allowing their news website to be used for propaganda against the introduction of Covid safety restrictions?
Friday, December 17, 2021
North Shropshire: the Scottish impact
I was asked what impact the sensational North Shropshire by-election result might have on Scottish politics. I think that's quite difficult to tell at the moment because there are too many variables. We were told that a gain for the Liberal Democrats might trigger Boris Johnson's downfall, but now that it's actually come to pass, the consequences have been predictably downgraded to "he's in the last chance saloon". The comparison that some people are making is with the Eastbourne by-election of 1990 which set in motion a chain of events that led to Margaret Thatcher's ousting as Prime Minister a few weeks later. But an equally valid comparison is with the Newbury and Christchurch by-elections of 1993, which the Lib Dems won on massive swings, leaving the Tories in little doubt that John Major couldn't lead them to victory in 1997 - but they did nothing much about that for four years.
The conventional wisdom is that it would be Christmas for the Yes movement if Boris Johnson is still Prime Minister when a referendum or plebiscitary election is held - but the one possible caveat would be if Johnson becomes damaged to the point where it's obvious that Labour are likely to win the next general election, which would make it harder for us to portray the choice as being between independence and Tory rule. There might yet be a strategic advantage in Johnson being replaced with another leader like Michael Gove or Priti Patel who would still be deeply unpopular in Scotland, but who might look like having a more plausible chance of winning the 2024 election.
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You can catch up with my Scot Goes Popcast interview with iScot editor Ken McDonald HERE (on video) or HERE (audio only).
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Carrot and stick: The Wishous Circle
Do you want independence? - 5 points
— James Kelly (@JamesKelly) December 15, 2021
Do you want the mandate for an indyref to be used? - 7 points
Do you write longer-form online posts? - 11 points
Have you ever consumed a carrot in Perth? - 16 points
If you scored 20 points or higher, you are officially an #AbsoluteMenace
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Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Another poll, this time conducted by Survation, confirms the Scottish public are strongly opposed to legally-recognised gender self-ID
Monday, December 13, 2021
Ken McDonald, editor of iScot magazine, is the special guest on Episode 14 of the Scot Goes Popcast
For Episode 14 of the Scot Goes Popcast I was joined by Ken McDonald, the editor of iScot magazine, which I've written a monthly column for since 2017. It's a unique publication, because it's a high-quality print magazine in wide circulation that is explicitly pro-independence and run by grass-roots Yes supporters. Many people have probably heard of iScot without having taken a look for themselves yet, and if that describes you, this podcast is a golden opportunity to find out what you're missing. Ken explains...
* How he started the magazine as an alternative to shouting at the TV when "Jackanory" Jim Murphy was being interviewed.
* The vital importance of having a pro-Yes print publication, given that many older people can't really be reached by online New Media.
* How iScot's readership demographics very closely mirror the demographics of No voters in the 2014 referendum, leaving the magazine ideally placed to reach the people whose minds need to be changed.
* Why only a relatively small proportion of the magazine's articles are directly about politics and independence, with the others showcasing what a capable country Scotland is.
* Why he's confident that iScot will still be around in seven or eight years' time.
* How iScot is a platform for all shades of opinion within the independence movement, including the SNP, Alba and IFS.
* What happened when iScot thought it had arranged an interview with Peter Murrell.
You can listen to the episode as a traditional podcast via the embedded Soundcloud player below, or via the direct Soundcloud link, or you can watch it in video form via the embedded YouTube player. The Popcast is also available on Stitcher and Spotify.