Beyond Brexit

Indyref2 and the independence naysayers

Nostalgia and unconvincing economic arguments will not be enough to stop Scotland gravitating back to Europe, writes Murray Ritchie. Could an independent Scotland fill the United Kingdom’s vacated place in the European…


Battle against pandemic becomes a war of words

Lies. Half-truths. ‘Facts’. Or just answers that offer political wriggle room? “When the truth offends, we lie and lie, until we can no longer remember it is ever there. But it is…


Politics trumps pragmatism in Brexit deal

It is not the end of Brexit, but with the newly expressed amity and partnership between the two parties, it may be the end of the beginning, writes John Egan It is…


Can Britain’s unionists future proof the Union?

Could England, Scotland, and Wales become independent states in some form of confederal United Kingdom? The odds are getting shorter, writes Murray Ritchie In the time of Covid with its attendant social…


UK breakup: Apocalypse soon?

The doomsters are having a field day in the troubled United Kingdom. They foresee a conjunction of seismic events, if not now, then shortly. Murray Ritchie poses the question: Are they right?…




Nationalists of a very different hue

Competing forms of nationalism are about to change the economic and political world order. And the decisive moment is coming soon when “good” nationalism and its “bad” counterpoint clash. No matter which…


Brexit and the danger of partisan divisions

The Australian lesson is that concentrating policy making power in political hands to “crash through” with a bold policy agenda might work for a while but ultimately becomes a zero-sum game, writes…