Hello there! It’s that time of the week again. Is it just me, or does it come around far too quickly these days? (Don’t answer that.) Anyway, I start with a small confession: when I said ‘yes’ to taking part in the Roundup, I was quietly dreading August, and the probable lack of material that […]
Broadcasting in Scotland, and are the SNP really that far ahead?
Hello there! I am back from a three week break from Scottish Roundup. Not fully refreshed unfortunately, but you can’t win them all. Surprisingly, for the silly season, there have been a fair few talking points this week. Starting off with the debate on Scottish broadcasting which has been kickstarted by Alex Salmond this week. […]
Labour on a high
Hello there. Good news, I think. I have felt myself flagging a little bit in recent months while writing the weekly roundups. I always felt that this would be too much work for one person (especially when that person was me), even with the occasional help of guest editors. Ever since CuriousHamster (whose blog is […]
A national hero is born in the aftermath of the Glasgow Airport terrorist attack
There is only one place to start this week. The attack on Glasgow Airport last week saw the birth of a new hero for our nation: baggage handler turned nemesis of blazing terrorists, the fearless John Smeaton. John Smeaton clearly struck a chord with many, as you can see with the phenomenally popular blog dedicated […]
Foulkes off and Home Office madness
Hello there! I am back after a busy couple of weeks for me. As such, I must apologise for the slightly lazy nature of this week’s roundup. Will Patterson has taken a look at two people who are on the way out in different ways — Mohammad Sarwar and George Foulkes. There is more on […]
Faith in People and Politicians
First, a brace of posts from one of my favourite blogs, Rhetorically Speaking, regarding our right to do stuff. Martin Kettle’s article on the film ‘Taking Liberties’ provoked a number of responses around the blogosphere, and bookdrunk’s offering is a good representation of the scorn it deserved. The principle under attack is that we should […]
The PM ignoring the FM as he impresses in FMQs
Welcome to this week’s roundup! You will see that I have at last made the changes I promised. I won’t bang on and on about them here — to save space, I’ve done all that on my personal blog. Fingers crossed everything works. But should anything seem to have gone a bit funny, please contact […]
Godwin’s Law applies to the offline world as well
Hello there! Sorry I haven’t made the promised changes. I can’t get out of the annoying habit of being busy I’m afraid. Still, this week’s roundup is here as scheduled. Many will remember Jamie Stone’s comment during the election campaign, suggesting that nationalists were xenophobic. Labour MP Anne Moffat has gone a whole step further, […]
A week of firsts
Welcome to this week’s roundup. Over the past seven days we have gained a much fuller picture of how Scotland will be governed over the next four years. And, if you wish to swallow the nationalists’ line, it’s just been one historic day after another. Will Patterson tots up the firsts. Alex Salmond is now […]
Bye bye Tony and Jack, Hello Gordon and Alex?
Hi folks! Once again, the Roundup is at my mercy. It turns out that half a week is a pretty long time in politics as well: Tony Blair has finally set a date for his departure, Gordon Brown’s campaign is underway, the smoke is starting to clear at Holyrood and even Councils have been subject […]