07 Dec 2011
The SNP's victory in May ensures that a referendum on Scotland’s constitutional status will be held during this session of the Scottish parliament. There is all-party agreement on this basic … » more
11 Jul 2011
The outcome of the Scottish election at the beginning of May was a political earthquake. Voters may not have been motivated to back the SNP because of a surge of … » more
11 Jul 2011
Much of the commentary on the night of the local elections and in the days that followed centred on the plight of the Liberal Democrats after their losses in England … » more
10 Jul 2011
There may have been logic in Prime Minister Cameron's strategy of handing responsibility for Scotland to the Liberal Democrats after last year’s UK general election. With only one Scottish MP, … » more
17 Jan 2011
In a diary entry at the beginning of 2010, Chris Mullin complained that ‘no rational discussion of spending cuts or tax increases is possible this side of an election’. It … » more
17 Jan 2011
The Scotland Bill is the first substantial change to devolution for Scotland since 1999, and is often described as ‘radical’ for conferring limited powers about taxation on the Scottish parliament. … » more
28 Oct 2010
Ten years ago this month the Provisional IRA gunned down a member of the Real IRA, Joe O’Connor, in the West Belfast constituency of Gerry Adams, MP. It was a … » more
18 May 2010
The choreography of the coalition deal gave the impression that it had been rehearsed. The coalition partners had prepared well for a hung parliament. Negotiating positions on problem issues had … » more
18 May 2010
One of the most striking features of the 6 May general election was the political division of the constituent nations of Great Britain. On election night, Scotland gave a vote of … » more
18 May 2010
Northern Irish politics are no longer such a problem for Westminster — but they are nonetheless plagued by inertia and intellectual fatigue, warns Paul Bew
02 Mar 2010
Sir John Chilcot, a mandarin’s mandarin, has been chairing the Iraq War inquiry with great skill. What has attracted less attention is the way in which his legacy … » more
08 Dec 2009
The decision of the Sinn Fein leadership to become part of the British administration against which it had earlier unleashed the IRA was supposed to herald an end to all … » more
08 Dec 2009
An executive paralysed by the opposed imperatives of shoring up distinct communal constituencies is precisely the aim of recent dissident activity, says Henry Patterson
14 Jul 2008
Andrew Gamblelooks at the new Tory Unionism set out by David Cameron at the Scottish Conservative Party Conference, and what this means for Scotland
13 Jul 2008
Arthur Aughey looks at Kenneth Clarke's Democracy Task Force report