The Irn Lady

By Mike Small As Jimmy Reid famously said, he didn’t leave the Labour Party – the Labour Party left him. This is a week where that statement echoed down the Continue reading →

State of Donation

By Mike Small The No campaign’s credibility was left in tatters this morning after the National Collective responded by attempts to bully and intimidate them, saying: “We stand by our Continue reading →

For A’ That 17 – Who’s Watching?

For the 17th episode of the For A’ That podcast, Andrew and I were joined by Lynda Williamson from the Newsnet Scotland site, and whom you may know as snowthistle. Up for discussion were Alistair Darling’s Continue reading →

Alan Bissett’s Agony Aunts

Here’s the second of author Alan Bissett‘s joint column for National Collective and Bella Caledonia.  This month Alan strays into the feral world of political Agony Aunts… Dear Aunties, I Continue reading →

Scotland 2014: Rock The Vote?

By Kate Higgins It garnered a lot of unwarranted media coverage, both in the run up to the vote and on the result itself. In a mock referendum for students, Continue reading →

The Case for a Mass Voter Registration Drive

By Pete Ramand Perhaps the most eye-catching statistic contained in the latest Ipsos MORI research, published in The Times yesterday, was the spike in support for independence among young people: Continue reading →

Young Hearts

By Mike Small Support for independence has gained ground for the first time in over a year, according to a new IPSOS Mori Scottish Public Opinion Monitor. The poll of Continue reading →

The Silk Road

By Leanne Wood, Leader of Plaid Cymru During the next two years, there will be a referendum on whether Scotland should be an independent country. The outcome of that referendum Continue reading →

The Unreconstructables

By Jamie Maxwell In a keynote speech at the end of last year, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon declared the United Kingdom constitutionally “unreconstructable”. Only complete political separation from Westminster, Continue reading →

Should Scotland Be an Independent Country?

By Mike Small The framing of discussion in the public eye is as important if not more important than the content itself. So today we have the Scotsman and other Continue reading →

Don’t Panic!

Is the No campaign losing the plot? The cacophony of scare stories about Scotland does seem to have tipped from the bizarre to the gently unhinged. A year ago The Continue reading →

Culloden via Tesco?

A preview of Unstated: Writers on Scottish Independence, ed. Scott Hames This book (which I think and hope will enliven the whole debate) started in discussion between Bella Caledonia and Continue reading →

People and Parliament Revisited

By Alastair McIntosh In the run-up to Devolution in 1997 I was concerned that the level of political debate was not going deep enough. There was much talk about politics Continue reading →

The taxing question that dare not speak its name: What should Scotland do?

by Kevin Williamson Next year, hopefully, the Independence debate will move out of the intellectual shallows of a Labour-SNP Punch-and-Judy Show and begin to put flesh on the bones of Continue reading →

For A’ That Episode 5 – All Aboard!

For the fifth episode of the For A’ That podcast we ventured into a new area for us in that we had a 4-way discussion. Joining Andrew (The Peat Worrier) and myself Continue reading →

Radical Indy Conference 11: What are Socialist arguments for Independence?

by Neil Davidson One of the central problems facing socialists who support Scottish independence is that only a minority of working class people share our position. If we are to Continue reading →

Strategies for Independence

By Mike Small This Saturday a significant event is taking place in Glasgow. It’s the first coming together of a new coalition after the implosion of the last major configuration Continue reading →

Patrick Harvie calls for honest answers on Indy from Labour and SNP

by Patrick Harvie MSP The most important people in the debate about Scotland’s independence referendum are the ones who’ve not made up their minds yet. Some people are motivated by Continue reading →

Critical errors of judgement affecting the referendum

by Jim & Margaret Cuthbert This article puts forward an argument which may, in Nationalist circles, be a minority view. Namely, that gross errors of judgement have been made in Continue reading →

Radical Indy Conference 06: The Future Is Not Clear

by Robin McAlpine Can we at least start off by agreeing on one thing; this isn’t the Middle Ages. Up until now the constitutional debate has been carried out as Continue reading →

Act local, think global, for a YES vote

by Pat Kane How do we become an independent nation? A vote, on a glorious day, brings it about. But brings what about? Years of chaos, disruption, large powers threatening Continue reading →

While the cause burns brightly is the party over for the SNP?

by Kevin Williamson The resignation of Jean Urquhart MSP and John Finnie MSP from the SNP over last weekend’s NATO U-turn must have come like a thunderbolt out of the Continue reading →

Dave’s Big Day

This photo from this historic day just cries out for a caption competition … your thoughts are welcome …

Definitely Maybe

Devo Max, Devo Plus or Devo Shshh. All are off the ballot. Doug Daniel surveys the landscape and asks why?   The framing of David Mundell’s premature enunciation of the Continue reading →

Harpies & Quines

Women for Independence, the grassroots network to persuade more Scottish women to vote yes to independence, officially launches today (Sunday 30 September) with an informal cultural and political event in Continue reading →

Media Notes Part 2: Identity, Extremism and the Independence Movement

In the second part of his Media Notes series Kevin Williamson reveals an unstated 3 point strategy of the NO camp; and the trap of the Scottish-British dichotomy. “Identity – Continue reading →

Media Notes Part 1: When Saturday Came

MEDIA NOTES (PART 1): WHEN SATURDAY CAME This is the first of three articles by Kevin Williamson looking at the increasingly fractious relationship between the Scottish media and an increasingly Continue reading →

Woman for Independence – Lessons from History

A confident future is never built on fear but always on hope … Journalist, writer and broadcaster Ruth Wishart speaks at the Scottish Independence Rally on 22 Sept 2012 … Continue reading →

Why We’re Marching

By Mike Small This is about Raploch not Bannockburn. A reminder – if any was needed of why we need a better Scotland – was brought to us this week Continue reading →

Arguing for Independence

Arguing for Independence lifts the entire debate on Scottish independence to a new intellectual level…