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There are approximately 4.6 million adults in Scotland. Of these around 1.9 million or 41% pay no income tax. 48% of us pay between 19 and 21%. While 9.9% pay 41% and 1% pay 46%. Around 60% of revenue raised in Scotland comes from that top 10%. But this means …

The reason it is so boring trying to have any sort of debate with Scottish nationalists, is that after a while you realise that they are repeating what they have read on a sort of crib sheet. Eventually any discussion either ends with swearing and insults or exactly the same …

Everybody including me got everything wrong about the war in Ukraine. The Germans and the French thought it wasn’t going to happen right up until the moment that it did. The British and the Americans thought that the Ukrainians would be defeated within a week or so. The fear was …

The past couple of weeks have exposed a delightful contradiction at the heart of Scottish nationalism. When I point out that Scottish independence would mean the loss of the monarchy, I am contacted by numerous outraged Scottish nationalists eager to point out that in 2014 the SNP intended to keep …

It may be that the Conservatives have already lost the next General Election. Labour has a 33 point lead. A Labour majority, which was unthinkable a short while ago is now a 7/4 favourite. I am obviously not a Labour supporter, but I look at the prospect of Labour winning …

In a matter of weeks, Liz Truss, the front-runner in the Tory leadership race, has presented the country with bold economic plans of a low tax agenda that go above and beyond anything Starmer has offered in the past two years. The Labour Party leader is still facing an identity …

Keir Starmer has a mountain to climb if he wishes to become Prime Minister. But the current state of events presents Labour with a grand opportunity, one that could greatly increase their electoral popularity if they park their tanks on Tory fields. Although Liz Truss appears likely to become Britain’s …

With no shortlist in sight, no holders of our four great offices of state are male, pale and stale. Given this has happened organically, with no quotas involved, all political parties should scrap their adherence to patronising diversity quotas and realise talent rises to the top.  While the two remaining …

The UK is going through some tough times at the moment. We have just had the pandemic, followed almost immediately by an economic crisis and our Queen has just died. We have a new Prime Minister who most ordinary voters know nothing about. The coming winter may be the most …

Grief over the loss of a person is a complicated affair. On the surface, we commemorate the passing of an individual from this world. That loss is, in and of itself, important – whether it be the loss of a family member, a friend, or a prominent member of a …

When the Queen had her 70th jubilee in June I was surprised to discover the number of Union Flags that were displayed across Scotland. The SNP had done its best to erase the flag from public life and its supporters frequently described it in the most insulting ways possible. But …

When Mikhail Gorbachev died recently, I didn’t notice any anti-Russian or anti-Soviet sentiment on Twitter or in the newspapers. Even those who have good reason to resent Soviet or Russian expansionism kept silent or offered only mild criticism. But somehow the death of a 96-year-old lady, very frail and much …

Yesterday the country, the Realms, the Commonwealth and the world lost a truly great individual and an era came to an end. A Queen who was dedicated to selfless public service and her duties throughout her life and her historic reign. An unparalleled ambassador for this country and a beacon …

The death of Her Majesty The Queen will be felt in every home across the country and beyond. The affinity, affection, and love with which she was revered will never be matched. We mourn the loss of our Head of State, our Church figurehead, and our Monarch, but for many …

In 2010 the Labour Party was kicked out by the voters and replaced with the Conservative Lib Dem coalition under David Cameron. It was natural for voters to blame Labour for the economic crisis of 2008 and to seek an alternative. Labour had been in power since 1997. If Labour …

I have been busily buying thermal underwear, fleece lined tops and down filled trousers. My intention is to use the central heating as little as possible. If I heat myself with clothing rather than heat the room where I am sitting, I will save a fortune. But in fact, I …

One of my favourite essays is Vaclav Havel’s ‘Power of The Powerless’ in which he gives the example of the Czech grocer obliged to place a sign in his window: ‘Workers of the world unite’ Havel asks if this sign shows the grocer’s enthusiasm for socialist principles or even his …

The rumours that Liz Truss will make it harder for the SNP to both obtain a legal independence referendum and to win it, don’t so much matter in their detail but in the fact that they demonstrate that Truss is not willing to play the SNP’s game. The UK is …

Great Britain has always been a pillar of strength for our Commonwealth standing strong to assist in times of disaster, times of crisis and aiding in significant development from trade to education. Great Britain’s importance to the world far exceeds any other nation given its contribution to development from the …