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Wings Over Scotland



A letter to the members of the SNP 313

Posted on March 28, 2021 by

Dear Friends,

Following considerable reflection, I am writing to tell you of a decision I have reached and to set out my reasoning.

My primary focus is and always will be achieving our shared ambition of independence for Scotland.

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View from the green benches 108

Posted on July 24, 2020 by

The closure of the UK Parliament for the summer holidays this week marked the end of my first political “year” with the SNP Group at Westminster, albeit a truncated one under unusual circumstances. Having served in Holyrood much is similar and familiar, even if anachronistic in style and reeking of snobbery. Staff are remarkably helpful and individual members can be exceedingly pleasant.

But this isn’t our Parliament and we’re most certainly not amongst friends.

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No-one better to decide 194

Posted on May 22, 2019 by

(Full series here.)

A different country 318

Posted on March 05, 2019 by

(Full series here.)

A Portuguese Laddie 664

Posted on January 23, 2019 by

Last month the Tory government published its white paper on EU migration post-Brexit. As a result, I spent my day arguing positively for immigration on social media, sharing fact-based articles showing that EU migration has had a very positive impact on the UK’s economy in the last decade.

However, one of my tweets was particularly popular, in which I specifically mentioned my personal experience with Scottish attitudes towards immigration.

Twitter is meant to be short and fleeting, leaving little room for telling long, nuanced stories. But the story behind this tweet is one I find worth telling, and I think it reflects incredibly well on the fact that there’s a bright, open future ahead of Scotland. I hope you find what follows to be worthwhile.

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My resignation from the Labour Party 185

Posted on September 30, 2018 by

This article originally appeared on Allan’s blog. Reproduced with permission.

Dear Richard Leonard,

You can accept this letter as my formal resignation from membership of the Labour Party. And you may not like to hear that you are the straw that broke the camel’s back.

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A new landscape 69

Posted on September 01, 2018 by

Ashley Graczyk, formerly-Tory councillor:

Complete series here.

Something we need to talk about 199

Posted on November 10, 2017 by

Series 3, #1.

No, it’s not her.

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When Scotland Voted Leave 78

Posted on July 28, 2017 by

Last month saw the first meeting between the UK Brexit delegation and the EU’s, and by many accounts it fell far short of the UK’s expectations. David Davis spent months drumming up the “strong and stable” approach which would see both the divorce deal and the subsequent post-Brexit trade deal negotiated simultaneously. He was told by everyone that this wouldn’t happen, but simply brushed off the warnings. When push came to shove, he finally accepted that he’d have to negotiate the divorce deal first.

This is just the latest in a long string of failures and ineptitudes over the course of the UK’s handling of the whole farcical process and it got me thinking. If Scotland had voted Yes in 2014, what would it have looked like if the Scottish Government had handled that vote the way the UK has managed Brexit?

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Journey To Yes 219

Posted on July 26, 2017 by

The complete series so far. If you’ve got a story like this to tell, or you know anyone who does, Phantom Power want to hear from you – drop them a line.

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Well advised to go 91

Posted on June 27, 2017 by

AC Grayling, historian.

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A fundamental difference in approach 202

Posted on June 21, 2017 by

Richard Murphy, political economy professor.

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