Stephen Daisley

Is Reform a right-wing party?

8 June 2025 4:15 pm

If the problem with Labour is that it believes in nothing, the problem with Reform is that it believes in…

Scottish voters are tired of devolution

4 June 2025 4:10 pm

For some time now, I’ve been documenting a growing devoscepticism in Scotland, only to be assured, variously, that voters are…

Hamilton is just the beginning for Reform in Scotland

2 June 2025 10:16 pm

In less than 72 hours, the polls will open in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse for a Scottish by-election like no…

Is Reform trying to race-bait Scottish Labour’s leader?

28 May 2025 5:06 am

Nigel Farage’s party is taking heat for a Meta ad it has run as part of the Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse by-election.…

Are there more Chagos-style surrenders to come?

25 May 2025 8:25 pm

Broadly speaking, there are two responses to Keir Starmer’s surrender of the Chagos Islands. The first is indignation. This is…

This is what it means to ‘globalise the intifada’

22 May 2025 10:50 pm

‘Globalise the intifada,’ they chanted. This is what that looks like. Two Israeli embassy staffers gunned down as they left…

Why can’t Israel-haters accept that their Eurovision song was good?

19 May 2025 10:20 pm

Eurovision is an annual celebration of the gaudy and the garish – but I suppose someone should come to its…

Scotland has no idea what to do about Reform

18 May 2025 6:06 am

Reform continues to rise in Scotland and the Scottish political and media class continue either to ignore it or hold…

Why I changed my mind about multiculturalism

17 May 2025 4:30 pm

When Blackburn MP Adnan Hussain complains about an opponent believing ‘free speech means protecting the right to offend Muslims’, you feel…

The fight against assisted dying in Scotland is not over yet

14 May 2025 8:06 pm

Assisted suicide has cleared its first hurdle in the Scottish parliament, but there could be many more to come. On…

Trump’s film tariffs will hurt, not help, Hollywood

12 May 2025 5:12 pm

Observers of the American film industry have been fretting about its prospects for almost as long as it has existed.…

The real bravery behind the India trade deal

7 May 2025 7:25 am

The UK and India have finally inked a trade deal. This is, in principle, a good thing. Free trade can…

The Maggie Chapman saga is a new low for the Scottish Parliament

29 April 2025 10:34 pm

The Scottish Parliament’s equalities committee has voted against removing Green MSP Maggie Chapman as deputy convenor following her attack on…

Keir Starmer is a shallow man

24 April 2025 4:03 pm

Keir Starmer thinks ‘this is the time now to lower the temperature’ on the gender debate. To ‘move forward’. To…

Will Holyrood do anything about attacks on the Supreme Court?

23 April 2025 12:28 am

As the independent bar in Scotland, the Faculty of Advocates is by necessity a reserved and disinterested body. It does…

Could this photo cost Mark Carney victory in Canada’s election?

22 April 2025 8:23 pm

Caryma Sa’d has captured the definitive image of the Canadian federal election. Over the weekend, the independent journalist posted a…

Why ‘respectable’ Tories don’t like Russell Findlay

18 April 2025 2:42 pm

The plight of Russell Findlay reveals a lot about how politics works. Findlay was elected leader of the Scottish Conservatives…

The Supreme Court ruling is a victory for women

16 April 2025 9:58 pm

The Supreme Court ruling on the definition of ‘woman’ in the Equality Act is a victory for women, proper statutory…

Hashem Abedi should never have been in this country

15 April 2025 9:40 pm

If there has been one constant in Hashem Abedi’s miserable life it has been the determined failure of the British…

Why are British lawyers acting for Hamas?

13 April 2025 8:36 pm

This week on Britain: The Decline Years, a firm of London solicitors has announced it is acting on behalf of Hamas…

David Lammy’s imperial overreach

9 April 2025 4:00 pm

With the imperial pomposity of an old colonial governor, David Lammy has ‘made clear’ to the Israelis that denying entry to Labour MPs Abtisam…

Robert Jenrick is a real conservative

3 April 2025 4:03 am

Robert Jenrick’s victory over the Sentencing Council — James Heale is correct to call it that — is, more importantly,…

How could Holyrood not mourn Christina McKelvie?

28 March 2025 4:09 am

A parliament is an odd place. It’s the arena where clashing worldviews come to cross swords and there’s low and…

The Alba party has a mountain to climb

27 March 2025 7:11 am

Kenny MacAskill has won the leadership of Alba and just to underscore how cursed that position is, he defeated his…

Keir Starmer is a gift to Scottish nationalism

22 March 2025 2:21 am

Southside Central is the kind of ward Scottish Labour needs to be winning. It’s in Glasgow, home to significant pockets…