The route to #independence must be legal & constitutional. I support Plan A of replicating the Edinburgh Agreement but there are other legal & constitutional options & it’s right for @theSNP to consider these . thenational.scot/news/18995586.…
It is foolish & dangerous to rail against having a fallback plan, should it be required. Foolish, because it undermines the carefully achieved past gains such as the concession Salmond secured from Dewar in exchange for supporting the devolution referendum
Dangerous, because it re-inforces the power of our adversary and cements in the minds of the international community that the only way Scotland can leave the UK and become independent legally and constitutionally is by replicating the 2014 referendum.
On January 24, an SNP virtual National Assembly will take place to discuss “the tactics and strategy on the route from here to Independence Day”. This is an important discussion which is open to all party members and will be conducted in private
A recent opinion poll suggested two-thirds of voters want a fall-back strategy to secure a second independence vote if a Section 30 order is refused this time round.
That such a strategy is needed because it may be required is in fact a no-brainer. In her speech of January 31, 2020, the First Minister was careful not to rule other routes out of the question. Others would do well to follow her lead.
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Some follow up thoughts on a great piece by Andrew Tickell: How Scots have learned to love independence in 2020 thenational.scot/news/18970919.…
Andrew says; “Now, the idea of independence in the lead and the Union in retreat is a banal fact of Scottish life.” As others have pointed out this has parallels with where we were with #devolution post the 1992 General election.
But then, Scotland had to wait for Westminster to catch up with us before we got devolution. 5 years passed before a party that supported devolution came to power at Westminster and held a referendum
What Priti Patel says about the law enforcement & judicial co-op parts of the deal is simply wrong. It affords us considerably less protection than we had with #EU membership -
PM's Brexit deal makes UK safer, Priti Patel insists theguardian.com/politics/2020/…
Such data sharing as we retain will be slower as not in real time. Information exchanges between police forces will be significantly reduced. We are out of the European Arrest Warrant with a poor relation replacement
Plus it’s all conditional on the #EU Commission making a positive data adequacy ruling within 4 month window
What a shame @thetimesscot didn’t seek comment from me on this news story particularly as it reads like another sly attempt to smear me. Please read this thread. thetimes.co.uk/article/foreig…
Had @thetimesscot spoken to me I could have told them that yes frequently posts in the US do feature me usually when they are abusing me & threatening me for standing up for #WomensRights in my work on @HumanRightsCtte. Frequently I’m sent this violent image
Unfortunately this problem started close to home & continues led by a number of actors some of whom are @theSNP members & close to Mr Smith. Despite my complaints indeed pleas for help nothing has been done to address this issue
Thread of my short #SNP20 speech - The British Government are pressing ahead with their constitutional priorities regardless of the current pandemic. Brexit has happened and our parliament is under attack.
Whilst our Scottish Government is rightly focused on Covid, we must act quickly to protect our democracy.
To those who say that a referendum can happen only once in a generation I say there is nowhere that is written in stone. Not in the Edinburgh Agreement. Not in the Smith Commission.
Thread - We cannot have a situation in politics or public life whereby as soon as allegations, particularly of criminality, are made against a man or woman, he or she is presumed guilty until proven innocent. 1/4 thetimes.co.uk/article/ross-t…
People who make complaints must be taken seriously and supported to do so, but we must have due process before those complained against are condemned. Otherwise no one will want to enter politics . 2/4
There are parallels here with the treatment of Alex Salmond and Michelle Thomson both of whom were defenestrated by their own political party and savaged in the media before being exonerated. 3/4
Since I entered politics 6 years ago I’ve experienced more #misogyny than in 25 years of legal practice. I can honestly say that one person I never encountered it from was @AlexSalmond. On the contrary he was supportive while others were strangely silent
I do wonder where all those calling out #misogyny today were when @JoanMcAlpine & me were being called c**ts by young male activists & when they drew a target round a young female candidate simply because we supported women’s rights under the Equality Act?
Is it that some #misogyny is acceptable? Or is everyone so intimidated by these young men that they are afraid to speak out? Neither explanation is acceptable but I am genuinely puzzled 🤔