Scottish Political News

Blogging Up for the Elections

The idea behind this blog has changed somewhat since I first decided to have a go. Initially this was going to be my own personal space to have a rant or comment on what is happening, and that would normally have been from a right of centre or libertarian point of view. However, after experiencing it, getting more involved in the blogging world and some helpful comments from others I decided to widen the blog postings to more than just me and also to open it up to postings from other political view points.

So, now the blog is growing and I it intends to provide a useful forum in the run up to the May elections and well beyond.

As well as myself, Scottish Political News now has a few authors including Cassilis and Mr Eugenides who also take up a position on the right. More recently we have been joined by Eternal Hope who is an SNP activist and insider (a great first post today which you can read below this). We're keen to be joined by a Labour and Lib Dem blogger, but Labour ones especially seem to be a bit thin on the ground. If you want to join in, and especially if you are of Lib Dem and Labour persuasion (ideally an activist or insider!) then please get in touch by emailing here.

The aim of the blog is to increase debate, discussion and maybe interest in Scottish politics on the internet. There has recently been a huge flurry of blog postings about the lack of a Scottish Guido or Iain Dale and it is strange that the blog world doesn't seem to have quite taken off as much yet up here. This blog doesn't intend to be a tartan-Guido, but I would like it to play some part in increasing the use and medium of the internet and blogging in Scottish politics.

There will always be plenty of informed comment and insider information from our collection of correspondents, but please don't shy away from sharing any frivolous gossip with us either! You don't even have to tell us who you are! Blogs have broken some of the big political stories in Westminster in recent times, will that become the case in Scotland too?

Authors required

A very slow week on this blog last week, primarily due to being a bit busy!

I posted a request last month for anyone who wants to become an author on this blog. The intention is that over time this blog will help to generate a good amount of policy debate and political news in Scotland. Political blogs in Scotland are still few and far between, despite the fact that they could have much to add to our understanding of what the parties are up to and what people think about them.

So, if you're from a right wing / centre right / libertarian background and interested in being part of a new and hopefully exciting political outlet in Scotland then drop me a line here.

Authors required

The plan is for this blog to be a very active discussion forum, especially in the lead up to the elections in May next year.  To ensure that there is a constant stream of good posts, I'm keen to have an editorial team of 3 to 4 people.

The editorial team will between them ensure a daily posting and that there is a real creative and intellectual political buzz to the blog.

Interested?  If you think you've got what it takes to contribute and can spare the time then email me and tell me a little about yourself and your political background.  In terms of time commitment, it can really be as little or as much as you want.  Blog posts are generally short, so it shouldn't take up too much time.  However, what I really need is your political ideas and thoughts to ensure we get a good debate going.

Coming very soon

Coming very soon is a new blog about politics in Scotland. It is intended to be updated regularly, providing snippets of information about what is going on and who is doing what in the strange world of Scottish Politics.

This blog will comment on all things political, but will look at the world with a most definite right wing slant. Now I'm sure we will all argue in the months to come about what is right wing, however this blog will largely be coming from a libertarian position.

One of the intentions of this blog is to try and stimulate right wing thinking and debate in Scotland. At the moment the Scottish Conservatives are not doing that well and have generally failed to understand what David Cameron has at a UK level. Simply, they need to move with the times and inject some thought into what they are doing or saying. Without a radical change they will fail in May 2007. I don't want that to happen.

An article in today's Scotsman hints that there is real discontentment deep within the Scottish Tories. Brian Monteith is not the best judge of what is happening within the party, but he does highlight the intellectual and political vacuum at the heart of the party.