THE JAGGY THISTLE PODCAST: Today I’m asking if the demise of Keir Starmer could be brought about by Scottish Labour MPs. Recent stories in The Times suggest that Scottish Labour backbenchers are the most fervent proponents of an early challenge to Starmer’s leadership of the Labour party. Why? Because these Scottish Labour MPs are desperate to avoid a disaster at the Holyrood elections next May. They want these elections to be treated as important in their own right, not just as a data point in a broader debate about UK general election strategy.

I recently wrote about this subject in my weekly column in The Times. If you’d like to read it, here’s the link: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/labours-story-scotland-two-pronged-tale-doesnt-work-xb0zvnhwq

Please subscribe to this channel if you haven’t already. That way you’ll never miss another podcast.

If you enjoyed this podcast why not buy me a coffee?

You can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/thejaggythistle

Two sugars, please!

If you’d like to be better informed about Scottish politics and Scottish culture why not subscribe to The Jaggy Thistle newsletter on Substack, if you haven’t already?

It’s a community and a conversation. You’d be very welcome.

There’s a link below.

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The Jaggy Thistle is a podcast with a focus on Scottish politics and Scottish culture.

The podcast is presented by Kenny Farquharson, an award-winning Scottish journalist who is a political commentator with The Times.

The Jaggy Thistle is also a Substack newsletter with essays, reportage, analysis and documentary photography.

Subscribe for free here: https://thejaggythistle.substack.com

You may well enjoy this podcast if you are a fan of The Rest is Politics, The State of It, The News Agents, Newscast, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stushie, The Steamie, The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast, Coffee House Shots, The New Statesman Podcast, Scotcast and Americast.

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“A chield’s amang you takin notes, And faith he’ll prent it.” Robert Burns

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THE JAGGY THISTLE PODCAST: Today I’m talking about lessons for Scotland from Wales. After the Caerphilly by-election last week it now seems clear that Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru will try to work together to deprive Nigel Farage’s Reform UK of power after the Senedd election next May.

I argue that something similar may be necessary in Scotland.

Please let me know what you think in the comments.

I wrote about this subject recently in my weekly column for The Times. If you’d like to read it you can find it here: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/wales-can-teach-us-a-valuable-lesson-in-barring-farage-from-power-2j6xccq7x

If you enjoyed this podcast why not buy me a coffee?

You can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/thejaggythistle

Two sugars, please!

If you’d like to be better informed about Scottish politics and Scottish culture why not subscribe to The Jaggy Thistle newsletter on Substack, if you haven’t already?

It’s a community and a conversation. You’d be very welcome.

There’s a link below.

-o0o-

The Jaggy Thistle is a podcast with a focus on Scottish politics and Scottish culture.

The podcast is presented by Kenny Farquharson, an award-winning Scottish journalist who is a political commentator with The Times.

The Jaggy Thistle is also a Substack newsletter with essays, reportage, analysis and documentary photography.

Subscribe for free here: https://thejaggythistle.substack.com

You may well enjoy this podcast if you are a fan of The Rest is Politics, The State of It, The News Agents, Newscast, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stushie, The Steamie, The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast, Coffee House Shots, The New Statesman Podcast, Scotcast and Americast.

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“A chield’s amang you takin notes, And faith he’ll prent it.” Robert Burns

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THE JAGGY THISTLE PODCAST: Today I look at the failure of John Swinney to reshuffle the Scottish cabinet in anticipation of the Holyrood elections, even though four of his most senior ministers are not seeking re-election in that contest. I argue that Swinney is in danger of taking Scottish voters for granted. After all, these ministers will be arguing for policies they will not be implementing, and for which they will not be accountable.

Please subscribe to this channel if you haven’t already. That way you’ll never miss another podcast.

I recently wrote about this subject in The Times. If you’d like to read it, here’s the link: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/john-swinneys-weeshuffle-leaves-scotland-with-lame-duck-cabinet-bzjmzm2xj

If you enjoyed this podcast why not buy me a coffee?

You can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/thejaggythistle

Two sugars, please!

If you’d like to be better informed about Scottish politics and Scottish culture why not subscribe to The Jaggy Thistle newsletter on Substack, if you haven’t already?

It’s a community and a conversation. You’d be very welcome.

There’s a link below.

-o0o-

The Jaggy Thistle is a podcast with a focus on Scottish politics and Scottish culture.

The podcast is presented by Kenny Farquharson, an award-winning Scottish journalist who is a political commentator with The Times.

The Jaggy Thistle is also a Substack newsletter with essays, reportage, analysis and documentary photography.

Subscribe for free here: https://thejaggythistle.substack.com

You may well enjoy this podcast if you are a fan of The Rest is Politics, The State of It, The News Agents, Newscast, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stushie, The Steamie, The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast, Coffee House Shots, The New Statesman Podcast, Scotcast and Americast.

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“A chield’s amang you takin notes, And faith he’ll prent it.” Robert Burns

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THE JAGGY THISTLE PODCAST: Today I take stock of the Scottish National Party’s annual conference and I argue that the nationalists are well placed to win next year’s Holyrood election, re-electing John Swinney as first minister.

I outline three strands of SNP thinking for the coming campaign, and I argue that taken together these offer a more coherent and compelling strategy than any served up by their rivals.

I recently wrote about this subject in The Times. You can read my column here: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/independence-kenny-farquharson-comment-snp-johnswinney-kbc9chmk2

If you enjoyed this podcast why not buy me a coffee?

You can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/thejaggythistle

Two sugars, please!

If you’d like to be better informed about Scottish politics and Scottish culture why not subscribe to The Jaggy Thistle newsletter on Substack, if you haven’t already?

It’s a community and a conversation. You’d be very welcome.

There’s a link below.

-o0o-

The Jaggy Thistle is a podcast with a focus on Scottish politics and Scottish culture.

The podcast is presented by Kenny Farquharson, an award-winning Scottish journalist who is a political commentator with The Times.

The Jaggy Thistle is also a Substack newsletter with essays, reportage, analysis and documentary photography.

Subscribe for free here: https://thejaggythistle.substack.com

You may well enjoy this podcast if you are a fan of The Rest is Politics, The State of It, The News Agents, Newscast, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast, Coffee House Shots, The New Statesman Podcast, Scotcast and Americast.

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“A chield’s amang you takin notes, And faith he’ll prent it.” Robert Burns

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THE JAGGY THISTLE PODCAST:

Today I argue that the sacking of Lord Mandelson as UK ambassador to the United States is an opportunity to walk back some of his malign influence on today’s Labour party.

I also tell a story about how I had breakfast with Mandelson in a posh Edinburgh hotel, and ended up embarrassing myself.

I also wrote about Mandelson in today’s issue of The Times. Here’s the link if you’d prefer to read rather than listen: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/labour-desperately-needs-a-win-so-get-rid-of-the-house-of-lords-zvd7cmvbt

If you’d like to be better informed about Scottish politics and Scottish culture why not subscribe to The Jaggy Thistle, if you haven’t already?

It’s a community and a conversation. You’d be very welcome.

There’s a link below.

-o0o-

The Jaggy Thistle is a podcast with a focus on Scottish politics and Scottish culture.

The podcast is presented by Kenny Farquharson, an award-winning Scottish journalist who is a political commentator with The Times.

The Jaggy Thistle is also a Substack publication with essays, reportage, analysis and documentary photography.

Subscribe for free here: https://thejaggythistle.substack.com

You may like this podcast if you are a fan of The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast, Scotcast and Americast.

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“A chield’s amang you takin notes, And faith he’ll prent it.” Robert Burns

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THE JAGGY THISTLE PODCAST: Today I’m asking how much success Jeremy Corbyn’s new political party can expect in the Scottish Parliament elections in May next year.

I also wrote about this subject in my column in The Times, if you’d prefer to read rather than listen. Here’s a link: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/jeremy-corbyn-party-holyrood-election-scotland-reform-z8zftmhwp

If you’d like to be better informed about Scottish politics and Scottish culture why not subscribe to The Jaggy Thistle, if you haven’t already.

It’s a community and a conversation. You’d be very welcome.

There’s a link below.

-o0o-

The Jaggy Thistle is a podcast with a focus on Scottish politics and Scottish culture.

The podcast is presented by Kenny Farquharson, an award-winning Scottish journalist who is a political commentator with The Times.

The Jaggy Thistle is also a Substack publication with essays, reportage, analysis and documentary photography.

Subscribe for free here: https://thejaggythistle.substack.com

You may like this podcast if you are a fan of The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast, Scotcast and Americast.

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“A chield’s amang you takin notes, And faith he’ll prent it.” Robert Burns

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THE JAGGY THISTLE PODCAST:

Today I’m picking up on a telling moment in Nicola Sturgeon’s memoir where she admits a flaw in her famed emotional intelligence.

I argue that this reveals a more general flaw in Scottish nationalist thinking, one that acts as a brake on SNP advancement.

And I show how it is responsible for the most stupid idea in Scottish nationalism.

What is that stupid idea? Listen and find out!

I covered the same ground in my column in The Times this week. You can read it here:

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/snp-must-realise-not-everyone-is-nationalist-to-the-bone-q2jwd7gsf

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The Jaggy Thistle is a podcast with a focus on Scottish politics and Scottish culture.

The podcast is presented by Kenny Farquharson, an award-winning Scottish journalist who is a political commentator with The Times.

The Jaggy Thistle is also a Substack publication with essays, reportage, analysis and documentary photography.

Subscribe for free here: https://thejaggythistle.substack.com

You may like this podcast if you are a fan of The Rest is Politics, The News Agents, Newscast, Holyrood Sources, Planet Holyrood, The Stooshie, The Steamie, The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast, Scotcast and Americast.

“A chield’s amang you takin notes, And faith he’ll prent it.” Robert Burns

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THE JAGGY THISTLE PODCAST:

Nicola Sturgeon’s memoir, entitled Frankly, is the talk of the steamie. In today’s podcast I argue that the book requires a reassessment of what we thought we knew about SNP strategy on Scottish independence over the past decade.

Let me know what you think. I’d be interested in your views.

I wrote about this subject in The Times today. You can read my column here: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/nicola-sturgeon-dead-end-snp-independence-7d7jwxp86

If you’d like more of this and you aren’t already a subscriber to The Jaggy Thistle, please feel free to sign up and get every new episode emailed to you inbox.

The Jaggy Thistle is your one-stop shop for Scottish politics and Scottish culture.

These podcasts are free.

There’s a link in the bio.

The Jaggy Thistle is a community and a conversation. It would be great to have you along.

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“A chield’s amang you takin notes, And faith he’ll prent it.” Robert Burns

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I hope you enjoy this audio/video review from the Edinburgh International Festival.

You can read my Times column on the same subject here.

Please let me know what you think in the comments - The Jaggy Thistle is a conversation and a community.

For more like this, as well as long-form journalism and documentary photography, why not become a free or paid subscriber, if you aren’t already?

For details press this button:

Be better informed about Scottish politics and Scottish culture!

Thank you for your interest in The Jaggy Thistle. It is much appreciated.

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“A chield’s amang you takin notes, And faith he’ll prent it.” Robert Burns

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We have a tricky issue to discuss today, and I hope I have dealt with it sensitively.

The issue is immigration, and the effect it has on the movement for Scottish independence.

If you want to explore this subject more deeply, I wrote about it this week in my column in The Times:

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/independence-or-more-immigration-why-scotland-cant-have-both-53mjkl9xv

And I also wrote about it, at length, in a Jaggy Thistle essay a couple of years ago:https://thejaggythistle.substack.com/p/are-new-immigrants-to-scotland-anti?r=23nr20

If you've enjoyed this chat, why not subscribe to The Jaggy Thistle for more on Scottish politics and Scottish culture?To become a free or paid subscriber, use this link:https://thejaggythistle.substack.com/p/are-new-immigrants-to-scotland-anti?r=23nr20-o0o-