Trump Lands in Scotland - and I weighed In on GB News

As the 47th President touched down in the Highlands, I shared my thoughts on GB News. The bottom line? Scotland needs this visit to go well. Trump holds real leverage over key Scottish industries—£1 billion in whisky exports, £627 million in screen industry value, and nearly 11,000 jobs all hang in the balance. But First Minister John Swinney is playing to the peanut gallery, risking our national interest.

I’ve laid out my full perspective in the article linked below, where I explore the wider context behind my views in greater depth.

Dean M Thomson is currently a lecturer with Beijing Normal - Baptist University (BNBU), formerly known as Beijing Normal - Hong Kong Baptist University, United International College (UIC).

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Susan, Andrew and myself sit down once more to drink in Scottish politics. Chatting UK General Election, the Tory plight, Faragian populism, likely challenges ahead for Labour government & GE implications for the SNP.

As always, I seek to have nuanced and fun conversations with fascinating people. All guests participate assuming honest intent on each other’s part. And seeks to have sincere discussion concerning challenging topics. As G.K Chesterton once wrote, “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly”, and this is the benchmark we strive for.

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In this episode Susan, Andrew and I discuss boundary changes, the rush to the exit door by a growing number of SNP MPs as well as the decriminalisation proposals to tackle Scotland's drug deaths crisis.

As always, I seek to have nuanced and fun conversations with fascinating people. With this in mind we are chatting about the political challenges facing the SNP amid a growing Scottish Labour resurgence mixing in with a need to solve the nation's shocking drug deaths epidemic. All guests participate assuming honest intent on each other’s part. And seeks to have sincere discussion concerning challenging topics. As G.K Chesterton once wrote, “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly”, and this is the benchmark we strive for.

(You can find the entire archive of Dean’s Discussions both audio and video here)

Susan Dalgety

A Scotsman journalist, author of ‘The Spirit of Malawi’, she was Chief Press Officer to Jack McConnell when First Minister. Susan was also an Edinburgh City Councillor and deputy leader. She is active in the ‘Women Won’t Wheesht’ campaign seeking to protect the sex based rights of women.

She can be found on twitter @DalgetySusan

Andrew Liddle

A columnist at The Courier, Andrew is also the author of 'Cheers, Mr. Churchill! Winston in Scotland' (2022) and 'Ruth Davidson and the Resurgence of the Scottish Tories' (2018).

He can be found on twitter @ABTLiddle

Dean MacKinnon Thomson

A contributor to Think Scotland, Dean graduated with a MSc in Development Studies from the University of Glasgow, going on to lecture 'Anglo-American Society and Culture' at Shangdong Agricultural University, Peoples Republic of China.

Being fully TESOL qualified Dean has taught English for Academic Purposes and modules in critical thinking in Wuhan and Xian Ning, Hubei.

He was a contributing author to ‘The SNP Record: good or bad? A review of the impacts and outcomes of SNP Government policies’.

He can be found on twitter @DeanMThomson

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In this episode my guests and I discuss the political challenges facing the Scottish National Party (SNP) and their new leader Humza Yousaf.As always, I seek to have nuanced and fun conversations with fascinating people. With this in mind we are chatting about the various issues facing the new First Minister. From the struggle to get elected as leader (in a truncated leadership race) to self-inflicted political wounds…questions are raised concerning Mr Yousaf’s judgement. Long dominant, the SNP faces its greatest crisis since 1979 with a new leader, internal divisions, sliding polls and the shadow of Police investigations.All guests participate assuming honest intent on each other’s part. And seeks to have sincere discussion concerning challenging topics. As G.K Chesterton once wrote, “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly”, and this is the benchmark we strive for.

The guests in this episode are:

Susan Dalegty

A Scotsman journalist, author of ‘The Spirit of Malawi’, she was Chief Press Officer to Jack McConnell when First Minister. Susan was also an Edinburgh City Councillor and deputy leader. She is active in the ‘Women Won’t Wheesht’ campaign seeking to protect the sex based rights of women.

She can be found on twitter @DalgetySusan

Andrew Liddle

A columnist at The Courier, Andrew is also the author of 'Cheers, Mr. Churchill! Winston in Scotland' (2022) and 'Ruth Davidson and the Resurgence of the Scottish Tories' (2018).

He can be found on twitter @ABTLiddle

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I outline the shady shenanigans and mischief making compromising the SNP race for leadership. Evidence has come to light raising serious allegations of wrongdoing to fix things for Humza Yousaf. The timing of the contest, the limited space at hustings for SNP members and an initial attempt to blackout media and public are all troubling enough. But we also now know that internal rules have been broken as Emma Harper MSP touted for Yousaf with mass-emailing; only possible thanks to SNP HQ.

All of Scotland will need to live with whomever wins the in-house SNP contest, all citizen enjoy the fundamental right to insist upon a democratic, transparent and fair election process.

It’s a pity this does not appear to be the case.

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A special episode where I outline some of my thoughts on Sturgeon’s sudden resignation, the twin Police Scotland fraud squad probes and the farcical SNP leadership election.

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The third episode discusses the Scottish economy, examining top issues and potential solutions

As always, I seek to have nuanced, adult conversations with fascinating people. In that vein, this episode attempts to dig into the various issues facing our economy, without the partisan political heat. The topics include issues of inflation, cost of living crisis, productivity, educational inequalities and skills shortages. It also touches on local government funding, regulation reform and constitutional solutions to devolutionary structures relating to finance, spending and borrowing.

All guests participate assuming honest intent on each other’s part. And seeks to have sincere discussion concerning challenging topics. As G.K Chesterton once wrote, “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly”, and this is the benchmark we strive for.

The guests in this episode are:

John Ferry

John Ferry is a Spectator writer, with a professional background in public relations. A Scottish Liberal Democrat finance spokesperson, he stood in the past as a candidate for the Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale constituency in the 2017 & 2019 General Elections. He succeeded in expanding his party vote share from 4% to 7.2%.

He can be found on twitter @JohnFerry18

Margaret Curran

A Scottish Labour politician, Margaret Curran served in the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Glasgow East from 2010 to 2015 and was Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland from 2011 until 2015. She was previously the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Baillieston from 1999 to 2011, and held a number of posts within the Scottish Executive, including Minister for Parliamentary Business, Minister for Social Justice and Minister for Communities.

She can be found on twitter @Margaret_Curran

Previous episodes can be found here:

Episode 1: Post-truth politics. Featuring Ian Davidson, Susan Dalgety, Brian Monteith. Click here for either the Video or Audio editions

Episode 2: Scottish Local Elections 2022. Featuring Cllr Euan Blockley, Cllr Christopher McEleny. Click here for either the Video or Audio editions.

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The second episode discusses the Scottish local elections, examining top issues and potential outcomes.

As always, I seek to have nuanced, adult conversations with fascinating people. In that vein, this episode attempts to dig into the various issues facing local government, without the partisan political heat. The topics include issues of sustainable funding for councils as they grapple with a legacy of cuts imposed from central government in Holyrood. It also explores local issues ranging from bin collections, recycling, fly-tipping and dealing with poverty and addiction.

All guests participate assuming honest intent on each other’s part. And seeks to have sincere discussion concerning difficult topics. As G.K Chesterton once wrote, “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly”, and this is the benchmark we strive for.

Please note, the first four minutes have a few audio gremlins, but the issue clears up afterward. Apologies for the sound issue.

The guests in this episode are:

Cllr Euan Blockley

First elected in 2017, Cllr Blockley is a self-identified unionist, Cllr Blockley is the Glasgow Tory Deputy Leader. A Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party councillor for Linn Ward, he is also Education Spokesman.

He can be found on twitter @EuanBlockley

Cllr Christopher McEleny

First elected in May 2012 as an SNP councillor for Inverclyde, he is now standing for re-election as an Alba Party candidate. He is also the General Secretary of the Alba Party nationally.

He can be found on twitter @ChrisMcEleny

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This episode of ‘Dean’s Discussions’ explores Scotland’s baffling ‘don’t look up’ political culture. Aiming to understand how we ended up with a post-truth politics where sentiments such as ‘my values can trump your facts’ is accepted without pushback.

Seeking to have nuanced, adult conversations with fascinating people, this episode covers diverse and varied ground. The topics discussed this time include the dual impacts of the Scottish independence debate, brexit referendum and also addresses a looming Gender Recognition Act reform.

All guests participate assuming honest intent on each other’s part. And seeks to have sincere discussion concerning difficult topics. As G.K Chesterton once wrote, “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly”, and this is the benchmark we aspire to reach, exploring issues of post-truth politics and clashing rights in a liberal democracy.

The guests in this episode are:

Ian Davidson

Former Scottish Labour and Cooperative Party MP for Glasgow South West (formerly Glasgow Pollock) 1992-2015. Ian was chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee in the House of Commons from 2010-2015, a longstanding eurosceptic he supported brexit. He is also a supporter of Republic, which campaigns to replace the British monarchy with an elected head of state.

Susan Dalgety

A Scotsman journalist, author of ‘The Spirit of Malawi’, she was Chief Press Officer to Jack McConnell when First Minister. Susan was also an Edinburgh City Councillor and deputy leader. She is active in the ‘Women Won’t Wheesht’ campaign seeking to protect the sex based rights of women.

She can be found on twitter @DalgetySusan

Brian Monteith

A Scotsman journalist, he has also contributed to CityAM and the Evening News. A former MSP and MEP, for the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party and Brexit Party respectively. Brian is also Editor of Think Scotland.

He can be found on twitter @TheBluetrot

Recording these podcasts takes time (as do writing my articles), so please consider hitting the subscribe button below. Any support is deeply appreciated.

For as little as £5 a month you can - among other perks - gain full access to the video versions of each podcast episode

Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

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