My Articles
Three things Scotland must consider in its response to the Ukraine invasion
Shady individuals have bought political influence with dirty cash – and must be shorn of it without any further delay, no matter what it takes.
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Scotland will have a choice
Scotland’s future must be Scotland’s choice. The SNP Scottish Government has published a draft Referendum Bill to make it a reality.
by “An assault on devolution” – Michael Russell’s statement on the Tory power grab
The UK Government’s Internal Market Bill represents the biggest threat to devolution that Scotland has seen since this Parliament was re-convened in 1999 after 292 years of adjournment.
by #SNP19 looks forward with optimism and passion
The SNP will use this conference to look forward with optimism and passion – continuing to build our case for a brighter, more prosperous Scotland with independence.
by Tory efforts to rig the independence question simply won’t wash
In evidence to a Holyrood committee last week, the Electoral Commission agreed that the 2014 question had been “easy to understand, clear, simple and concise and was neutral”.
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Europe is more ready than ever to welcome Scotland
In Scotland and in the EU, attitudes on independence are changing. We must now rise to the opportunity of being an equal partner in building a more progressive Europe.
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Independence means embracing equality between places large and small
Twenty years ago the UK had its own smaller revolution, when the Good Friday Agreement and the establishment of devolution in Scotland and Wales forced change on one of the most constitutionally centralized nations on earth.
by With Boris Johnson taking charge, it’s time for Scotland to walk away
Sunday was the third anniversary of the Brexit Referendum. Who on that day could have imagined that things would have got so terribly bad so terribly quickly?
by Call to investigate claims of EU voters being denied their right to vote
Michael Russell MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Government Business and Constitutional Relations, has called for an investigation into reports that EU citizens were unable to vote in the EU Parliament elections.
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Is Labour preparing to sell out Scotland on Brexit?
The possibility that Labour is preparing to sell out Scotland – and the vast majority of its own supporters across Britain – is hovering on the horizon.
by Michael Russell’s conference opening speech
Read Michael Russell’s opening #SNP19 speech in full, outlining our vision for Scottish independence and our desire to build a progressive, outward-looking society.
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European elections – a chance to show Brussels Scotland wants to remain
Cancelling elections because you are afraid you – or your friends – will lose them is abhorrent in any democracy. Nonetheless, both the UK Chancellor and the UK Foreign Secretary appear to be more than flirting with the idea of doing away with the impending European elections.
by With patience, planning and persistence, Scotland is moving towards independence
I have been through times when the party was lucky to secure double figures in opinion polls and times when we swept all before us. But I won’t be content until we reach independence – the state which will make Scotland a normal nation once again.
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Holyrood is a far cry from the decayed Dickensian theme park that is Westminster
ON this relaxing Sunday morning, spare a thought for the 35 brave souls who make up the SNP group at Westminster and who will shortly be preparing to return there for another week.
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Scotland can do better than Johnson, Raab or Jacob Rees-Mogg
This week’s goings-on at Westminster exposed these Tory Brexiteers as a triumvirate of political charlatans – and showed that Scotland’s future is undoubtedly better with independence.
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Independence is about making the dreams we have all had of a better, fairer, more equitable country real at last
Independence is about what we can achieve when no longer governed by those mired in backward looking, false exceptionalism. It is about wise stewardship of the great resources that lie all around us, natural and human.
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The decline of the British state has been years in the making
Where I meet diplomats and journalists from other countries they nearly always end up remarking that their admiration for British governance – for debate and dialogue – has been completely destroyed by what they have witnessed in the last two and a half years.
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Jeremy Hunt is the perfect symbol of Westminster arrogance
A few weeks ago, I met a former senior Labour minister on the train from London to Glasgow. Despite our differences, we agreed that the current UK Government is the weakest in our lifetimes.
by Michael Russell: Scotland can escape Brexit to a better future
It is a long way from “Lead don’t Leave”, a slogan pretending to be a promise much trumpeted in the first independence referendum, to “Once you’ve hit the iceberg, you’re all on it together”.
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Michael Russell: Tory hysteria over Scottish Budget is naked gesture politics
This latest Tory fixation has even, no doubt temporarily, overtaken the one they have about Scotland’s journey towards independence.
by There’s little evidence the UK Government is functioning like a normal government
The reckless, incompetent and self-absorbed Tories that are leading the UK into a complete cluster-bourach are not acting in the national interest.
The UK Government’s approach is all about preserving the Tory Party, and Scotland deserves better.
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Michael Russell: Brexit is an impending disaster for the Highlands and Islands
Michael Russell MSP on the importance of immigration to the Highlands & Islands, and the threat Brexit poses.
by We need to take the next and final vital step away from Brexit dependence
The Prime Minister could – and must – rule out a “no deal” by immediately requesting an extension to Article 50. She must bring an end to the chaos and uncertainty.
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Brexit is a tragedy which is rapidly turning to farce
The fact that Theresa May’s proposed deal already appears dead in the water as a result of the events of recent days should encourage those of us who have long argued for a different, better way out of the impasse.
by It doesn’t have to be this way, we must choose a different way forward
Brexit for Scotland can only get worse. So we must acknowledge that this deal is unacceptable to Scotland and her citizens.
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Constitutional Relations Secretary Michael Russell’s full speech to SNP Conference
Read the speech given by Constitutional Relations Secretary Michael Russell at SNP Conference in Glasgow.
by Michael Russell’s statement on protecting Scotland from the impact of Brexit
Michael Russell has made a statement to the Scottish Parliament on the Scottish Government’s plans to ensure Scotland is prepared for Brexit.
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Tory Ministers don’t understand devolution, far less respect it
Yesterday’s report from a House of Commons committee is a devastating indictment of the Tory government’s often contemptuous attitude towards devolution.
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