The Olympics are over and, with grim inevitability, politics have returned. Not the least lovely aspect of the Olympic fortnight was the manner in which it eclipsed everything and anything our politicians had to say. They were not missed but now they’re back.
And so is Joan McAlpine MSP. As I’ve said before, McAlpine’s column in the Daily Record rewards careful attention, not least because it is a nationalist beach-head in hostile territory. Moreover, it is a weekly demonstration of how at least one influential nationalist thinks the SNP can appeal to working-class voters, principally but not exclusively in west-central Scotland. It is rarely, I confess, a pretty sight but that may be because it’s not written to persuade the likes of me. This week’s offering is no exception.
I hold no brief for the Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster, far less any particular regard for that bumptious bampot Ian Davidson, MP.

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