Have Alex Salmond’s hopes for Scottish independence died, thanks to the Olympics? In this week’s cover feature, Iain Martin writes that the national pride and spiritual unification emanating from the 2012 games have finished off the SNP’s hopes of a break from the union. On this week’s View from 22 podcast, Iain recounts when he first realised Salmond had a serious problem:
I was sitting on Friday and Saturday on the shore of Loch Fyne in the Highlands watching Team GB do these extraordinary things. I felt a wonderful feeling of togetherness and it seemed to me that it was the perfect riposte to narrow nationalism and the peevish attitude of Salmond and the nationalists. Salmond knew when the Olympics started this was going to be a problem for him.
James Forsyth also discusses his political column on the changing times within the Tory party, following this week’s worsening of coalition relations. In particular, he examines what the coalition will do to pass the days now Lords reform is off the agenda:
It’s going to be this big economic bill they are talking about, described as a ‘Jobs Bill’. It’s a recognition they need to turbo charge their economic policy. I think one of the fascinating things is that there will be three parts — one of these is deregulation, which you could crudely call the Tory part. There’s the infrastructure part, which is a genuine coalition project and then there’s the industrial strategy part, which is very much a Vince Cable product.
It’s absolutely crucial that Cameron knows the next couple of months are his last chance to get the show back on the road. Anything to get economic growth back on the road for 2015 has to happen now.
Clarissa Tan joins to provide a non-British opinion of the Olympics and looks at our strange attitude towards China. Following the Ye Shiwen scandal, the games have shown how much we still distrust her nation. Why so? Listen with the embedded player below to find out why our guests think we are not one with the East. You can also have the latest podcast delivered straight to your machine by subscribing through iTunes. As ever, we’d love to hear what you think, good or bad.
The View from 22 — 9 August 2012. Length 25:51
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