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How did working-class girl from Ayrshire become one of Scotland and the UK's most prominent politicians?Identified as a rising star by the SNP leadership shortly after she joined the party as a teenager, when the Nationalists formed their first Scottish Government in 2007 Nicola Sturgeon swiftly became one of its most successful ministers. By the time Alex Salmond resigned as First Minister after the No vote in the Scottish independence referendum, she was viewed as his natural successor, leading her party to its remarkable success at the 2015 general election. In this book, David Torrance traces the life and career of a remarkable woman.
On 18 September 2014, Scots will decide their future: should the country quit the United Kingdom and take control of its own destiny, or should it remain part of what advocates call the most successful political and economic union of modern times? Everyone in the country has a stake in this decision. Now, in this fascinating and insightful new book, David Torrance charts the countdown to the big day, weaving his way through a minefield of claim and counterclaim, and knocking down fictions and fallacies from both Nationalists and Unionists. He plunges into the key questions that have shaped an often-fraught argument, from the future of the pound to the shape of an independent Scottish army. With access to the strategists and opinion-makers on both sides of the political divide, this book goes straight to the heart of the great debate, providing an incisive, authoritative, occasionally trenchant guide to the most dramatic constitutional question of our times - the battle for Britain.
David Torrance reassesses the relationship between 'nationalism' and 'unionism' in Scottish politics, challenging a binary reading of the two ideologies with the concept of 'nationalist unionism'. Scottish nationalism did not begin with the SNP in 1934, nor was it confined to political parties that desired independent statehood. Rather, it was more dispersed, with the Liberal, Conservative and Labour parties all attempting to harness Scottish national identity and nationalism between 1884 and 2014, often with the paradoxical goal of strengthening rather than ending the Union. The book combines nationalist theory with empirical historical and archival research to argue that these conceptions of Scottish nationhood had much more in common with each other than is commonly accepted.
Explores the history and ideas of the Scottish Conservative Party since its creation in 1912. You might not believe it now, but the Scottish Conservative Party played a significant role in the politics of Scotland during the last century. The party governed Scotland and the UK for much of the 20th century. But their support has nosedived from a majority of votes and seats at the 1955 general election to just a single constituency and 17 per cent of the vote in May 2010. This collection brings together academics, writers, commentators and analysts of Scottish politics to address the nature of the Scottish Conservative Party: its standing in Scotland, its influence on the Union, its role in the Scottish Parliament and why it fell so out of favour with the Scottish electorate.
A WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 A century ago a Labour government took power for the first time, meet the Wild Men who led the way... 'Superb' -- New Statesman 'Fascinating' -- The Sunday Times. In 1923, five short years since the end of the First World War, and after the passing of the Act which gave all men the vote, an inconclusive election result and the prospect of a constitutional crisis opened the door for a radically different sort of government: men from working-class backgrounds who had never before occupied the corridors of power at Westminster. Who were these 'wild men'? Ramsay MacDonald, their leader and Labour's first Prime Minster, was the illegitimate son of a Scottish fa...
What do two former Governors of Australia, Lord Macaulay's nephew and the owner of Scotland's finest salmon river have in common? They have all served their small nation as Scottish Secretary; some reluctantly and others with patriotic fervour. "The Scottish Secretaries" charts the trials and tribulations of the 38 men and one woman who have held the post since the position was resurrected by Salisbury in 1885. From humble beginnings as an ill-regarded offshoot of the Home Office, the department grew to become a mini-Whitehall by the 1920s. It was also an important wartime department in WWII and a testing ground for planning and social reforms during the white heat of the 1960s. But with the Scottish Parliament now established as the political centre of Scottish life, the re-christened Scotland Office is once again redundant. Drawing on first-hand accounts and contemporary correspondence, David Torrance paints a vivid biographical portrait of those figures - many now completely forgotten - who controlled Scotland's political agenda from both the Regency charm of Dover House and the Art Deco surroundings of St. Andrew's House.
Much has been written about the decline of the United Kingdom. The Two Unions looks instead at the lengthy survival of the Union, examining the institutions, structures, and individuals that have contributed to its longevity. In order to understand its survival, the author, one of the foremost historians of modern Ireland and of the British-Irish relationship, sustains a comparison between the Irish and Scots Unions, their respective origins and subsequent development. He provides a detailed examination of the two interlinked Unionist movements in Scotland and Ireland. Alvin Jackson illuminates not only the history and varied health of the United Kingdom over the past 300 years, but also its present condition and prospects.
Liturgical theology tends towards the anthropocentric, focussing primarily on the behaviour of the worshippers. The theology of Thomas F. and James B. Torrance, however, provides an alternative approach: a Trinitarian and Christocentric study of liturgy, which decentralises the worshippers' position in liturgy and focusses instead on Christ, the One who is worshipped. In Trinitarian Doxology, Kevin J. Navarro examines the Torrances' theology, explicating and illuminating their work, whilst simultaneously providing critical analysis which provides a lens for deeper understanding.
With courtesy and restraint Professor Woodbridge administers a series of knock-out blows to the confidently voiced claim that factual inerrancy is no authentic element in the historic Christian view of Scripture.
In the event of a 'yes' vote in the Scottish independence referendum, MPs for Scottish constituencies, including ministers, should retain their seats in the House of Commons until the day of independence itself. However, they should not negotiate for the rest of the UK on the terms of independence, scrutinise the UK's negotiating team nor ratify a resulting agreement, as their first duty would be to their Scottish constituents rather than the interests of the rest of the UK. The Constitution Committee also says that the wider status of MPs for Scottish constituencies, in terms of their ability to take part in other Commons proceedings not relevant to Scotland, would have to be decided before...