Nicola sturgeon

Sunday

Fraser Nelson

The SNP’s dismal conference

From our UK edition

The Scottish National Party conference in Perth ought to have been a festival of ideas, showcasing solutions that only be applied by independence. Instead it has reminded everyone that the SNP is bereft of ideas*  - and why the union is not in as much danger as Alex Salmond makes out. Salmond's speech laid into the "Lord Snooties" down south, and the "London government" which would "put this first class nation in the second class carriages." His message - and that of his colleagues - seemed to be that an independent Scotland would have so much money that it'd be first class for everyone. Nicola Sturgeon’s speech suggested that the problem of Scottish poverty is not enough welfare payments.

Tuesday

Alex Massie

Nicola Sturgeon: We Must Kill Britain to Save Britain

From our UK edition

It is often said that the case for the United Kingdom needs to be made in a positive fashion. This is reasonable. Less remarked upon is the SNP's cheerful use of negative arguments for independence. Today, for example, there is the sillyness of Joan McAlpine's suggestion Scotland is somehow analagous to some ill-treated wife and, rather more importantly, Nicola Sturgeon's assertion that the Union is a threat to the welfare state. So here's another Scotch Irony: the advocates of change are the fiercest defenders of the status quo. Speaking last night, the Deputy First Minister promised there would be none of that reforming-the-NHS nonsense in Scotland and, no, there'll be no tinkering with welfare either. Not at all.

Saturday

David Blackburn

Lansley wants ‘no win, no fee’ medicine

From our UK edition

Last week, Andrew Lansley spent the weekend reassuring sceptics about his NHS commissioning reforms. He’s at it again this weekend in an interview with the Times (£). Hoping to calm Claire Rayner’s restless ghost, Lansley emphasises that his reforms will improve patient care and give the patient-come-taxpayer value for money. Medicine and treatment are Lansley’s primary target.