Latest articles from James Kelly

ANALYSIS New indy poll poses a key question – has Yes been in the lead all along?

WHAT'S striking about the poll lead for the pro-independence side reported by Find Out Now is not its size but its consistency.  I may well be tempting fate by pointing this out, but every single independence poll that has been conducted by Find Out Now to date has shown a Yes lead, and the new 52-48 lead brings the tally to seven polls in a row, stretching back to March 2021.  It's become traditional for Unionists to rubbish Find Out Now's results by pointing out who funded the research, but in fact the seven polls have been commissioned by no fewer than six completely different clients, of which one was vehemently anti-independence.

ANALYSIS Why Brexit continues to dominate the Scottish independence debate

AS the day on which Scotland was dragged out of the EU disappears in the rear-view mirror, it gets harder to retain our focus on two important facts. The first – that Brexit remains the principle reason for an independence referendum being on the agenda, prior to the fabled “generation” passing by. The second is that that any referendum that does take place is likely to be dominated by arguments over whether Brexit has harmed the Scottish economy and whether independence is the remedy.