Joanna Cherry

THE ninth anniversary of the 2014 independence referendum left me feeling a little sad. I suspect many Yessers felt the same way. However, while it is tempting to look back and dwell on that time of optimism and unity in the Yes movement with nostalgia, what we need to do is look to the future. I intend to do that in my column next week once I have sight of the amendments to the motion on independence strategy put forward by Humza Yousaf and Stephen Flynn for

A MAJOR independent report published this week sets out the threats and challenges to the rule of law in Tory Britain in grim detail.

THERE was plenty to welcome in this week’s Programme for Government. I applaud the recognition of the need for state support to boost green industries and create new jobs as has been done in the USA. It is also good to see land reform back on the agenda.

A LOT of column inches have been expended in this newspaper extolling the virtue of tomorrow’s Yes march and rally in Edinburgh.

LET’S deal with the good news first.

RECENTLY I sat down to write a short speech about why I support Scottish independence. It struck me that it was some time since I had last done this. It was the sort of thing I did day in, day out this time nine years ago at the height of the indyref campaign. However, in recent years, the focus has been rather more on the how than the why of independence.

TONIGHT, I will be speaking at the first debate in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe show The Ayes Have It! The Ayes Have It! The motion is – “This House believes Scotland should be independent”. Preparing my speech has provided a useful lens through which to view the news that has dominated this week’s political headlines.

IT’S a week since the Tories were trounced in 2 out of 3 by-elections in previous strongholds. But extraordinarily they managed to hold on to Boris Johnson’s former seat of Uxbridge by the skin of their teeth. The received wisdom is that they did so because of working class voters’ fury about Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan’s extension of the ULEZ scheme.

AT the start of Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday Rishi Sunak issued an apology on behalf of the British state for the harm caused by the ban on LGBT people serving in the military between 1967 and 2000. For me, this apology touched a very personal chord.

ON Tuesday evening, MPs spent the best part of four hours walking round in circles voting on the amendments made by the House of Lords to the Illegal Migration Bill.