How sectarianism made its mark in this key Scottish by-election
Strip away the pretence and it is more accurately phrased: 'Are you a Catholic or a Protestant?'
While great strides have been made in leaving the old sectarian divides in the past, it would be naive to believe they were ever entirely consigned to history, especially in Glasgow and the satellite towns of Lanarkshire.
It is here we set our scene for the upcoming Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, triggered by the sad passing of Christina McKelvie (below).
(Image: PA)
Sectarianism, never quite vanquished as the idealistic politicians of yesterday would have liked to believe, lingers in Scottish politics.
Evidence of this as campaigning began for this crucial by-election has not exactly been glaring; but look closer and you will find it.
The SNP have been briefing stories about Labour candidate Davy Russell's ties with the old boys' club of Glasgow, when the city was still red.
One of the few photographs of him on record was from an outing he took with former council leader Frank McAveety and other council high heid yins to watch Rangers play at Ibrox.
READ MORE: Scottish Government delivers statement after Supreme Court's sex ruling
That this picture was briefed out to the press alongside details of his links with the Glasgow Labour mob, as well as his business links with Gers supremo Barry Ferguson, was not coincidental.
Some in the SNP believe that Russell has been put forward in the race to galvanise the Unionist – and likely Rangers-supporting – vote in this part of South Lanarkshire.
Here's Labour's candidate for the Hamilton by-election, David Russell, watching Rangers play at Ibrox alongside Frank McAveety and George Redmond pic.twitter.com/Fx1uuFfQDo — Hamish Morrison (@HMorrison97) April 16, 2025
Elsewhere, the SNP made a point this week of announcing they had suspended campaigning as a mark of respect after the death of Pope Francis. Scottish Labour made no such announcement and did not respond to an inquiry from The National as to whether campaigning continued.
It is hard to see this as anything other than the logical continuation of a deliberate strategy carried out more than 20 years ago to win over Scottish Catholics, who were historically repelled by the 'Protestant party', as historian Tom Devine once called the SNP.
If this seems like an outrageously outdated way of looking at the world, consider the political calculations one must make in a town like Larkhall, where the council spent £17,000 on replacing vandalised green traffic lights and the Subway sandwich shop's sign is black instead of emerald.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
39 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Acorn carbon capture project funding to finally be announced in Rachel Reeves spending review
Details of funding for the Acorn project are set to be announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as part of Wednesday's Spending Review. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Funding for the Acorn project in Aberdeenshire is finally expected to be announced in the UK government's spending review. The carbon capture project, based in St Fergus, would take greenhouse gas emissions and store them under the North Sea, in a process known as carbon capture and storage (CCS). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The planned Acorn carbon capture site. Last month UK energy minister Michael Shanks stressed his department was lobbying the Chancellor to sign off funding for the crucial project, which is now set to be announced in Wednesday's spending review. In the House of Commons on Tuesday, ministers were asked several times about funding for the project. UK energy minister Sarah Jones told MPs they did not have long to wait long for more information. She said: "We have always been clear that we support the Acorn project. We know what an important proposal it is. The decision is a matter for a spending review but we are very close to having those decisions". Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Acorn project, which would be based near Peterhead, has been in the pipeline for years and would allow fossil fuels to continue to be burnt without, in theory, releasing harmful carbon emissions. The project is seen as key to scaling up the low-carbon hydrogen sector in Scotland and future plans for Grangemouth, but the technology has not yet been demonstrated at commercial scale. With the project based in his the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency, local SNP Seamus Logan welcomed the announcement. He said: 'As the local MP for the Acorn project, I cautiously welcome this long-overdue commitment that funding and full details will finally be announced for Scottish carbon capture at the spending review tomorrow, after years of campaigning by the SNP and the Scottish energy sector. England has been allocated £22billion for carbon capture, so I would expect investment in Scotland to be at a commensurate level. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'After decades of broken promises, funding snubs and delays from Westminster - including over the past year - it is essential that adequate funding, full details and a concrete commitment to the project is now delivered by the UK government at pace - and the devil will be in the detail of the announcement, which we will study carefully. 'Scotland has repeatedly been treated as an afterthought by the Labour government, with money being ploughed into projects in the south of England instead, and thousands of Scottish energy jobs lost in the north east of Scotland as a result of Keir Starmer's damaging policies. That must now change - and funding for Scottish carbon capture must mark the beginning of a substantial programme of investment in Scotland's energy sector to create jobs, lower energy bills and boost economic growth.' Business leaders and organisations including the Scottish Chambers of Commerce had signed a letter in March urging the chancellor to back the project. It argued that the project had faced two decades of setbacks, and that it is needed to help Scottish industry decarbonise. The project missed out on support in 2021, and Acorn was placed on a reserve list for future backing.
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
SNP opposition to new nuclear power stations ‘makes no sense', says Miliband
The Energy Secretary said Holyrood's position 'makes no sense', as Labour MP Gregor Poynton claimed the policy had cost workers and taxpayers north of the border 'billions of pounds of investment and thousands of high-skilled jobs'. SNP MP Kirsty Blackman described the UK Government's new £14.2 billion investment into Sizewell C in Suffolk as a 'splurge', when she pressed Mr Miliband on whether the Government will back the Acorn carbon capture and storage project. Mr Miliband said the Sizewell development along East Anglia's North Sea coastline will 'power the equivalent of around six million homes with clean homegrown energy for 60 years, and it will be a jobs and growth engine for Britain, supporting 10,000 jobs in the peak construction and creating 1,500 apprenticeships'. It is one of several nuclear projects which the Government has backed, which also include a prototype fusion plant at West Burton, Nottinghamshire, and a partnership between Rolls-Royce and Great British Energy – Nuclear to rollout small modular reactors. Mr Poynton, the MP for Livingston, told the Commons: 'Scotland was once a pioneer in nuclear energy and should be again, but due to the SNP Scottish Government's outdated, backward, quite frankly bizarre opposition to nuclear energy, turning away billions of pounds of investment and thousands of high-skilled jobs. 'So, does the Secretary of State agree with me this is yet another way the SNP Scottish Government has lost their way?' (PA Graphics) Mr Miliband replied that Mr Poynton was 'so right', and added: 'People in Scotland will be looking at these announcements and saying, 'well why isn't it us that are benefitting from this? Why are we not even in the race?'' The Scottish Government, led by SNP First Minister John Swinney, has a policy of opposing the building of new nuclear power stations. Lillian Jones, the Labour MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, criticised the position as an 'ideological block on nuclear power, blocking billions in investment, blocking thousands of well-paid, secure Scottish jobs, and blocking growth'. In his response, Mr Miliband said: 'We can announce a golden age of nuclear with our investments but not in Scotland, because of the position of the SNP Government. 'It makes no sense.' Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband urged the SNP to 'think again' about its position on nuclear power (Hannah McKay/PA) Aberdeen North MP Ms Blackman had earlier said: 'This £14 billion splurge on English nuclear power plants comes on top of £22 billion for English carbon capture and storage, while there's nothing for Scotland's Acorn project. 'With Grangemouth (oil refinery) allowed to close, with a fiscal regime that is ruining north-east energy jobs, this latest announcement shows that Scotland isn't just an afterthought, it isn't a thought at all. 'If nearly £40 billion can be found for English energy projects, why is it that money is never found for Scotland's carbon capture project?' Mr Miliband replied: 'Well look, I think maybe there is an SNP change in position coming. If she wants to have a conversation about Scottish nuclear power stations, then absolutely. 'We're in favour of the Acorn project and we'll be saying more about this in the coming weeks. 'But let me just say to her – on nuclear power, they've really got to think again. We are backing nuclear with the biggest building programme in a generation. 🔧£14.2bn for Sizewell C👷10,000 jobs & 1,500 apprenticeships⚛️ Small Modular Reactor programme Clean, homegrown power will boost the UK's energy security, protect billpayers & drive economic growth. — Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (@energygovuk) June 10, 2025 'They are absolutely sticking their heads in the sand when it comes to this. This is about jobs, it's about investment, it's about clean energy, they should really rethink.' In an earlier statement, Mr Miliband said: 'The Government is taking decisive steps today to usher in a new golden age of nuclear for Britain.' He added: 'For too long, our country has not made the crucial energy – or indeed other infrastructure investments – we need. A short-sighted failure to invest for which the British people have paid the price in lower living standards, insecurity and declining public services. 'This week's announcements symbolise a decisive change in approach, to invest in the future – the right choice for energy security, the right choice for jobs, the right choice for climate and our children and grandchildren, the right choice for Britain, investment, not decline. 'This Government has made its choice.'
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Labour to end 200 years of injustice by ripping up 'shameful' rough sleeping law
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the Government is 'drawing a line under nearly two centuries of injustice' by abolishing the Vagrancy Act, which has been on the statute books since 1824 Labour will finally tear up "shameful" 200 year old laws criminalising rough sleepers. The Government has announced it will abolish the Vagrancy Act, which makes rough sleeping illegal in England and Wales. The 1824 legislation has long been criticised by homelessness charities, and the move has been branded a " landmark moment that will change lives". The Government said the move will be included as an amendment to the flagship Crime and Policing Bill - with new laws instead targeting organised begging by gangs and trespassing. The Act will be scrapped by next spring, ministers say. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: 'We are drawing a line under nearly two centuries of injustice towards some of the most vulnerable in society, who deserve dignity and support. 'No one should ever be criminalised simply for sleeping rough and by scrapping this cruel and outdated law, we are making sure that can never happen again.' The move has been welcomed by charities which support rough sleepers. Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said: 'This is a landmark moment that will change lives and prevent thousands of people from being pushed into the shadows, away from safety. 'For 200 years the Vagrancy Act has meant that people who are homeless are treated as criminals and second class citizens. It has punished people for trying to stay safe and done nothing to address why people become homeless in the first place. 'Ending the use of the Vagrancy Act recognises a shameful history of persecuting people for poverty and destitution, something that figures like William Wilberforce and Winston Churchill warned against in their opposition to the Act. 'It is of great credit to the UK Government that they have shown such principled leadership in scrapping this pernicious Act." And St Mungo's CEO Emma Haddad said:"The repeal of the Vagrancy Act, which criminalises rough sleeping, cannot come soon enough. "Right now, we are supporting thousands of people who are rough sleeping; everyone facing this issue has their own heartbreaking story to tell of how they ended up on the streets - from complex mental and physical health issues to an increasingly unaffordable housing market." The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) says it will be concentrating tackling the root causes of homelessness. It has boosted funding for homelessness services by an extra £233million this financial year, while Ms Rayner is heading up a new homelessness strategy. Minister for Homelessness Rushanara Ali said: 'Today marks a historic shift in how we're responding to the rough sleeping crisis, by repealing an archaic Act that is neither just nor fit for purpose. Scrapping the Vagrancy Act for good is another step forward in our mission to tackle homelessness in all its forms, by focusing our efforts on its root causes.'
