Brian Monteith
Brian Monteith is a former member of the Scottish and European parliaments and a weekly columnist in The Scotsman. @TheBluetrot
Union flags alone are not enough
Even vexed vexillologists know fighting separatism needs more than three colours
Just devolution doing its thing
The hate crime bill that encourages more hate
Biography and the perils of possessive families
Nigel Jones, a chastened practitioner of writing biographies, warns that writing someone’s life can be a dangerous venture
Tony goes to Holyrood
The Bumper Book of Scottish Political Counterfactuals: In which Tony Blair takes his rightful place as First Minister
Are knitted jumpers racist?
Why has the social media fashion trend ‘Dark Academia’ been criticised for being ‘too white’?
The university professor and the fake Russian spy
How did an undercover sting catch out an epidemiologist promoting conspiracy theories about the Syrian regime?
Beware the power of muscle memory
The ability to train our malleable minds is both a blessing and a curse—as the grand social re-engineering experiment of Covid-19 lockdowns is revealing
Take the slow train
Tom Chesshyre on the joy and rattle of Spain’s local lines
Global vessels
The blocking of the Suez canal shows us how easy it is to disrupt global trade
How the pandemic has exacerbated our struggle for dignity
David Goodhart’s recent book is a reminder that we need to look out for those whose lives, jobs and purpose are disappearing
If the Labour Party didn’t already exist, who would invent it today?
If Keir Hardie were still around, he might ask himself why he bothered to create a political party that has now lost its purpose
Cyril Mango: A titan of Byzantine studies
The celebrated Byzantinist Cyril Mango died earlier this month; his insight will be keenly missed by enthusiasts of Byzantine studies