In Episode 45 of Apolitical we discuss the case for Leaving the European Union with Tom Harris, the former Scottish Labour MP who is heading up Vote Leave Scotland.

Amongst the topics we discuss with Tom on the podcast are:

• His personal reasons for supporting a Leave vote;

• The infamous £350m per week figure and what it means;

• Whether people can really expect any savings resulting from a Leave vote to be invested in the NHS;

• Additional powers that would accrue to Holyrood in the event of the UK leaving the EU;

• How to make a moderate case in support of a cause backed by extremists;

• Where changes to immigration could be made to benefit the UK after leaving the EU;

• How the murder of Jo Cox relates to the referendum campaign and the challenges of campaigning sensitively in the wake of such an event;

• Plans for the last few days of the campaign;

and

• Tom’s prediction for the outcome of the Referendum.

Please join us in discussing these issues or any other raised in the podcast below, or find us on Twitter at @apoliticalpod.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher or on your usual podcast app.

View our house rules for commenting here.

The post #45: Leave: EU Referendum Special appeared first on Apolitical Podcast.

In Episode 44 of Apolitical we discuss the case for Remaining in the European Union with Ross Greer MSP, the Scottish Greens’ spokesman on Europe and external affairs.

Amongst the topics we discuss with Ross on the podcast are:

• His personal reasons for supporting a Remain vote;

• Whether the EU’s treatment of Greece has damaged it;

• How comfortable he is with standing for the same objective as senior Westminster Conservatives;

• Whether the EU can be reformed;

• How the EU benefits the environment and how it impacts Scotland’s fishing industry;

• How the murder of Jo Cox relates to the referendum campaign and the challenges of campaigning sensitively in the wake of such an event;

• Plans for the last few days of the campaign;

and

• Ross’ prediction for the outcome of the Referendum.

Please join us in discussing these issues or any other raised in the podcast below, or find us on Twitter at @apoliticalpod.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher or on your usual podcast app.

View our house rules for commenting here.

The post #44: Remain: EU Referendum Special appeared first on Apolitical Podcast.

In Episode 43 of Apolitical we welcome the Guardian’s Scotland Correspondent, Libby Brooks, to the show. Libby is an established part of the Guardian team and has been based in Glasgow since the 2014 Independence referendum.

Amongst the topics we discuss with Libby on the podcast are:

• The women who inspired her to get into journalism;

• Her perceptions of political life in Scotland compared to London;

• Recollections from writing her 2006 book, The Story of Childhood: Growing Up in Modern Britain;

• Gender balance in Scottish political journalism and Scottish politics;

• Political discourse in Scotland and in particular the term ‘ulsterisation’;

• Online abuse received by female writers and by Libby in particular;

• Deportation and covering the story of the Brain family;

and

• What makes her optimistic about life in Scotland today.

Please join us in discussing these issues or any other raised in the podcast below, or find us on Twitter at @apoliticalpod.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher or on your usual podcast app.

View our house rules for commenting here.

Show Links:

Libby’s Guardian piece on ‘Ulsterisation’
Libby on Twitter
Libby in the Guardian
The Story of Childhood: Growing Up in Modern Britain
Harpies & Quines

The post #43: Libby Brooks appeared first on Apolitical Podcast.

In Episode 42 of Apolitical we welcome musician and writer Pat Kane to the show. A long-term supporter of Scottish independence, Pat – best known to many as half of the successful duo Hue & Cry – has been a prominent voice in the constitutional debate before, during and since the referendum campaign.

Amongst the topics we discuss with Pat on the podcast are:

• The politics he was exposed to as a child;

• His relationship with party politics;

• Winning the role of Rector of the University of Glasgow;

• The themes from his Rectorial Installation Address;

• Whether he sees his music as political in nature;

• How his Play Ethic theory relates to modern political expression;

• Serving on the advisory board to Yes Scotland;

• Whether the ‘Yes’ movement has crystallised in the SNP for a significant proportion of its participants;

• The sustainability of crowdfunded new media once the current intense period of referenda and elections passes;

and

• How optimistic he is about Scotland’s prospects for independence.

Please join us in discussing these issues or any other raised in the podcast below, or find us on Twitter at @apoliticalpod.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher or on your usual podcast app.

View our house rules for commenting here.

Show Links:

Pat on Twitter (also here and here)
Hue and Cry on Twitter
The Play Ethic (see also: the Observer article that preceded the book)
Pat’s Rectorial Installation Address
Radical Animal
Thoughtland
Bella Caledonia
Common Weal
University of Glasgow

The post #42: Pat Kane appeared first on Apolitical Podcast.

In Episode 41 of Apolitical we welcome Jordan Daly from the TIE Campaign. After chatting with Jordan’s co-founder Liam Stevenson last year, we get an update on the campaign’s progress in 2016.

Amongst the topics we discuss with Jordan on the podcast, recorded shortly before the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections, are:

• Developments in the campaign’s work since the start of the year;

• The commitments made by various political parties to work with TIE;

• What form that collaboration might take;

• How TIE plan to keep political attention on the campaign’s goals from waning;

• TIE’s plans for teacher training seminars;

and

• His hopes for the future of the campaign.

Please join us in discussing these issues or any other raised in the podcast below, or find us on Twitter at @apoliticalpod.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher or on your usual podcast app.

View our house rules for commenting here.

Show Links:

TIE Campaign
TIE on Twitter
TIE on Facebook
Jordan on Twitter

The post #41: Jordan Daly appeared first on Apolitical Podcast.

In Episode 40 of Apolitical we are joined by Steven Purcell, formerly the Leader of Glasgow City Council, to discuss the outcomes from last week’s Scottish Parliament elections.

Amongst the topics we discuss with Steven on the podcast are:

• Where do Scottish Labour go from here;

• What are the causes of the Scottish Conservatives’ success;

• Should the SNP be satisfied or disappointed with the outcome of the election;

• Did the Scottish Greens have a good night or an underwhelming one;

• Where do the Liberal Democrats stand now;

• What happened to the 100,00+ people in Glasgow who voted SSP in 2003;

and

• What’s next for Scottish politics now the elections are over?

Please join us in discussing these issues or any other raised in the podcast below, or find us on Twitter at @apoliticalpod.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher or on your usual podcast app.

View our house rules for commenting here.

Show Links:

Steven Purcell on Twitter
Scottish Conservatives
Scottish National Party
Scottish Liberal Democrats
Scottish Green Party
Scottish Labour
Glasgow City Council

The post #40: Election Review with Steven Purcell appeared first on Apolitical Podcast.

In Episode 39 of Apolitical we welcome back Carolyn Scott, James McEnaney and Ian Dunn for more discussion of the parties contesting this year’s Scottish elections. In this episode we look at some of our preferred policies and the best-case electoral scenario for each of the parties.

Amongst the topics we discuss on the podcast are:

• Who is going to be the official opposition in the next Parliament;

• Which policies we would like to see implemented;

• What outcomes the parties can dream of before the votes are counted;

• Where some of the key battlegrounds will be;

and

• Our predictions for the election result.

Please join us in discussing these issues or any other raised in the podcast below, or find us on Twitter at @apoliticalpod.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher or on your usual podcast app.

View our house rules for commenting here.

Show Links:

Scottish Labour Manifesto (released after recording)
Scottish Liberal Democrats Manifesto
Scottish Conservatives Manifesto
UKIP Scotland Manifesto
Scottish Communist Party Manifesto
Women’s Equality Party Manifesto
Scottish Greens Manifesto
RISE Manifesto
SNP Manifesto

The post #39: Holyrood Election Preview – Part 2 appeared first on Apolitical Podcast.

In Episode 38 of Apolitical we welcome former guests Carolyn Scott, James McEnaney and Ian Dunn to discuss the parties contesting this year’s Scottish elections. In this episode we consider each party’s policy platform and look for the problems and challenges they are likely to face.

Amongst the topics we discuss on the podcast are:

• The highlights of the fourth Scottish Parliament;

• How the 2016 campaign has been going;

• Policy platforms for all of the parties contesting the election;

• Weaknesses, issues and problems that could hold each party back;

and

• Whether there is any prospect at all of the SNP failing to win a majority in May.

Please join us in discussing these issues or any other raised in the podcast below, or find us on Twitter at @apoliticalpod.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher or on your usual podcast app.

View our house rules for commenting here.

Show Links:

Scottish Labour Manifesto (released after recording)
Scottish Liberal Democrats Manifesto
Scottish Conservatives Manifesto
UKIP Scotland Manifesto
Scottish Communist Party Manifesto
Women’s Equality Party Manifesto
Scottish Greens Manifesto
RISE Manifesto
SNP Manifesto

The post #38: Holyrood Election Preview – Part 1 appeared first on Apolitical Podcast.

In Episode 37 of Apolitical we welcome Darren McGarvey as our sixth guest of Season 2. Darren, also known as ‘Loki’, is a musician, activist and political writer from Glasgow.

Amongst the topics we discuss with Darren on the podcast are:

• How his politics and outlook were affected by the Independence Referendum campaign;

• His early activism;

• The response to his recent STV article on not voting SNP;

• His concerns with the SNP’s pragmatic political approach;

• Why he holds the SNP to a higher standard;

• Thoughts on the concept of ‘independence first’;

• His hopes for an cross-party anti-poverty commission;

and

• His outlook on Scotland’s political future.

Please join us in discussing these issues or any other raised in the podcast below, or find us on Twitter at @apoliticalpod.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher or on your usual podcast app.

View our house rules for commenting here.

Show Links:

Darren’s STV Article
Darren on Twitter
Darren’s music
Darren’s blog

The post #37: Darren ‘Loki’ McGarvey appeared first on Apolitical Podcast.

In Episode 36 of Apolitical we welcome Robin McAlpine as our fifth guest of Season 2. Robin is the Director of Common Weal and has written for a variety of publications, including Bella Caledonia and CommonSpace, on a wide range of topics.

Amongst the topics we discuss with Robin on the podcast are:

• His introduction to politics and political activism;

• His time at Westminster, working for the Labour Party;

• Losing his faith in the New Labour project;

• The independence referendum campaign and how it changed things;

• Common Weal and how it came about;

• Where power lies and how to change that;

• Progressive taxation;

and

• Where the independence movement stands today.

Please join us in discussing these issues or any other raised in the podcast below, or find us on Twitter at @apoliticalpod.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Pocket Casts, TuneIn, Stitcher or on your usual podcast app.

View our house rules for commenting here.

Show Links:

Common Weal
Robin on Bella Caledonia
Robin on CommonSpace

The post #36: Robin McAlpine appeared first on Apolitical Podcast.

In Episode 35 of Apolitical we welcome Naomi McAuliffe as our fourth guest of Season 2. Naomi is the head of Amnesty Scotland and has written for the Guardian and other publications.     Amongst the topics we discuss with Naomi on the podcast are: • Her history in political activism; • How the Scottish Government’s approach […]

The post #35: Naomi McAuliffe appeared first on Apolitical Podcast.