CommonSpace columnist and Common Weal director Robin McAlpine takes a look at some of the immediate challenges facing the independence movement

A FEW weeks ago I was worried that too many in the independence movement could only see the future in terms of success and were in denial about a number of problems. Now people have started to see the future only in terms of a series of problems.

So here are a few of the problems and what I think are fairly straightforward solutions.

CommonSpace columnist and Common Weal director Robin McAlpine reveals some of the work the Scottish Independence Convention (SIC) is undertaking

I'D LIKE to apologise in advance for how much I'm writing just now but I've been rather inundated with people who want more information on what's going on and what what the indy movement could be doing next.

CommonSpace columnist and Common Weal director Robin McAlpine says the indy movement has a lot to be upbeat about after the General Election 

I REALISE that it might feel counterintuitive for a lot of you but, although disappointed, I'm feeling really quite positive about yesterday's outcomes. 

My biggest concern is absolutely not about whether we face a bigger barrier to independence (which I don't think we do) but that this may hit morale and that we could do without a dip in morale right now.

So, here are some reasons to be cheerful.

CommonSpace columnist and Common Weal director Robin McAlpine says people will look elsewhere for the politics of hope if the SNP doesn't step up

THIS WEEK I read a Guardian article which simultaneously lifted my heart and yet, as a result, left me both deeply disappointed and more than a little jealous.

CommonSpace columnist and Common Weal director Robin McAlpine says the rise in support for Jeremy Corbyn shows that people want hope and vision

AT THE advent of the New Labour years there was a sketch on the comedy programme Friday Night Armistice in which Labour MPs were taken to a training session at which they were given a gun and told to shoot a kitten.

CommonSpace columnist and Common Weal director Robin McAlpine says it's possible to turn the tide of anger and violence, but we must first be honest with ourselves

DEPRESSINGLY, it is starting to feel like the suspension of campaigning during an election in the face of some tragedy or atrocity is becoming more common than not. Even more depressingly, I see no obvious or immediate set of circumstances which will reverse this trend.

CommonSpace columnist and Common Weal director Robin McAlpine says there is a lot of bluffing going on in Scottish politics

YES, we're in the middle of an election, but does it seem to you that Scottish politics is dominated by 'confidence tricks' even more than usual? And, importantly, whose confidence is up and whose is down as a result – and why?

CommonSpace columnist and Common Weal director Robin McAlpine says elections will make little difference when local government is fundamentally broken

I DON'T think there will be many of you out there who feel immersed in a rich and detailed national debate about our local democracy or spoiled for choice with visions of localism.

So, on the day we vote in Scotland's local elections, can we ever expect local democracy in Scotland to really matter?

CommonSpace columnist and Common Weal director Robin McAlpine says Labour may have lost its way, but its values still matter