UKIP's rise is the clearest sign yet of the crisis of Britain as a progressive, liberal project. Nigel Farage's trip to Scotland and his prickly reception helps us understand the difference between the UKIP and Scottish independence projects.

The Scottish nationalists want to win next years independence vote by saying things will not change while those opposing them paint 'separation' as a disaster yet call for the UK to leave the EU in order to... stay the same. What are we to make of it?

We live in Thatcher’s Britain - that statement is obvious, yet contentious and deeply divisive. And this is all the more true north of the border.

Recent polling shows a big gender gap in Scottish attitudes to independence, with women far more pro-union. How should this be understood in the wider context of Scottish politics and what does it tell us about the motivations of the Yes and No camps?

UKIP would effectively return the UK to its pre-devolution settlement in all but name, yet the media are failing to expose or question this.

It isn't enough that we aren't Thatcherites and free-marketeers, visions of the sort of Scotland we want to build must escape the confines of current conservatism and move beyond oppositional formulations. Scotland must be a positive proposition.

Scots like all Britons share a history of fighting to rescue Europe from fascism. On the anniversary of its decisive battle on the Eastern Front, the Britain built after 1945 is no more. In Scotland it is time to salute those who fought by declaring self-government.

The ambition of BBC Scotland has always been held back with the burden of 'looking both ways', with no  ambiguity as to where the real power lies. Scotland needs its own 'Scotish Broadcasting Corporation' driven by courage, vision and leadership from the people. 

As the 100 week countdown to the Scottish independence referendum begins, Alex Salmond must take the opportunity to break from the establishment and open the space for a national engagement with the question of self-government.