Sceptical Scot

David Gow Memorial Archive

David Gow Memorial Archive

Writing, tributes and reflections from David Gow’s Sceptical Scot archive.

David Gow was co-founder and co-editor of Sceptical Scot from March 2015 to October 2025. This page gathers David Gow’s work for Sceptical Scot, alongside tributes and reflections published in his memory. Over time it can also expand to include selected work from beyond the site.

Featured from the archive

A different David Gow article is highlighted each day.

International

Bitter truths in Brussels

January 26, 2020

'…there may well be sympathy for the Scottish case but it is, for now, entirely irrelevant to what's at stake now. As we know from the last 43 months, that's even more true of Westminster and Whitehall.'

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David Gow on Sceptical Scot

A running archive of David’s published work on the site.

  • Scotland’s Glorious Thirty

    Going beyond recovery from the pandemic. In reviewing a recent book on Scotland post-Covid-19, we urge an ambitious, granular debate on the ways to transform our country and make it greener, fairer and more democratic for all. Read article

  • Pandemic and absent solidarity

    ‘…richer nations such as Scotland need to live up to their oft-repeated, much-vaunted proclamations in favour of global solidarity. So far, we’re not even talking about it in the pandemic.’ Read article

  • Scotland must look to Europe

    Now that Johnson has reverted to talking of No Deal/WTO terms, is it time for Scotland to strike out on its own in relations with the EU (and the wider world)? Read article

  • Germany’s miles better…

    ‘Germany, even if one goes as far back as Bismarck and 1871, is a relatively young country and, in its latest iteration, highly attractive to a lot of Europe’s youth. It does offer, then, a model for any nascent Scottish republic: open, tolerant, European, nationalist in a civic, secular sense. But, as its friends, including… Read article

  • But what form of independence?

    As Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP see increasingly solid pro-independence majorities in successive polls, their case for an independent Scotland has gone missing: a book review. Read article

  • Independence or bust

    John Lloyd book review: ‘What marks the book out is Lloyd’s personal transition to virtually self-hating Scot. This is not just the regular Unionist assertion that Scotland is too wee, too weak, to cut it as an independent country but a visceral assault on “Scotland’s self-serving, self-pitying, self-obsessed keening about others, mainly the English, stealing… Read article

  • Making music – and poetry

    Read article

  • A very Scottish spy

    ‘His life-story has contemporary resonances, with the resurgence of the far right and what the French call fascisant mentality along with nativist protectionism in response to both pandemic and economic collapse. From his school days, Cairncross was a firm believer in (Scottish) Enlightenment values; he remained an exemplar of Davie’s Democratic Intellect.’ Read article

  • Can Scotland meet EU economic criteria?

    ‘If (national debate about indy Scotland joining the EU) is to be meaningful, there needs to be far more active engagement by both the political class and civil society.’ Read article

  • Bitter truths in Brussels

    ‘…there may well be sympathy for the Scottish case but it is, for now, entirely irrelevant to what’s at stake now. As we know from the last 43 months, that’s even more true of Westminster and Whitehall.’ Read article

  • Can tactical voting stop Brexit?

    Millions will probably opt for tactical voting but caveat emptor! The very sites that claim to be giving sound advice based on geekish methods such as MRP are at odds with each other…. Read article

  • An industrial strategy for Europe

    The Euro elections are over; now the EU is choosing new leaders for the next five years along wioth a new focus on industrial policy. Are you in, Scotand? Read article

Tributes and reflections

Articles written in tribute to David Gow and his editorial legacy.