The Herald

The Herald | Politics


Prince Andrew 'asked Met Police' to dig up dirt on Virginia Giuffre
19 Oct 2025 at 9:29am
Prince Andrew allegedly asked the Metropolitan Police to dig up dirt on the woman accusing him of sexual assault


Scares, intrigue and a restless star presenter: behind the scenes at BBC Scot...
19 Oct 2025 at 6:45am
After reports of its flagship breakfast show's demise, Alison Rowat asks what is really going on at Pacific Quay


Revealed: How many lawyers are working on the Sandie Peggie case?
19 Oct 2025 at 6:00am
NHS Fife reveals the number of lawyers working on the Sandie Peggie employment tribunal.


UK Government announces £20million funding boost for science and tech in Glasgow
19 Oct 2025 at 12:01am
Glasgow and the surrounding area will be given a £20million funding boost by the UK Government to support science and research


Analysis: Is a new dawn rising for the Scottish Greens?
19 Oct 2025 at 5:00am
Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer was in a buoyant mood as he spoke to supporters and the press in Shawlands in Glasgow's southside last week.


Why Peter Kelly's massive Scottish march will be deeply uncomfortable for the...
19 Oct 2025 at 6:15am
The Poverty Alliance is organising a major demonstration demanding the SNP acts to protect the country?s poor. Our Writer at Large talks to the man behind the rally


Developing Rosebank oil field ?pure climate vandalism?, Scottish Green insists
18 Oct 2025 at 5:48pm
Scottish Greens will ?call out the lies of big polluters?, co-leader Gillian Mackay said.


Prince Andrew move should spell end of 'antiquated relic' of monarchy says Ha...
18 Oct 2025 at 3:48pm
Prince Andrew resigning his title should spell the beginning of the end of the 'antiquated relic' that is the monarchy, the former co-leader of the Scottish Greens has said


Ross Greer: Scotland should prosecute people who fought for Israel for war cr...
18 Oct 2025 at 2:17pm
UK citizens who fought for the Israeli military in Gaza should be prosecuted for war crimes when they return to Britain, according to Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer.


'No aspect of Scottish life has been helped by Brexit,' says top legal figure
18 Oct 2025 at 10:10am
A high-profile lawyer has said "no aspect" of Scottish life has been helped by Brexit, as a new pro-EU office is opened in Brussels


Scottish Labour MP says critics of asylum comments are trying to 'silence' her
18 Oct 2025 at 8:49am
A Scottish Labour MP says people are trying to "silence" her over her criticism of asylum policy


'Deeply alarming': ScotRail staff attacked more than 1,500 times since 2020
18 Oct 2025 at 6:30am
While the number of incidents of verbal abuse have been halved since 2022, physical assaults have increased over the last three years.


Disciplinary action 'must be taken by National Library' in gender book ban
18 Oct 2025 at 5:30am
The National Library of Scotland has been told it must consider disciplinary action after a review found 'threatening' conduct led to a gender critical book ban.


?Don?t f*** with the USA? Is Trump the bringer of regime change to Latin Amer...
19 Oct 2025 at 6:15am
With the highly unusual move of announcing authorisation for CIA action in Venezuela alongside a US military buildup, there?s a sinister sense of déjà vu in the region writes Foreign Editor David Pratt

The Scotsman

The Scotsman Politics


Revealed: How SNP ministers have wooed controversial Chinese firm MingYang fo...
19 Oct 2025 at 6:00am

Scottish Government ministers have met with the company several times despite national security concerns.

Talks over the battle to alleviate child poverty took place with John Swinney inside the walls of Bute House

Since January 2024 one patient in that category waited over 17 hours for an ambulance in Lothian, while another waited 18 hours in the Highlands.

Alex Cole-Hamilton set out a key education pledge ahead of May?s Holyrood election.

Alex Cole-Hamilton?s party has its sights set on a triumph in the Highlands at next May?s Holyrood election.

Wings over Scotland

Courage Calls To None
17 Oct 2025 at 1:24pm
We should point out right at the start that a reader donated £12 back in the summer specifically to send us to Nicola Sturgeon’s book event in Bath last night. We assume it was someone we’d upset in some way. We arrived bang on 6.30, expecting to be among the first on the scene, but …

Your enemy?s mistakes
16 Oct 2025 at 5:03pm
So on the surface level this is just flat-out hilarious. Firstly because, as we showed you yesterday, the “significant proportion of Scotland’s population” which appears to have been won back to the SNP since John Swinney became its leader is… 1%. That’s all their vote has actually increased by as Scottish Labour have haemorrhaged support …

Come On Baby, Let?s Do The Twist
16 Oct 2025 at 11:34am
All of the words you’re about to read below were written by the same person in the last few days. It’s completely verbatim and none of it is taken in any way out of context. It means what it sounds like it means. But even if you’ve got a forehead the size of the “eggheads” …

A Case Study In Delusion
14 Oct 2025 at 1:19pm
Kevin McKenna has a piece in today’s Herald asking the question that is now the core issue for the Scottish independence movement. The short version of the answer is usually attributed to Mark Twain: “It is far easier to fool someone than to convince them that they’ve been fooled”. But that does nothing to explain …

The Cowards? Den
12 Oct 2025 at 4:19pm
We were going to write something today for the anniversary of Alex Salmond’s tragic death, but then we read Kevin McKenna’s piece in today’s Herald On Sunday and we can’t improve on it, so go and have a read of that before you do anything else. Alex always believed in looking forward, not back, so …

No cry of ?Pish!? rang out
11 Oct 2025 at 5:00pm
It’s really very hard to overstate what mendacious, duplicitous shite this is. ?? It did its job, though. As expected, the SNP conference comprehensively voted down the rebel amendments to Swinney’s motion on independence “strategy” and backed his grand plan of winning a majority, begging Keir Starmer for a second referendum – just like Nicola …

Send In The Clowns
11 Oct 2025 at 12:34pm
The SNP conference opened today with Stephen Flynn (primary interest: the career of Stephen Flynn), Karen Adam (primary interest: any shiny or jangly object) and Susan Aitken (primary interest: MOAR PIES), which ought to be more than enough by itself to convincingly illustrate that these are not serious people. But if you somehow still weren’t …

Simply Nothing To Be Done
6 Oct 2025 at 12:35pm
We’ll be honest, readers, we’ve spent most of the last five days sorting out our iPod music library. It’s a task that would make Hercules wince. 2,700 tracks infested with title case and all sorts of other grammatical catastrophes by crappy algorithms (there are songs on there categorised as being by variously “Adam And The …

Walking Like A Zombie
30 Sep 2025 at 2:10pm
It’d be quite hard to find an image that more completely summed up the wretched state of the SNP in 2025 than this one. Look at that tiny handful of miserable faces, sitting dejectedly around a near-empty function room. It’s so bleak Mike Leigh could make an entire movie out of it. And we know …

Betrayers Of Women
29 Sep 2025 at 1:10pm
You know something’s shifty when a news account disables replies. So let’s just have a quick investigate. The letter itself is nonsensical guff. Whether the “far right” (current population: almost everyone) are bad and racist or not has absolutely no relationship to whether they’re standing up for women’s rights. The two things are unconnected. Every …

Craig Murray

36 Minute Trials and No Jury ? Starmer?s Fascist Mass Courts
17 Oct 2025 at 9:55am

Those charged with terrorism for supporting Palestine Action will have no jury in trials limited to 36 minutes each, with prison sentences up to six months. These are the plans for Starmer Courts for mass trials of anti-Genocide protestors. The plans are devised by Justice Michael Snow. He is the epitome of judicial prejudice. When …

36 Minute Trials and No Jury – Starmer’s Fascist Mass Courts

Fight the Proscription of Palestine Action
14 Oct 2025 at 2:54pm

I have started legal action in Scotland against the UK government over the proscription of Palestine Action, in coordination with Huda Ammori and her team in England. The petition has been accepted by the Court and served on the Solicitor General. They now have 16 remaining days to respond. The rationale is well explained in …

Fight the Proscription of Palestine Action

A Warning from Lebanon
9 Oct 2025 at 7:32pm

In not quite one year since the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, Israel has broken the ceasefire 4,600 times. It has killed hundreds of people, including infants, demolished tens of thousands of homes and annexed five areas of Lebanon. It was supposed to withdraw completely. After a series of attacks throughout the night, the Israelis today …

A Warning from Lebanon

I?m Still Standing
1 Oct 2025 at 3:57pm

Apologies for break am very tied up with a legal case we are bringing I will tell you about in a day or two.

I’m Still Standing

What Fresh Hell is This?
26 Sep 2025 at 11:31am

Yesterday saw two announcements. Starmer is to introduce compulsory digital ID cards in the UK, and Tony Blair is put forward by the White House to be the colonial administrator of Gaza for five years. The political economy of the world appears locked in a vertiginous downward spiral. You don’t have to scratch very hard …

What Fresh Hell is This?

Staggering Hypocrisy
22 Sep 2025 at 11:26am

The outgoing Head of MI6 Richard Moore has formally admitted in a public speech in Istanbul that MI6 has been cooperating with HTS in Syria – a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act – for years. The government is arresting little old ladies for holding signs supporting one proscribed organisation, Palestine Action, while it admits …

Staggering Hypocrisy

BBC Scotland

Scottish Greens promise free bus travel for all
18 Oct 2025 at 2:31pm
The co-leaders pledged to "bring hope back to this country's politics" during their first conference speech after they were elected in August.

Friend or foe? The China challenge on the Moray Firth
18 Oct 2025 at 11:30am
The UK government is in a tricky spot as a Chinese industrial giant seeks approval to build wind turbine parts.

Scotland has 'moral obligation' to support global south - Swinney
17 Oct 2025 at 12:17pm
The first minister minister made the remarks during a visit to Zambia and Malawi, 20 years on from a historic co-operation agreement.

Baroness Mone-linked PPE firm misses deadline to pay £122m
15 Oct 2025 at 8:02pm
PPE Medpro was ordered to repay damages by 16:00 BST on Wednesday after breaching a Covid-19 contract.

A bridge, 130 convictions and a 30-year fight: The tolls that made criminals ...
16 Oct 2025 at 6:09am
More than 100 people received criminal convictions after refusing to pay tolls on the Skye Bridge.

GPs question SNP plans for new drop-in services
14 Oct 2025 at 6:16pm
The Royal College of GPs says it is not clear how the new services, promised by John Swinney, will be staffed when the GP workforce is smaller.

SNP will create network of walk-in GP services, says Swinney
13 Oct 2025 at 4:40pm
The announcement came during the first minister's keynote speech at the SNP conference in Aberdeen.

Chris Mason: SNP are the latest proof that things change quickly in politics
13 Oct 2025 at 11:13pm
The SNP are not only hopeful of victory at next year's Scottish election, but are even talking of an outright majority.

Resident doctors set for strike ballot over pay deal
10 Oct 2025 at 12:27pm
The union says ministers have "shamefully reneged" on a previous pay agreement.

Independence is back on the agenda - but can SNP win election majority?
13 Oct 2025 at 5:50pm
Party leader John Swinney's strategy is to focus on winning a majority of MSPs at next year's election.

MSPs vote against legal right to addiction treatment
9 Oct 2025 at 5:32pm
The legislation would have given people diagnosed with addiction the right to treatment within three weeks.

STV accused of financial mismanagement over plan to cut news show
9 Oct 2025 at 12:31pm
The broadcaster is planning to axe its Aberdeen news programme as part of proposals to save £2.5m.

Scot Goes Pop

I've been elected to the SNP's Policy Development Committee
17 Oct 2025 at 12:32pm
As I posted three times last week to plug my candidacy in the SNP's internal elections, here's a quick video update on how I fared in the results.

SNP lead in Scotland as Labour slump to catastrophic all-time low of 15% acro...
17 Oct 2025 at 5:27am
*. *. *With less than three months of the year to go, the 2025 Scot Goes Pop fundraiser is still short of its target figure.  If you'd like to help keep the lights on during the several months it w...

Could the UK general election of 2028 or 2029 end up being the real crunch-po...
16 Oct 2025 at 1:03pm
As has been well-rehearsed, a strategic misstep was made at the weekend - a single-party SNP majority is unlikely to be won simply because the electoral system is designed to prevent it, and then w...

Make mine a double: why it has to be BOTH votes SNP next May
15 Oct 2025 at 4:51pm
And yes, I do of course intend to vote "Both Votes SNP" next May, and would urge all SNP members and supporters to do the same, for the reasons I've given umpteen times over the last fifteen years ...

More analysis of the fateful strategic decision the SNP made on Saturday - an...
13 Oct 2025 at 7:35pm
From a psephological point of view, the most interesting question about next year's Scottish Parliament election is whether or not the pro-independence parties in combination will win a majority of...

A final plug for my candidacy in the SNP internal elections - plus some photo...
13 Oct 2025 at 1:53am
I'm going to offer some more analysis, probably tomorrow, of the fateful decision the SNP have made on independence strategy.  But if you'll bear with me, given that conference delegates have only ...

SNP's decision on independence strategy is greeted with revivalist fervour in...
11 Oct 2025 at 9:04pm
I was in the second row from the front at the afternoon session of the SNP conference in Aberdeen today, when the party made its fateful decision on independence strategy.  In this video I give you...

The STUC back the principle of Scottish self-determination on an ordinary maj...
11 Oct 2025 at 1:14pm
Good afternoon from Aberdeen, where as you may have seen, Roz Foyer of the STUC made a well-judged and well-received speech just before lunch, in which she expressed her strong support for the prin...

STV Politics News

Latest Politics News | STV News

Scotland will do all it can to support countries hit by climate change ? Swinney
18 Oct 2025 at 1:56pm
Swinney said it was important that those most affected by climate change are 'at the forefront' of any solutions.

Trump tells Zelensky he?s reluctant to sell Ukraine Tomahawk missiles
17 Oct 2025 at 9:17pm
Trump said he was hesitant to tap into the US Tomahawk supply, a turnabout after days of suggesting he was seriously considering sending the missiles to help Ukraine.

Scottish Greens ?increasingly confident? they can beat Labour in next year?s ...
17 Oct 2025 at 3:29pm
Scottish Greens recently announced that membership is on track to reach a new record high by next year?s Holyrood election.

Shona Robison demands ?urgent clarity? from Westminster after Wales handed £5...
17 Oct 2025 at 11:36am
Scottish finance secretary Shona Robison wants the see the funding replicated in Scotland.

Partnerships with Zambia and Malawi have ?transformed? healthcare, says Swinney
17 Oct 2025 at 8:24am
First Minister John Swinney is visiting Zambia and Malawi looking at Scotland?s partnerships with the regions over the past 20 years.

SNP?s Flynn challenged to oppose Rosebank in ?solidarity? with Palestine
17 Oct 2025 at 8:14am
The SNP?s Westminster leader has been told an Israeli fuel conglomerate could be in line to benefit if the oil field is developed.

Trump says he will meet Putin in Hungary to try to resolve Russia-Ukraine war
16 Oct 2025 at 10:17pm
Trump wrote on social media that the meeting would take place in Budapest.

Scotland?s classrooms most violent in UK, figures suggest
16 Oct 2025 at 1:24pm
A freedom of information request found Scotland has the highest rate of violent injuries to school staff in Britain.

Scottish Greens membership grows to highest total since 2016
16 Oct 2025 at 1:21pm
Co-leader Ross Greer said the party?s ?hopeful vision? was helping attract more members and could spur them to a record result at Holyrood in May.

Lord Speaker John McFall to step down months early to care for wife
16 Oct 2025 at 12:31pm
Lord McFall will be stepping down in February 2026 to care for his wife who has Parkinson's.

Starmer faces more questions after publishing China spy case evidence
16 Oct 2025 at 9:45am
The CPS dropped the case after deeming the evidence did not show China was a threat to national security.

Donald Trump: FIFA would ?very easily? move World Cup matches if asked
15 Oct 2025 at 9:45pm
The US President also indicated he would seek to move the 2028 Olympic Games away from Los Angeles if he felt the city was not safe.

Energy debt hits eight-year high ahead of winter
15 Oct 2025 at 6:59pm
The amount customers owe their supplier has increased by nearly 30% in the past year.

PPE Medpro fails to meet deadline to repay Government almost £122m after ruling
15 Oct 2025 at 5:47pm
Mrs Justice Cockerill previously ruled that PPE Medpro had breached a contract for millions of surgical gowns during the coronavirus pandemic.

Daily Record

Daily Record - Politics

Prince Andrew scandal proves the Monarchy should be abolished, claims Patrick...
19 Oct 2025 at 10:14am
King Charles has stripped his younger brother of his Royal titles following more embarrassing revelations over the prince's friendship with late US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Scottish Greens co-leader believes becoming new mum has inspired her to fight...
19 Oct 2025 at 4:30am
The 34-year-old, who gave birth to her first child in June, said she wants to fight for families on issues like childcare and the cost of living.

Lifting two-child cap can help Anas Sarwar become First Minister, says Lucy P...
19 Oct 2025 at 4:30am
The Labour deputy leadership candidate told the Sunday Mail she still believes Sarwar's party can come out on top in May's Holyrood election.

Bridget Phillipson blasts SNP for failing generation of young people
19 Oct 2025 at 4:30am
Phillipson, who is Keir Starmer's Education Secretary in England, accused Nats ministers of failing a generation of young Scots.

Energy bills turn up heat on No10 as debt mountain to reach £5billion
18 Oct 2025 at 4:30am
Record View says if the cost of heating doesn?t drop, voters will blame the Government.

Ian Murray insists UK Government digital ID will 'not be a BritCard' but will...
17 Oct 2025 at 3:51pm
The former Scottish Secretary said the scheme is part of a broader push to clamp down on people working illegally in the UK.

John Swinney election plan 'endangers' case for Scottish independence, warns ...
17 Oct 2025 at 1:40pm
EXCLUSIVE: The co-leader of the Scottish Greens said it was "disrespectful to voters to say that certain pro-independence votes somehow count less or more than others".

Fence guru beats Reform, SNP and Labour for stunning by-election victory
17 Oct 2025 at 12:17pm
Labour and SNP candidates were expected to fight for seat before Independent Wullie Hogg upset the odds.

Michelle Mone PPE scandal cannot be 'brushed under the carpet' as SNP demands...
17 Oct 2025 at 4:30am
Veteran Nationalist MP Pete Wishart said the "corruption that occurred under Tory governments is astounding" as pressure mounts on the disgraced peer from Glasgow.

Scots union boss warns Rachel Reeves 'must pick a side' ahead of Budget as ho...
17 Oct 2025 at 4:30am
EXCLUSIVE: Roz Foyer said the Chancellor must keep in mind that Scots "demand the means to live decent, dignified lives".

The National

The National | Politics

LIVE: Latest updates as Scottish Greens conference continues in Edinburgh
19 Oct 2025 at 8:08am

The Scottish Greens conference continues in Edinburgh today. We'll bring you the latest as we have it

Is a hard-right US 'hate group' betting on Nigel Farage rolling back UK rights?
19 Oct 2025 at 5:00am

AN influential hard-right US lobby group sees Nigel Farage ?as a potential Trump? through which they can enact their agenda in the UK, a leading journalist has warned ...

Labour 'altering Home Office system without evidence or expertise', coalition...
19 Oct 2025 at 5:00am

THE Labour Government has brought in sweeping changes to the UK?s immigration system ?without consulting any migration experts or producing any supporting evidence? ...

Labour block release of file on secret Israel meeting as it 'may be misinterp...
19 Oct 2025 at 5:00am

THE UK Government has refused to publish any files relating to a secret meeting held with a top Israeli minister, saying that the documents could ?be open to misinterpretation, which would damage our relationship with Israel?.

'We're friends': Scottish Greens keen to rekindle ties with Zack Polanski's p...
19 Oct 2025 at 5:00am

The Scottish Greens co-leaders have said they want to rekindle the relationship with Zack Polanski's Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) ...

David Pratt: Is Donald Trump the new agent of regime change?
19 Oct 2025 at 5:00am

IT might have been small in scale, but it was still a murky, nasty little war. As a young journalist, it was also the first I ever reported from ...

Ruth Wishart: Time for our Government to stop ignoring the Kennedy review fin...
19 Oct 2025 at 5:00am

SHE evinced an air, as always, of defiant dignity. Gisèle Pelicot did not technically have to attend the solitary appeal against the rape verdict after 51 men were convicted last December ...

This crucial Welsh by-election could show the route to Scottish independence
19 Oct 2025 at 5:00am

KEIR Starmer?s Labour party are staring down the barrel of a Welsh by-election that could mark the beginning of the end for the Union ...

SNP open probe into fish-farming giant after 75k salmon escape into Highlands...
19 Oct 2025 at 5:00am

THE SNP Government has opened an investigation into a mass escape from a salmon giant's farm following pressure to explain why it levies £80 fines for littering while refusing to impose a penalty for tens of thousands of escaped fish ...

Alison Phipps: Thread Memory and creation as a radical act of resistance
19 Oct 2025 at 5:00am

?I?VE a confession to make,? says the first speaker on the panel at the V&A Dundee, ?I?m a printmaker.? She pauses as we laugh: ?And I am Palestinian.?

Holyrood Magazine

Holyrood Website

Green energy jobs plan launched by UK government
19 Oct 2025 at 6:00am
The Scottish Government has announced ?9m extra, matched by the UK Government, for its oil and gas transition training fund

Green shoots
17 Oct 2025 at 4:51pm
Scotland lacks hope and the Green Party, with its new co-leaders, is the answer needed to fix that

Scottish Greens grow to over 8,000 members
16 Oct 2025 at 2:00pm
Up from the approximately 7,600 people who were members during the co-leadership election

Lord Speaker John McFall steps down to support his wife ?
16 Oct 2025 at 1:45pm
John McFall, the lord speaker of the House of Lords, has announced his intention to step down from his role early to spend the ?majority? of his time supporting his wife

Glasgow Caledonian University launches new health and social care AI module ?
16 Oct 2025 at 1:34pm
Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) has launched a new module designed to educate health and social care professionals on the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on their work

Liberal Democrats call for MI5 to 'assess threat' posed by Elon Musk
15 Oct 2025 at 6:03pm
The Liberal Democrats in Westminster have called for an MI5 investigation into Elon Musk?s alleged funding of Tommy Robinson?s legal defence

Oil giant resubmits application to drill Rosebank oil field
15 Oct 2025 at 5:43pm
An environmental impact assessment said the field would result in an extra 250 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent being released over its lifetime

John Swinney urged to 'come clean' over his independence plans
15 Oct 2025 at 1:39pm
The calls for clarity come after the first minister told SNP members, ?nobody knows what tactics I will deploy,? at his party?s annual conference last weekend

OpenAI announces plan to allow sexual content on ChatGPT
15 Oct 2025 at 1:23pm
OpenAI, the company behind AI chatbot ChatGPT, has announced plans to allow "erotica" to be generated on the platform for verified adults

Growing Scotland's visitor economy
15 Oct 2025 at 11:35am
Our goal is clear: to encourage people to visit Scotland, stay longer, and spend more in our communities. By doing this we can help improve the wellbeing of not just those who visit, but the people and places who are lucky enough to call Scotland home.

Guardian - Scottish Politics

Scottish politics | The Guardian

Badenoch accuses Labour of prioritising economic ties with China over nationa...
13 Oct 2025 at 6:22pm
Minister calls Badenoch?s claims about Chinese spy trial ?baseless smears?. This live blog is closedAt the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning the PM?s spokesperson said it was ?entirely false? to suggest the government influenced the collapse of the China spying case because of concerns B...

Swinney says Scottish government will sponsor visas for foreign care workers
13 Oct 2025 at 5:28pm
First minister tells SNP conference older people should not ?pay the price for Westminster?s prejudice? over immigrationJohn Swinney has said the Scottish government will help hundreds of overseas care workers stay in the UK, as he attacked Westminster for its rising hostility to immigrants.The f...

SNP backs Swinney?s ?clear? strategy for new independence referendum
11 Oct 2025 at 5:22pm
Members overwhelmingly endorse leadership motion that majority at next Holyrood election is only route to second voteSNP members have overwhelmingly backed leader John Swinney?s ?clear and unambiguous? independence strategy that a majority election win is the only route to another referendum.On t...

Former British diplomat challenges Palestine Action ban in Scotland
10 Oct 2025 at 10:30am
Craig Murray argues proscription order contravenes rights to freedom of speech under European convention of human rightsA former British diplomat has served a petition challenging the ban on Palestine Action in Scotland.The case, brought by Craig Murray, is separate to the judicial review of the ...

Senior SNP figures believe Holyrood majority ?within reach? at May?s election
10 Oct 2025 at 5:00am
As party gathers for conference, re-engaging independence supporters seen as way forward after trust in Scottish government hits record lowSenior Scottish National party strategists believe a majority at next year?s Holyrood elections is ?within reach? despite failing public trust in Scotland?s g...

The Guardian view on the nationalist surge: the SNP and Plaid Cymru are makin...
9 Oct 2025 at 6:35pm
In both Scotland and Wales, politics is marching to the beat of different drums from the rest of Britain. The UK-wide parties should watch outViewed through the Westminster prism, UK electoral politics seems a five-party contest. The narrative has been well aired in the conference season. The thr...

Tory plan to abolish stamp duty ?will benefit London and the wealthiest the m...
8 Oct 2025 at 4:13pm
This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereVoting in the Labour deputy leadership election opens today. Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader, is seen as the favourite and, as Jessica Elgot reports, Powell told supporters yesterday that, if she is elected, she will use the post...

Scottish parliament votes in favour of allowing councils to cap rent increases
1 Oct 2025 at 9:09am
Legislation hailed as ?historic step for fixing rigged housing market? but campaigners say bolder action neededThe Scottish parliament has voted overwhelmingly for ?historic? long-term rent controls ? a first across the UK ? as part of a wide-ranging housing bill that campaigners argue has been ?...

Andy Burnham calls for UK to rejoin EU within his lifetime and rejects claim ...
29 Sep 2025 at 6:48pm
Mayor of Greater Manchester says he would have to be ?wrenched? out of city and says he wants UK to rejoin EU. This live blog is closedAndy Burnham live in conversation ? podcastIn her Today interview Rachel Reeves was asked about a FT report saying she will urge business leaders to highlight the...

Labour conference: Starmer calls Reform?s policy on immigration ?racist? and ...
28 Sep 2025 at 6:28pm
PM calls Reform?s policy immoral but says people who want to vote for them are not racist but frustratedKuenssberg ended her interview by asking about Andy Burnham, and the leadership.Starmer said Burnham was doing a very good job as mayor of Greater Manchester.Comments about leaders and leadersh...

Wee Ginger Dug

Wee Ginger Dug

England?s identity crisis is Scotland?s opportunity
17 Oct 2025 at 6:34pm
Scotland has an England problem. The largest country in this so-called union is currently in the grip of a strange national psychosis, and has fallen prey to the venomous snake oil salesmen of the English nationalist far right, who offer simplistic and hate filled nostrums for all that ails England, the housing crisis, the cost …

Joani Reid and the rat-pack
16 Oct 2025 at 1:35pm
Maybe it’s something in the water in East Kilbride and Strathaven, but the Westminster constituency seems to be cursed with morally bankrupt MPs. The present constituency boundaries are new and was first contested in the July 2024 Westminster general election, but the constituency broadly covers the same area as the abolished East Kilbride, Strathaven and …

Holyrood 2026, it?s up to all of us now
14 Oct 2025 at 2:44pm
While we were busy with a visit from my husband’s family from the United States, the SNP party conference was taking place in Aberdeen. The party came out of the conference united behind the First Minister’s plan for independence and irrespective of the merits or demerits of the plan, it cannot be denied that independence …

The fork in the road
8 Oct 2025 at 3:07pm
It’s customary to describe every upcoming election as critical. That’s always been the case with Scottish independence, as should the pro-independence parties fail to win a majority in the Scottish Parliament, and we’re unfortunate enough to get a Labour – or god forbid – Tory first minister, independence would be off the political agenda for …

Getting the indy band back together
5 Oct 2025 at 3:14pm
It’s been a good couple of weeks for hopes of Scottish independence, with some very positive opinion poll results, and signs of a new assertiveness amongst the main pro-independence parties. It’s a glimmering of hope in the stormy skies of British politics, where the dark looming clouds of the far right threaten a torrent which …

The demographic time bomb that will end Westminster rule in Scotland
2 Oct 2025 at 3:39pm
We are now at the point which was predicted by a friend of mine in 2014 in the aftermath of that year’s independence referendum. After a careful study of the demographic breakdown of the referendum vote, in which voters belonging to the older generation were far more likely to break for No than younger age …

The real crisis of our age is one the media won?t talk about
29 Sep 2025 at 6:36pm
Not a day goes by without the BBC, Sky News or ITV News covering a story about what they insist on calling the “migrant crisis”. In this they are following the agenda of the right wing print media, which is obsessed with immigration and which covers the topic in an ever louder shriek of lurid …

Get your DIC out for Starmer
26 Sep 2025 at 1:04pm
With all the anger and controversy over the Labour government’s proposal to introduce mandatory digital ID cards for everyone legally resident in the UK, no one is now talking about the anger and controversy over Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and his dodgy undeclared donations, no murder tents are about to be parked on …

Good news on independence for a change
24 Sep 2025 at 11:33am
In these miserable and frightening times, it’s nice to be able to report some good news for a change, and not just that all over America all these Evangelical Republican Christians are currently demanding to speak to the Rapture manager, the Rapture having failed yet again to take place on its predicted date of Tuesday …

Starmer opens the door to the moral abominations of Farage
22 Sep 2025 at 6:44pm
It was always predictable that a Labour government led by Keir Starmer would get very unpopular very quickly. Starmer’s promise of “change” was always hollow. A corporate centrist hell bent on opening the NHS to privatisation was never going to deliver the meaningful and far reaching change that Labour voters in July 2024 were led …

The Courier

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Scottish Politics News From Holyrood and Westminster | The Courier

Could Rosyth-Europe ferry set sail thanks to Brexit reset?
27 May 2025 at 6:01am
Hopes have been raised for a simple solution to a cross-border problem.

Kirkcaldy MP demands pro-suicide forum is torn down
26 May 2025 at 6:01am
Around 100 suicides have been linked to the sickening forum which provides guidance to people on ending their life.

UHI Perth aviation students warn of ?unsettling times? after training firm?s ...
26 May 2025 at 6:00am
Worried Samuel Hughes, 19, is among students sharing their fears at a time of crisis for Perth College.

Fresh Dundee University strike begins over compulsory Levehulme Centre job cuts
26 May 2025 at 6:00am
University staff are taking five days of industrial action as the institution pushes ahead with plans to axe the forensic research hub.

NHS Fife nurse at centre of controversial trans tribunal suing her own trade ...
25 May 2025 at 2:32pm
A&E medic Sandie Peggie is now taking legal action against the Royal College of Nursing.

EXCLUSIVE: Dundee University still to strike rescue deal with government
23 May 2025 at 5:46pm
Opposition MSPs have expressed concern at the time taken to agree a deal almost a month after the fresh recovery plan was unveiled.

6 senior figures who left Dundee University during financial crisis
23 May 2025 at 5:10pm
Several university chiefs have moved on since £30m financial black hole emerged.

Dundee University activist artist leads degree show protest over financial cr...
23 May 2025 at 4:45pm
Duncan of Jordanstone student Finn Millar says he wants to play a part in "keeping the university alive".

John Swinney admits constituents have expressed Perth leisure concerns to him
23 May 2025 at 6:01am
The first minister wants further talks between both sides of Perth leisure debate.

EXCLUSIVE: Dundee University chief operating officer Jim McGeorge quits
22 May 2025 at 1:58pm
Dr Jim McGeorge ? who was responsible for good governance - had been on a period of extended leave.

Talking up Scotland

Talking-up Scotland

(no title)
19 Oct 2025 at 11:30am
Professor John Robertson OBA Labour Deputy Leader candidate, Phillipson, is in the Record today criticising the SNP for supposed failings with regard to the young. That takes nerve and the most shiny of brass necks. I’m going to have to be very selective and use a few examples of how Labour rather than the SNP, in the past and today regularly betrays the young. First, school exclusions plummet ...

Express and Scottish Tories try to hide fact that Scottish Ambulance Service ...
19 Oct 2025 at 10:02am
Professor John Robertson OBA The Express today has a report based on the Scottish Conservatives’ reading of a Freedom of Information request on ambulance. Their report has no figures and only two or three individual cases picked out as extreme waits. That says it all. They really have nothing beyond a few cases. Here are some facts: There are some minor problems in comparing the data for Englan...

Scotland?s current oil and gas reserves worth around £1 TRILLION
19 Oct 2025 at 8:50am
Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to K McEwan for alerting us to this: In the Telegraph, two days ago, the above and: Around 85% of these reserves, 21.25 billion barrels, lie in Scottish waters.1 Each barrel of oil is worth around $60 or £452, so we have around £1 trillion in Scottish waters Sources: You can support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-u...

Rail staff in England & Wales more than THREE times as likely to be assaulted...
18 Oct 2025 at 6:21pm
Professor John Robertson OBA In the Herald yesterday, the above, and: ScotRail staff have been verbally or physically assaulted more than 1,500 times since 2020, new figures have revealed.  The data, which was obtained through a Freedom of Information request, shows that the total number of assaults on train drivers, conductors, and other staff has decreased each of the last three years.  It’s ...

Inaccurate, misleading and counter-productive but worse than that, disgusting...
18 Oct 2025 at 5:43pm
Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald yesterday headlined their report on autism and ADHD waiting times with an apparently tragic image of tearful wee, Madeleine McCann-like, fair-haired girl of 3 to 4 years, to somehow represent it’s content. While I’m sure the parents will be at times tearful, are the children likely to be upset about a wait for treatment they might find unpleasant or not u...

Why Scotland?s higher school violence is a myth now being pushed by Channel 4
17 Oct 2025 at 4:30pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From Channel 4 yesterday, the above and: Scotland has Britain?s highest rate of violent injuries to school staff reported to the safety watchdog, FactCheck can reveal. They include fractures, dislocations and even loss of consciousness, with the number of incidents logged at Scottish schools trebling in a decade. https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-vio...

Affordable housing supply ? Does Anas Sarwar support this latest UK Labour mo...
17 Oct 2025 at 2:49pm
Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today: Developers will be allowed to build lower numbers of affordable homes and claim higher subsidies to build them under plans being drawn up by the government to solve London?s housebuilding crisis. What will this do for the current Scottish Labour campaign to try to suggest the SNP is failing on affordable housing supply? Professor John Robertso...

Factcheck ? Maternity services in NHS Scotland far far safer than in NHS England
17 Oct 2025 at 2:35pm
Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today: Pregnant women in England are at growing risk of suffering a serious injury while giving birth, NHS figures reveal. The number of mothers sustaining a third- or fourth-degree perineal tear while delivering their baby has risen from 25 in 1,000 in June 2020 to 29 in 1,000 in June this year ? a 16% increase. Such injuries can have a ?life-changi...

Home visits in Dumfries and Galloway are being done much quicker, much sooner...
17 Oct 2025 at 10:01am
Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland‘s short insert in BBC Breakfast this morning: GPs are attending 45% fewer home visits in Dumfries and Galloway, after a trial scheme with the Scottish Ambulance Service. Paramedics can now attend routine home visits, after which they report back to GPs fro further action. It’s hope the scheme could be replicated in other rural areas. GP – ‘Historic...

What kind of cereal crop harvest contrast between England and Scotland would ...
16 Oct 2025 at 7:03pm
Professor John Robertson OBA This morning, the Scottish Government announced: The Chief Statistician has released predictions for the 2025 Scottish harvest. These industry predictions anticipate overall cereal production could reach a high of over 3.2 million tonnes. This could bring total production in at well above the average over the past five years, despite dry spring and summer conditions...

Scotland and Independence

"scotland independence -guardian" - Google News

The new hero of Scottish independence? Nigel Farage - politico.eu
13 Oct 2025 at 5:43pm
The new hero of Scottish independence? Nigel Farage  politico.eu

This crucial Welsh by-election could show the route to Scottish independence ...
19 Oct 2025 at 5:06am
This crucial Welsh by-election could show the route to Scottish independence  TheNational.scot

Swinney sets out latest plan for an independence referendum - BBC
4 Sep 2025 at 8:00am
Swinney sets out latest plan for an independence referendum  BBC

Twenty-five years of data shows how link between identity and views on Scotti...
9 Oct 2025 at 8:00am
Twenty-five years of data shows how link between identity and views on Scottish independence has grown stronger  The Conversation

Swinney urged to ?come clean? on ?secret? Scottish independence plan - The Te...
15 Oct 2025 at 9:08pm
Swinney urged to ?come clean? on ?secret? Scottish independence plan  The Telegraph

Alex Salmond Made Scottish Independence a Tangible Goal - Jacobin
12 Oct 2025 at 1:59pm
Alex Salmond Made Scottish Independence a Tangible Goal  Jacobin

Every vote for Greens is vote for independence - Scottish Greens
14 Oct 2025 at 9:59am
Every vote for Greens is vote for independence  Scottish Greens

Brian Cox: Trump talking 'b*******s' on Scottish independence - Sky News
1 Aug 2025 at 8:00am
Brian Cox: Trump talking 'b*******s' on Scottish independence  Sky News

Labour and Tories ?locked in a race to the right?, says Scottish First Minist...
13 Oct 2025 at 11:12am
Labour and Tories ?locked in a race to the right?, says Scottish First Minister  Financial Times

In the United Kingdom, prime minister rejects possibility of Scotland indepen...
3 Jun 2025 at 8:00am
In the United Kingdom, prime minister rejects possibility of Scotland independence referendum  ConstitutionNet

SNP

"SNP" - Google News

SNP accused of ?kettling? asylum seekers in Glasgow - The Times
18 Oct 2025 at 3:06pm
SNP accused of ?kettling? asylum seekers in Glasgow  The Times

Scots churches, charities and unions unite in plea to SNP over 'intolerable' ...
19 Oct 2025 at 6:16am
Scots churches, charities and unions unite in plea to SNP over 'intolerable' poverty  The Herald

SNP backs Swinney?s ?clear? strategy for new independence referendum | Scotti...
11 Oct 2025 at 5:41pm
SNP backs Swinney?s ?clear? strategy for new independence referendum | Scottish National party (SNP)  The Guardian

SNP will create network of walk-in GP services, says Swinney - BBC
13 Oct 2025 at 4:40pm
SNP will create network of walk-in GP services, says Swinney  BBC

With Reform on the rise and Labour stalling, the SNP won't need to do much to...
11 Oct 2025 at 3:43am
With Reform on the rise and Labour stalling, the SNP won't need to do much to stay in power  Sky News

Chris Mason: SNP are the latest proof that things change quickly in politics ...
13 Oct 2025 at 11:13pm
Chris Mason: SNP are the latest proof that things change quickly in politics  BBC

John Swinney's independence strategy backed by SNP members - BBC
11 Oct 2025 at 5:51pm
John Swinney's independence strategy backed by SNP members  BBC

How John Swinney plans to put his stamp on the SNP as election looms - BBC
11 Oct 2025 at 8:00am
How John Swinney plans to put his stamp on the SNP as election looms  BBC

Douglas Ross accuses SNP minister of assaulting him at parliament - BBC
18 Sep 2025 at 8:00am
Douglas Ross accuses SNP minister of assaulting him at parliament  BBC

Swinney says Scottish government will sponsor visas for foreign care workers ...
13 Oct 2025 at 7:15pm
Swinney says Scottish government will sponsor visas for foreign care workers  The Guardian

Referendum (Google News)

"Scotland referendum -guardian -telegraph" - Google News

The new hero of Scottish independence? Nigel Farage - politico.eu
13 Oct 2025 at 5:43pm
The new hero of Scottish independence? Nigel Farage  politico.eu

Independence is back on the agenda - but can SNP win election majority? - BBC
13 Oct 2025 at 5:50pm
Independence is back on the agenda - but can SNP win election majority?  BBC

John Swinney's independence strategy backed by SNP members - BBC
11 Oct 2025 at 5:51pm
John Swinney's independence strategy backed by SNP members  BBC

First Minister John Swinney sets out latest plan for independence referendum ...
4 Sep 2025 at 8:00am
First Minister John Swinney sets out latest plan for independence referendum  Sky News

Every vote for Greens is vote for independence - Scottish Greens
14 Oct 2025 at 9:59am
Every vote for Greens is vote for independence  Scottish Greens

Why Alberta?s push for independence pales in comparison to Scotland?s in 2014...
27 May 2025 at 8:00am
Why Alberta?s push for independence pales in comparison to Scotland?s in 2014  The Conversation

Scottish independence poll 2025 - Statista
1 Sep 2025 at 8:00am
Scottish independence poll 2025  Statista

In the United Kingdom, prime minister rejects possibility of Scotland indepen...
3 Jun 2025 at 8:00am
In the United Kingdom, prime minister rejects possibility of Scotland independence referendum  ConstitutionNet

Alex Salmond Made Scottish Independence a Tangible Goal - Jacobin
12 Oct 2025 at 1:59pm
Alex Salmond Made Scottish Independence a Tangible Goal  Jacobin

SNP majority only way to secure second referendum - Swinney - BBC
28 Jul 2025 at 8:00am
SNP majority only way to secure second referendum - Swinney  BBC