The Herald

The Herald | Politics


Minimum wage to rise in budget in step toward 'genuine living wage'
29 Oct 2024 at 6:01pm
The minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour next year after the Chancellor confirmed a 6.7% increase ahead of Wednesday?s Budget.


Salmond funeral: Fergus Ewing tells family he will 'seek justice for Alex'
29 Oct 2024 at 2:15pm
SNP MSP Fergus Ewing has told mourners at Alex Salmond's funeral he will "seek justice" for the former first minister.


What to look out for in the UK budget for Scotland
29 Oct 2024 at 1:57pm
Ahead of the UK chancellor laying out her plan for the economy tomorrow, here are the potential changes which would impact Scotland.


Alex Salmond's success 'unlikely to ever be repeated' MacAskill tells funeral
29 Oct 2024 at 1:00pm
Alex Salmond's "outstanding" political success is "unlikely to ever be repeated", Kenny MacAskill has told the private funeral service in a eulogy


Call for urgent AI safeguards as MSP warns of growing misuse in schools
29 Oct 2024 at 5:00am
The Scottish and UK governments have been urged to do more to tackle the dangers of Artificial Intelligence with a backbench MSP hitting out at the ?slow progress? being made on regulation.


'Broken in their grief' Kevin McKenna reports from the funeral of Alex Salmond
29 Oct 2024 at 6:26pm
Kevin McKenna was in Strichen, Aberdeenshire, where locals united to pay tribute to the former First Minister of Scotland as a friend, neighbour and the politician who fought for their community.


Jenny Lindsay: I was hounded for saying women's rights must be protected from...
29 Oct 2024 at 11:30am
What gender identity activists ask of us is to say that the category ?woman? isn?t legislatively and culturally important on the basis that women are a definable category.


FM rejects 'cover up' accusation into Sturgeon probe but opens door to reform...
29 Oct 2024 at 5:07pm
"So I may reflect on the issues that Mr Rennie raises with me, because I recognise them to be substantial issues that have to be assured and command public confidence on an ongoing basis,"


Eulogy for Alex Salmond: 'We will not see your likes again'
29 Oct 2024 at 2:15pm
The SNP's Fergus Ewing has paid tribute to his friend Alex Salmond as he delivered the eulogy at the former first minister's funeral.


Analysis: Alex Salmond's passing casts a long shadow over the SNP
29 Oct 2024 at 1:56pm
The Herald columnist Andy Maciver, a former director of communications at the Scottish Conservatives, wrote last week there was a certain 'tawdriness' over the former First Minister's repatriation.


John Swinney will not attend Alex Salmond's funeral at request of family
29 Oct 2024 at 7:23am
The Scottish Government has confirmed that John Swinney will not attend Alex Salmond?s funeral.


Reeves bid to cut welfare bill by £3bn could see 45,000 Scots lose £4,681 ann...
29 Oct 2024 at 5:00am
Labour plans to cut £3 billion from the welfare bill could see up to 45,000 Scots lose as much as £4,681 a year, according to new figures.


Plastics crisis action 'insufficient' as Swinney told to back global treaty
29 Oct 2024 at 5:00am
John Swinney has been told the Scottish Government's action on tackling the plastics crisis is 'insufficient' as campaigners demand he backs a global treaty.


'Ambitious' Destination Tweed project granted £10 million of new funding
28 Oct 2024 at 3:00pm
Kate Forbes has announced £10 million worth of funding for the Destination Tweed programme on a visit to the Scottish Borders.

The Scotsman

The Scotsman Politics


A million Europeans were enslaved by Barbary pirates ? and no one is seeking ...
29 Oct 2024 at 6:00pm

Calls from Commonwealth leaders for the UK to pay reparations for slavery should be rejected

The SNP are like the spendthrift who makes a show of getting the rounds in for new colleagues but never pays their family back on time

Signs of global collaboration by the far-right are growing in a worrying development for all those who believe in liberal democracy

The Budget will define Labour?s start in office

Mourners pay tribute to former first minister who took Scotland ?so close to his dream of independence?

John Swinney said that criticising the integrity of James Hamilton and the civil servant who headed up his probe into Nicola Sturgeon was ?unwarranted, unfair and unsupported by the facts?.

All 31 staff were issued with redundancy notices last week

Anas Sarwar?s road to Bute House could be a rocky one if the Labour UK government struggles to give the impression that better days lie ahead in the Budget.

Glasgow City Council has pulled out of a pilot programme to help women exit prostitution

Professor Sir Gregor Smith warns the NHS could struggle to recruit staff to its gender identity clinics

Mr Yousaf said he regretted the language used in a private conversation with Jason Leitch

Petroineos is poised to benefit from tax breaks at Grangemouth despite fair work principles being a key part of the Forth green freeport strategy.

Labour MP Brian Leishman writes on what should happen with the future of the Grangemouth oil refinery

BP reports over 30% profit drop in Q3 as oil demand falters; focuses on cost cuts and oil and gas strategy to regain investor confidence.

Wings over Scotland

That worth remembering
29 Oct 2024 at 8:14am
Alex Salmond will be laid to rest in the green turf of Aberdeenshire today in a quiet and dignified private ceremony. (A public celebration of his life will take place next month.) Most of Scotland’s press and commentariat beclowned itself shamefully after his death just as it did during his life, but below is a …

A Delicate Art
26 Oct 2024 at 2:32pm
Redaction is a tricky business, and comes with numerous pitfalls even if you’re being careful, which not everyone is. If you’re involved in creating a document you know will have to be redacted, there are a variety of safeguarding approaches you can adopt. When I worked on a videogames magazine called Amiga Power in the …

The Impostor
26 Oct 2024 at 6:59am

The 24 Official Genders Of Scotland
21 Oct 2024 at 4:06pm
Are listed below: Click the pic to enlarge, if you want to lose the will to live. The list, updated last week, comes from the Scottish Government’s guidance on data collection and publication which we located here (it’s in the Excel document) after it was reported by Daniel Sanderson of the Telegraph, and it’s just …

In Times To Come
19 Oct 2024 at 6:59am

The fleas on the ticks on the midgets
16 Oct 2024 at 3:12pm
Wherever you find giants, you also find parasites, bottom-feeders and carrion. When a mighty lion dies in the jungle, tiny creeping crawling maggots and insects and bacteria feast gleefully on its corpse for many days. Which naturally brings us to the Scottish media. The above paragraphs of cowardly innuendo and baseless speculative smearing were penned …

The Giant
13 Oct 2024 at 1:38pm
It’s hard to write an obituary for someone you can’t quite believe is dead. But we must look the truth in the eyes, and it is so. Alex Salmond would have wished to die, some decades from now, in the country he fought for all his days, and preferably not before it had recovered its …

The King And Queen Of Cringe
11 Oct 2024 at 5:40pm
Honestly not sure which of these is the most nauseating. Click the pic to enlarge, if you can stomach it. Swinney was grinning like a yokel at the first meeting of the “Council Of The Nations And Regions”, held in Edinburgh but where he was the only Scot around a table of 18, placing him …

Two Spaces
10 Oct 2024 at 2:31pm
Everyone even remotely connected to Scottish politics has known for months that the below is the case. It’s an open secret. But what’s playing out right now is something much bigger than the fate of one or two or three individuals. It’s the entire future of the credibility of Scotland’s justice system. Like Robin McAlpine …

Coping with change
7 Oct 2024 at 3:19pm
Just a quick bit of housekeeping here with regard to the new Wings comments section, which offers far more functionality but has also attracted a few complaints because it’s no longer a straight chronology of oldest-to-newest tweets. (We could actually change that back, but the cost would be losing the ability to reply directly to …

Craig Murray

Who Are the Terrorists?
18 Oct 2024 at 8:24am

I have a confession to make. When a journalist writes this it generally means they will proceed to reveal something they hope will actually show them in a good light or justified in some way. But I have a real confession to make, of something I did that was wrong. Somewhere in the UK, among …

Who Are the Terrorists?

The Notional Health Service
17 Oct 2024 at 2:01am

Today is my 66th birthday, so I am hoping that you will forgive an article that is at core the anecdotal ramblings of an old man. It was inspired by horror at Wes Streeting (I could end the sentence there but I shall continue it) ‘s plan to give weight loss jabs to the unemployed. …

The Notional Health Service

The Salisbury Festival of Russophobia Opens Today
14 Oct 2024 at 12:04pm

Today is the grand opening of the Salisbury Festival of Russophobia, otherwise known as the Public Inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess, an unfortunate victim of imperialist spy games. Do not be fooled. This is not in any sense a genuine public inquiry, supposed to get at the truth. This is an inquiry like …

The Salisbury Festival of Russophobia Opens Today

Alex Salmond. Always My Hero.
13 Oct 2024 at 10:53am

Before Alex Salmond, Scottish Independence was an impossible dream, a romantic aspiration, outside the realm of practical politics. After Alex Salmond, it is the dominant question in Scottish politics and by far the biggest threat to the UK state. I would argue that, with every poll for a decade showing overwhelming support for Independence among …

Alex Salmond. Always My Hero.

Simply No Red Lines At All
11 Oct 2024 at 2:03pm

There is literally no act so vile that the UK, US and Germany will not support if perpetrated by the terrorist state of Israel. Yesterday Israel: deliberately attacked UN peacekeepers in three separate bases; bombed residential central Beirut killing and maiming hundreds; abducted, beat up and held an American journalist; slaughtered 30 Palestinian refugees in …

Simply No Red Lines At All

In Praise of Civil Disobedience
9 Oct 2024 at 4:37pm

Western governments are deeply involved, strongly against the will of the majority of their population, in committing a colonial genocide of indigenous people. This happens because the political class have been bought by the Zionist lobby. The causes may run deeper, but that is the mechanism. Democracy has therefore failed, having been fatally corrupted. In …

In Praise of Civil Disobedience

BBC Scotland

Alex Salmond laid to rest in funeral near family home
29 Oct 2024 at 4:31pm
A private service has been held at Strichen Parish Church in Aberdeenshire.

Swinney rejects calls for inquiry into Sturgeon investigation
29 Oct 2024 at 5:25pm
Newly published legal advice is creating a row over the independence of an independent inquiry.

VAT change is existential threat to private schools - head teacher
29 Oct 2024 at 6:26am
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to outline the plans in her budget on Wednesday.

The Budget: Five questions for Scotland answered
29 Oct 2024 at 6:30am
Labour claims that public services require a £40bn increase in taxation and spending

GB Energy chairman will be based in Manchester
28 Oct 2024 at 7:34pm
The UK government previously said that Great British Energy would be headquartered in Aberdeen.

Scottish Tories needed a new message - has Findlay found it?
28 Oct 2024 at 8:38pm
Russell Findlay set out his stall in his first major speech since becoming party leader

Budget to bring 'era of growth' for Scotland - Murray
27 Oct 2024 at 11:42am
The Scottish Secretary says SNP ministers at Holyrood must ensure any additional cash they receive from Westminster goes towards frontline services.

Scottish Greens withdraw support for National Care Service
27 Oct 2024 at 4:53pm
The party has voted at their conference to pull support for the Scottish government's plans to reform social care.

Scottish Greens warn SNP not to take budget support for granted
26 Oct 2024 at 6:30pm
Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie says they have brought down a Holyrood budget before and are willing to do it again.

Perth and Kinross school strikes enter second week
28 Oct 2024 at 2:33pm
The strike over council pay involves Unison members in the constituency area of First Minister John Swinney.

Rape centre breaks away from charity in row over gender
24 Oct 2024 at 3:01pm
The centre in Glasgow said it only wanted to employ women, but this was "at odds" with Rape Crisis Scotland.

Couple given go-ahead to sue governments over winter fuel payment
25 Oct 2024 at 4:38pm
A hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh is now scheduled for January.

Scot Goes Pop

The Find Out Now poll showed a Yes majority even though 16 and 17 year olds w...
29 Oct 2024 at 12:54pm
Thanks to Paul Kirkwood on Twitter for pointing out to me that the data tables are now available for the recent Find Out Now poll showing a majority in favour of independence.  It's a single questi...

Scot Goes Pop Fundraiser 2024: The Final Push
27 Oct 2024 at 1:17am
Click here to go straight to the fundraiser page.This is 'take two' for the 2024 fundraiser's final push, because as you might remember I attempted a post like this a couple of weeks ago, but liter...

Find Out Now! Find Out How? Find Out HOLY COW!!! A majority of the Scottis...
26 Oct 2024 at 11:50am
It's actually only four months since the last time an opinion poll showed a clear pro-independence majority - that was a telephone poll conducted by the UK's gold standard firm Ipsos, no less, but ...

The paradox for the most radical independence supporters is that they will ac...
22 Oct 2024 at 9:50pm
A few weeks before the general election, I used my iScot column to bemoan the fact that there was no billboard ad campaign from the SNP (or any other pro-indy party or organisation) hammering Keir ...

Is Green party activist Allan Faulds right to claim Alba is now finished?
20 Oct 2024 at 11:58am
My eye was caught by an article in the Herald entitled 'Salmond's death signals end for Alba, pollster predicts', because if the pollster in question had turned out to be someone like Martin Boon o...

All of the last six GB-wide polls have put Labour in the 20s - that's the sor...
19 Oct 2024 at 2:12pm
A new GB-wide poll from Techne shows that Labour's lead is down to just three points, which is the lowest that any firm with the exception of More in Common has shown since the Trussmageddon of aut...

So, Tory voters of Falkirk South: what was it that first attracted you to Kei...
18 Oct 2024 at 6:38pm
I'm slightly puzzled that one or two people are defending Labour's false claim to have "gained" the seat in yesterday's Falkirk South by-election.  It's true that it was one of those paradoxical si...

Find Out Now! Find Out How? Find Out WOW!!! Sensational MRP projection sugge...
18 Oct 2024 at 10:55am
There was a brief moment of hope for Robert Jenrick in the Tory leadership contest a couple of days ago when a Find Out Now MRP projection suggested he would win more seats in a general election th...

STV Politics News

Latest Politics News | STV News

Is Scotland?s energy gold rush boomtown being taxed into oblivion?
29 Oct 2024 at 5:31pm
Peterhead stands to benefit most from shift to renewables but local businesses say high taxes are getting in their way.

Government needs to stop litter ending up in Scotland?s seas, watchdog says
29 Oct 2024 at 5:17pm
A study carried out in Orkney showed 80% of marine life collected from the seagrass beds contained microplastics

Windfall tax: What does the budget have in store for Scotland?s oil and gas i...
29 Oct 2024 at 5:05pm
Labour plans to increase the windfall tax by 3% to 38%, meaning overall taxation levels on upstream oil and gas activity would rise to 78%.

?No accountability?: David Amess? daughter demands answers over his murder
29 Oct 2024 at 8:39am
The daughter of murdered MP Sir David Amess has said the government's anti-radicalisation scheme Prevent failed her father 'catastrophically'.

Donald Trump Jr: UK-US relations ?certainly not? off to good start if Trump wins
29 Oct 2024 at 8:36am
Donald Trump Junior criticised the UK Labour government at an event in Pennsylvania after the Trump campaign accused the party of election interference.

Chancellor must take action to bring down energy bills, says SNP
29 Oct 2024 at 7:43am
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will set out the UK Government?s tax and spending plans on Wednesday in what will be the first Labour Budget in more than 14 years.

?Huge questions? for John Swinney after documents published, says Sarwar
28 Oct 2024 at 6:05pm
Anas Sarwar spoke after the Scottish Government published papers it was ordered to release by Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton.

Can the first Labour budget in 15 years bring change for the worst off?
28 Oct 2024 at 5:06pm
The UK's first female Chancellor will reveal plans for cutting and spending on Wednesday.

Campaigners claim Scottish ministers ?misled? on impact of new Peterhead powe...
28 Oct 2024 at 8:45am
Friends of the Earth (FoE) said emissions from the Peterhead 2 facility, which would be built alongside the existing power station, could be five times higher than the site?s developers SSE and Equ...

Scottish Government urged to tax ?planet-wrecking private jets? by campaigners
28 Oct 2024 at 8:07am
The charity is urging the Scottish Government to use its devolved powers to bring in a levy on what it describes as ?super-polluting private jets?

Labour MP Mike Amesbury loses whip after video appears to show him punching man
27 Oct 2024 at 7:27pm
The party said the Runcorn and Helsby MP had been suspended 'pending an investigation' into the incident.

Immigration should not be devolved to Scotland, says Tory leadership hopeful ...
27 Oct 2024 at 4:20pm
The Tory MP has made clamping down on legal and illegal immigration a big part of her campaign.

Scottish Greens withdraw support for Scottish Government?s National Care Serv...
27 Oct 2024 at 12:43pm
The decision means the minority SNP administration ? which relies on opposition MSPs to pass legislation ? will likely fail to pass the Bill.

Scotland?s First Minister John Swinney calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza
27 Oct 2024 at 11:46am
He also called for the unconditional release of all hostages.

Daily Record

Daily Record - Politics

John Swinney branded 'human shield for Nicola Sturgeon' in row over inquiry i...
29 Oct 2024 at 4:12pm
Labour questioned the Scottish Government's use of civil servants during a supposedly impartial investigation by a senior lawyer into the ex-SNP leader.

Budget 2024: Eight things to look out for in Rachel Reeves' autumn statement
29 Oct 2024 at 4:12pm
The Chancellor will use the financial statement to set out the Labour Government's tax and spending plans.

BP branded 'shameless profiteers' after raking in nearly £2bn in three months
29 Oct 2024 at 3:58pm
Campaigners said fossil fuel firms like BP were still enjoying 'obscene' levels of profit while millions of Scots face fuel poverty this winter.

Scottish Government 'has lost control' of incineration after 15% spike in was...
29 Oct 2024 at 3:55pm
New figures, published by watchdog SEPA, show a huge surge in waste burned from 2022 to 2023 of 15.4 per cent.

Winter fuel payment hypothermia plea to Reeves after 900 freezing Scots taken...
29 Oct 2024 at 3:45pm
Almost 900 people over 50 were whisked to hospital by paramedics for hypothermia treatment last December, shock stats reveal.

Minimum wage to rise by 6.7% as Labour seeks to use Budget to tackle poverty pay
29 Oct 2024 at 1:20pm
Low paid workers will see their take home pay boosted by the plan

SNP offered single place on Scottish Affairs Committee after election drubbing
29 Oct 2024 at 1:00pm
The party's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn is set to take up the slot.

Alex Salmond hailed at funeral as Scotland's 'outstanding political figure' a...
29 Oct 2024 at 1:00pm
Mourners have gathered in the Aberdeenshire village of Strichen for the funeral of the former first minister.

SNP Ministers warned by civil servants against claiming they "lifted" 100,000...
29 Oct 2024 at 10:48am
EXCLUSIVE: SNP Ministers quietly dropped a high-profile claim about taking a huge number of children out of poverty.

John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon will not attend funeral of Alex Salmond
29 Oct 2024 at 9:43am
A private service for the former first minister will take place today in his home village of Strichen in Aberdeenshire.

The National

The National | Politics

Wee Ginger Dug: SNP's one seat on Scottish Affairs Committee shows Labour's p...
29 Oct 2024 at 7:00pm

DESPITE coming a close second to the Labour Party in terms of vote share at July's Westminster general election, winning just over 30% of votes cast, the SNP was left with just nine seats in the Commons ...

Labour MPs vote to reject bid to reduce energy bills
29 Oct 2024 at 6:52pm

LABOUR MPs have voted to reject an amendment which would make reducing household energy bills by £300 a priority ...

God save America ? and indeed the world ? if Trump wins again
29 Oct 2024 at 6:45pm

IT?S unbelievable, yet the petulant but brilliant billionaire Elon Musk is offering cash incentives to voters who sign a ?petition in favour of free speech and the right to bear arms? as part of his efforts to get his friend Mr Trump back into the White House.

UK does deserve some credit for banning the slave trade
29 Oct 2024 at 6:30pm

THERE has been much comment recently about the possibility of financial reparations being paid by the UK to the Caribbean countries in the Commonwealth to which slaves were sent in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Minimum wage to increase ? but it still falls short of the Living Wage
29 Oct 2024 at 6:18pm

THE minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour next year after the Chancellor confirmed a 6.7 per cent increase ahead of Wednesday?s Budget.

Donald Trump in bizarre interaction with Scottish football Twitter
29 Oct 2024 at 4:53pm

DONALD Trump and Scottish football Twitter. No, you?re not dreaming, this is just the hell we?re living in ...

Israel 'attacking international order' with UNRWA ban, ex-Gaza surgeon says
29 Oct 2024 at 5:32pm

ISRAEL?S plan to ban a key Palestinian aid organisation amounts to an attack on the United Nations and ?the international order itself?, according to a surgeon who worked in the region.

How UK Government policy hurts Scottish council budgets
29 Oct 2024 at 4:00pm

NOT all taxes are the same. The debate on council tax reform opens up a wider conversation on taxes.

David Lammy refuses to sanction IDF leader who called for Gazans to 'starve t...
29 Oct 2024 at 3:41pm

THE Foreign Secretary has been challenged on whether he will sanction an Israeli politician found guilty of illegally using Palestinians as human shields ? after he met with him at the Labour conference ...

Lack of scrutiny of the Labour Party is evident in BBC Scotland output
29 Oct 2024 at 3:00pm

?BBC apologises for ?false claim? on Scottish income tax? and ?BBC Scotland is rapped over false Anas Sarwar report?. These headlines represent a denigration of the work of the SNP Scottish Government and a lack of scrutiny of the Labour Party in Scotland typically evident across BBC programmes.

Holyrood Magazine

Holyrood Website

Chancellor Rachel Reeves to deliver Budget amid calls for more money for publ...
29 Oct 2024 at 7:10pm
The government has already announced some of the measures it will take to address the ?black hole? in public finances ? which is said to be ?22bn

John Swinney rules out judge-led inquiry into Nicola Sturgeon conduct probe row
29 Oct 2024 at 3:35pm
Russell Findlay and Jackie Baillie have backed an inquiry following concerns about process

Information Commissioner: Companies ?must do better? to tackle ?ripple effect...
29 Oct 2024 at 1:27pm

Aamer Anwar?s law firm to stop legal aid cases
29 Oct 2024 at 10:41am
The number of legal aid solicitors has dropped by a third since 2007

SNP offered remaining Scottish Affairs Committee seat
29 Oct 2024 at 10:38am
Membership list published

Scottish start-up behind health tech breakthrough
28 Oct 2024 at 2:37pm
Novosound has developed ?world-first? ultrasonic blood pressure monitor

?Romance between SNP and Greens not over? ? Russell Findlay
28 Oct 2024 at 12:40pm
In a speech delivered as MSPs head back to Holyrood after the autumn recess, Findlay made his pitch for cutting taxes and reducing the size of the state

Wendy Chamberlain: I'm conflicted on assisted dying bills
28 Oct 2024 at 12:00am
Scottish Lib Dem deputy leader cautions against 'broad brushstroke' debate

Alex Salmond to be remembered in Scottish Parliament next week
25 Oct 2024 at 3:52pm
The motion of condolence will be discussed on Wednesday

New data bill to unlock ?10bn for the economy, UK government says
25 Oct 2024 at 1:05pm
If made law, the Data Use and Access Bill is expected to significantly improve public services by bringing down costs and removing 'unnecessary tasks'

Guardian - Scottish Politics

Scottish politics | The Guardian

Mourners say goodbye to ?political giant? Alex Salmond at his funeral
29 Oct 2024 at 4:20pm
Former SNP leader and first minister ?restored pride in our nation?, says acting Alba head in eulogyMourners have remembered a ?political giant? and a ?friend to many? at the funeral of former first minister Alex Salmond, which took place in Strichen, Aberdeenshire, on Tuesday.Salmond?s niece Chr...

No 10 says Starmer ?shares public anger? at early prisoner releases but syste...
22 Oct 2024 at 6:07pm
Downing Street says government ?shocked? at inheriting prisons crisis as hundreds of prisoners get early release. This live blog is closedThe funeral of Alex Salmond, the former Scottish first minister who died suddenly earlier this month after delivering a speech in North Macedonia, will be held...

Employment rights bill will cost firms £5bn per year but benefits will justif...
21 Oct 2024 at 5:44pm
Analysis from business and trade department says bill will significantly strengthen workers? right. This live blog is closedIn the past the weirdest budget tradition was the convention that the chancellor is allowed to drink alcohol while delivering the budget speech. But since no chancellor has ...

Arts sector in Scotland at risk of ?death by slow cuts?, leading figures warn
20 Oct 2024 at 4:57pm
Exclusive: Heads of organisations say lack of funding clarity and wider policy could cause temporary closures in monthsArts leaders in Scotland have warned that the sector is facing ?death by slow cuts? because of a lack of clarity over funding, with delays and funding shortfalls meaning some maj...

SNP chief executive Murray Foote quits after heavy general election defeat
18 Oct 2024 at 1:55pm
Former Daily Record editor says he could not make personal commitment to lead changes party requiresThe chief executive of the Scottish National party, Murray Foote, has unexpectedly quit ?in the best interests of the party? after it suffered its worst election defeat in nearly two decades.Foote,...

Sir Tom Hunter confirms he paid for Alex Salmond?s body to be flown home
17 Oct 2024 at 3:25pm
Scottish multimillionaire said the former first minister had ?devoted his life to Scotland?Sir Tom Hunter, one of Scotland?s wealthiest men, has confirmed he has paid for Alex Salmond?s body to be flown home from the Balkans.Hunter, a multimillionaire investor and philanthropist, was ambivalent a...

Private donor to pay for Alex Salmond?s body to be flown home
16 Oct 2024 at 3:56pm
Move comes after Foreign Office rejected calls for RAF to arrange flight following Salmond?s death in North MacedoniaUK politics live ? latest updatesA private donor has paid for a charter flight to repatriate Alex Salmond?s body from North Macedonia, after the Foreign Office rejected calls for t...

Ministers will have to comply with tougher rules on declaring gifts, MPs told...
14 Oct 2024 at 6:18pm
Cabinet Office minister Ellie Reeves says Labour is closing ?Tory freebies loophole? over declaring hospitalityBadenoch criticised for pamphlet?s ?stigmatising? remarks on autismThe Autism Centre of Excellence at Cambridge, a charity that works with Cambridge University?s Autism Research Centre, ...

SNP expels MSP over ?utterly abhorrent? comments on Israel-Hamas conflict
13 Oct 2024 at 7:56pm
John Mason posted ?if Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed 10 times as many?An MSP has been expelled from the SNP over comments about the Israel-Hamas conflict, which his party described as ?utterly abhorrent?.The Glasgow Shettleston MSP, John Mason, posted on social media in ...

Alex Salmond obituary
13 Oct 2024 at 5:39pm
A commanding figure in Scottish politics who came close to breaking up the United KingdomThe Scottish politician Alex Salmond, who has died suddenly at the age of 69, was a commanding figure who came close to breaking up the United Kingdom in the 55.3 to 44.7% independence referendum of 2014.The ...

Wee Ginger Dug

Wee Ginger Dug

The revolving door
28 Oct 2024 at 11:35am
?The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.? George Orwell, Animal Farm. Two council by elections are due in Glasgow. This is not in itself earth shattering political news, council by elections happen all …

Scotland?s severed tongues
24 Oct 2024 at 11:16am
The Scottish languages bill is currently winding its way through the Scottish Parliament. The Bill gives the Gaelic and Scots languages official status in Scotland and makes improvement to the support for the Gaelic and Scots languages in Scotland. This also includes changes in relation to Gaelic and Scots in Scotland’s education system aimed at …

Family visit
14 Oct 2024 at 4:21pm
Just a quick note to let everyone know that I am not going to be about this week as we have family visiting from the USA. Normal blogging service will be resumed next week. While we are doing our best tour guide impression with our American guests – “Look, there’s a castle!” – “Look! There’s …

Alex Salmond R.I.P.
12 Oct 2024 at 8:43pm
In news which has shocked all of Scotland, Alex Salmond has suddenly passed away while on a trip to North Macedonia. Whether you support Scottish independence or not, he was without doubt a giant of Scottish politics who transformed the Scottish political landscape for good, a truly monumental individual, and as such he leaves a …

Defending the Scots language from the Tory MSP for Mordor
10 Oct 2024 at 4:20pm
Yet again Scotland’s languages are making the news, following on from Andrew Marr’s factually incorrect and ignorantly dismissive comments about Gaelic, for which he eventually apologised, this time it’s Scots which is the object of British nationalist ignorance. The graciousness free zone which is the Scottish Tory MSP for Mordor Stephen Kerr has taken to …

Starmer?s colonial office mentality
8 Oct 2024 at 2:35pm
Keir Starmer’s government has not been in power for three months, but it is already shaping up to be as vile and corrupt as the Conservatives it replaced. A new poll has found that Starmer is now viewed as more sleazy than his predecessor Rishi Sunak. A YouGov poll asking people to compare the two …

100 days of Starmer, lies, hypocrisy, and freebies
3 Oct 2024 at 2:25pm
Keir Starmer’s hypocrisy is off the charts, over 43,000 Palestinians and Lebanese have died, the great majority innocent civilians, in Israeli attacks since October 7 last year, none of which have elicited much in the way of sympathy or concern from Keir Starmer, yet when Iran launched its missile attack on Israel yesterday, Starmer took …

Andrew Marr, Gaelic and Scots
28 Sep 2024 at 8:27pm
This is an expanded version of a piece I wrote for The National a few days ago. I’m reposting it here with some additions in the light of Marr’s apology for his insulting and ignorant comments about the Gaelic language and its place in Scottish culture. It’s the sad and ignorant old trope that never …

Starmer?s honeymoon is well and truly over
25 Sep 2024 at 11:14am
Before Labour’s inevitable victory in July’s Westminster general election, I predicted that Starmer’s government would soon become very unpopular as voters realised that the ‘change’ which he had promised was no real change at all, it was simply the continuation of the same old damaging Tory neoliberal nostrums, delivered somewhat less chaotically and corruptly. What …

Ten years on
17 Sep 2024 at 11:39am
On Wednesday it will be the tenth anniversary of the independence referendum. This is always a poignant time of year for me, not only because of the what might have been had Scotland grasped the thistle and chosen independence on that fateful day, but because this time of year is also the anniversary of the …

The Courier

Scottish Politics News From Holyrood and Westminster | The Courier

Salmond funeral latest and tobacco plans: The Courier political digest for Tu...
29 Oct 2024 at 4:45pm
5 need-to-know stories across Scotland and the UK, every afternoon.

Alex Salmond?s family feel ?grief of a nation? as former first minister laid ...
29 Oct 2024 at 1:25pm
The former SNP leader's family and close friends gathered at Strichen Parish Church, Aberdeenshire, to pay their respects on Tuesday afternoon.

Perthshire school strikes and Budget warnings: The Courier?s political digest...
28 Oct 2024 at 4:45pm
5 need-to-know stories across Scotland and the UK, every afternoon.

Dundee campaigner calls for English detectives to lead Eljamel investigation
28 Oct 2024 at 5:00am
Patient Pat Kelly is furious after The Courier revealed Police Scotland had appealed to the Scottish Government for help.

?Pro-Kremlin? Tayside blogger granted Russian asylum
25 Oct 2024 at 11:16am
Ex-Dundee University student Graham Phillips was sanctioned by the UK Government for his activities in occupied eastern Ukraine.

Angus nurses lose out on nearly £50k after six-year pay row with NHS Tayside
25 Oct 2024 at 6:00am
NHS Tayside has refused to honour a pay review for two Angus nurses who have served the community for decades.

Readers react to school strikes targeting John Swinney?s Perthshire constituents
24 Oct 2024 at 12:47pm
A strike intended to send a message to the first minister on his home turf has proved divisive among readers of The Courier.

ALASDAIR CLARK: Storm Babet response shows Scotland not serious about climate...
24 Oct 2024 at 6:00am
The prospect of homes deluged during Storm Babet being demolished brings home the reality that parts of the country could become uninhabitable.

Debate: Is it fair for school strikes to target John Swinney?s Perthshire con...
22 Oct 2024 at 1:09pm
Thousands of pupils in Perth & Kinross are being caught up in the targeted strike. Let us know if you think it's fair or not, in our comment section.

4 big challenges on ex-Stirling Council chief?s to-do list as SNP boss
22 Oct 2024 at 6:00am
Carol Beattie, who was until recently chief executive of Stirling Council, will take the helm of the SNP at a challenging time for the party.

Talking up Scotland

Talking-up Scotland

Scottish Tory leader conflicted by ?perfect happiness? over no free prescript...
29 Oct 2024 at 3:37pm
By Anonymous ?Scots would be perfectly happy to see the end of universal free prescriptions from the NHS? says Tory leader (ITO) in Scotland. Meanwhile the same Tory leader (ITO) in Scotland was not ?happy?, as in he was opposed to, Labour UK cutting the ?Universal? Winter Fuel allowance for Pensioners, in fact neither were most of the people who lived in Scotland ?happy? either. In fact Russel...

Steady fall in cardiac death rate over last 10 years
29 Oct 2024 at 3:23pm
By Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland, today, the above graph, and: The rate of hospital discharges of patients with a heart attack has decreased by 20% in the past 10 years. In 2023/24, 94% of people survived 30 days or more following their first heart attack, which is largely unchanged over the past decade. The rate at which new cases of coronary heart disease occur (the...

26% improvement in dental care of Primary 1 children since 2007/2008
29 Oct 2024 at 3:12pm
By Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland today, the above graph. To be fair, this improving trend begins under Labour in 2003-2004 but is enhanced significantly and maintained by the SNP in government over the last 17 years. Source: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/national-dental-inspection-programme/national-dental-inspection-programme-2024/ Support Scots ...

Good news ? major fall in annual trends for suspected drug deaths, A&E and hos...
29 Oct 2024 at 2:19pm
By Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland today: Drug-related data can vary seasonally, so me comparing the same quarter, in this case June-August, gives a more accurate measure of trends. First, on drug deaths: In the latest period (3 June to 25 August 2024), the total number of suspected drug deaths was 225, averaging 19 per week. The total number of deaths was 10% lower tha...

New Tasmania ferry stupidly bought from Finland nearly 18 000 miles away, and...
29 Oct 2024 at 1:19pm
(c) Visit Scotland There are around 10 major shipbuilders in Australia, including Incat which builds large catamaran ferries, yet the Tasmanian government has made things devilishly complicated by ordering 2 new ferries from Finland which, even after a wee break in Leith, will arrive two years before the new berths are completed and have to be leased to some other island – Iceland? According to...

Scottish Cons and Labour?s attack on free prescriptions could cost thousands ...
29 Oct 2024 at 12:12pm
By Professor John Robertson OBA In the National, yesterday: SCOTS would be ?perfectly happy? to see the end of universal free prescriptions from the NHS, the Scottish Tory leader has claimed. As far back as 2012, Scottish Labour would not have protected free prescriptions – Labour leader Johann Lamont has signalled a policy shift by calling for an end to a “something for nothing” culture. https...

Latest Greek ferry tragedy as everything stops in strike affecting most islands
29 Oct 2024 at 10:40am
A late-arriving passenger pushed to his death in the screws at Piraeus, dangerously over-crowded ferries, elderly passengers having to walk through the waves onto the sand carrying their bags after jetty collapses and no winter service at all to the smaller islands in this privatised and unsubsidised system, and now a massive strike over several days which government refuses to care about. From...

Threat of complete tourism collapse as Channel Islands government dillies but...
29 Oct 2024 at 10:20am
Owned by King Charles III and run by centrist/rightist governments, the Channel Island been suffering a terrible ferry fiasco for years now with locals often unable to meet important medical appointments and businesses run businesses, especially in tourism. From BBC South-West, today: Ferry firms and business groups have called for an “immediate” decision on which company will run ferry operati...

Falling fertility rates ? Scotland leads UK in progress for women, families, ...
29 Oct 2024 at 8:29am
BBC Health has this today: Women in England and Wales had an average of 1.44 children between 2022 and 2023, the lowest rate on record. Only 591,072 babies were born in 2023, fewer than in any year since 1977 and a fall of more than 14,000 on the previous year, figures from the Office for National Statistics, external showed. For countries to maintain their populations, the fertility rate needs...

Nuclear Power Stations ? Is Scottish Government being tricked by Shanks? Troj...
29 Oct 2024 at 7:03am
I’m grateful to Frances who, after reading Labour’s new plans to streamline planning applications, wonders: This sounds ominous … Holyrood depends on  control of planning to hold back nuclear lobby? Yesterday, in the National: REFORMS to energy planning rules aimed at accelerating new clean power developments have been unveiled by the Scottish and UK governments. The Scottish Government has wel...

Scotland and Independence

"scotland independence -guardian" - Google News

Watch: Alex Salmond's coffin arriving at Strichen Parish Church - BBC.com
29 Oct 2024 at 2:59pm
Watch: Alex Salmond's coffin arriving at Strichen Parish Church  BBC.com

Don't want independence? Hope you're happy with Nigel Farage - HeraldScotland
29 Oct 2024 at 6:04pm
Don't want independence? Hope you're happy with Nigel Farage  HeraldScotland

Former Scottish leader Alex Salmond dies, aged 69 - RNZ
13 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
Former Scottish leader Alex Salmond dies, aged 69  RNZ

Scottish independence poll 2024 - Statista
9 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
Scottish independence poll 2024  Statista

Alex Salmond remembered as 'outstanding' politician and 'dear friend' at fune...
29 Oct 2024 at 1:04pm
Alex Salmond remembered as 'outstanding' politician and 'dear friend' at funeral  Sky News

Yes leads in first Scottish independence poll since Alex Salmond's death - Th...
26 Oct 2024 at 5:01am
Yes leads in first Scottish independence poll since Alex Salmond's death  The National

Eulogy pours scorn on attempts to downplay Alex Salmond?s role in Scottish in...
29 Oct 2024 at 10:53am
Eulogy pours scorn on attempts to downplay Alex Salmond?s role in Scottish independence  The Telegraph

Alex Salmond, leading figure in Scottish independence movement, dies at age 6...
12 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
Alex Salmond, leading figure in Scottish independence movement, dies at age 69  CNN

Alex Salmond: Scotland?s first nationalist leader and a tireless campaigner f...
12 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
Alex Salmond: Scotland?s first nationalist leader and a tireless campaigner for independence  The Conversation

Alex Salmond, former Scottish first minister who nearly got Scotland?s indepe...
12 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
Alex Salmond, former Scottish first minister who nearly got Scotland?s independence from UK, dies at 69  PBS NewsHour

SNP

"SNP" - Google News

Wee Ginger Dug: SNP's one seat on Scottish Affairs Committee shows Labour's p...
29 Oct 2024 at 7:02pm
Wee Ginger Dug: SNP's one seat on Scottish Affairs Committee shows Labour's pettiness  The National

SNP not given place on Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee - The National
29 Oct 2024 at 10:16am
SNP not given place on Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee  The National

SNP claims there are 24 genders - The Telegraph
20 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
SNP claims there are 24 genders  The Telegraph

John Mason expelled from SNP over 'unacceptable' Gaza posts - BBC.com
13 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
John Mason expelled from SNP over 'unacceptable' Gaza posts  BBC.com

SNP chief executive Murray Foote quits after heavy general election defeat - ...
18 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
SNP chief executive Murray Foote quits after heavy general election defeat  The Guardian

SNP finances probe 'delays' threaten independence movement, whistleblower say...
5 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
SNP finances probe 'delays' threaten independence movement, whistleblower says  Sky News

Alex Salmond death ? latest: Nicola Sturgeon pays tribute to ?mentor? ex-Scot...
13 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
Alex Salmond death ? latest: Nicola Sturgeon pays tribute to ?mentor? ex-Scottish first minister  The Independent

Alex Salmond normalised concept of Scottish independence as he led SNP to pow...
13 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
Alex Salmond normalised concept of Scottish independence as he led SNP to power  The Guardian

John Mason happy to repeat 'no genocide' claim after SNP expulsion - BBC.com
14 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
John Mason happy to repeat 'no genocide' claim after SNP expulsion  BBC.com

SNP expels MSP over ?utterly abhorrent? comments on Israel-Hamas conflict - T...
13 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
SNP expels MSP over ?utterly abhorrent? comments on Israel-Hamas conflict  The Guardian

Referendum (Google News)

"Scotland referendum -guardian -telegraph" - Google News

UK Budget 'needs to invest in services and infrastructure' - BBC.com
27 Oct 2024 at 4:52am
UK Budget 'needs to invest in services and infrastructure'  BBC.com

Scottish independence poll 2024 - Statista
9 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
Scottish independence poll 2024  Statista

Yes leads in first Scottish independence poll since Alex Salmond's death - Th...
26 Oct 2024 at 5:01am
Yes leads in first Scottish independence poll since Alex Salmond's death  The National

Ten years on from Scotland?s independence referendum - The Economist
18 Sep 2024 at 8:00am
Ten years on from Scotland?s independence referendum  The Economist

10th anniversary of the Scottish independence referendum - Sky News
18 Sep 2024 at 8:00am
10th anniversary of the Scottish independence referendum  Sky News

Alex Salmond, former Scottish first minister who nearly got Scotland?s indepe...
12 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
Alex Salmond, former Scottish first minister who nearly got Scotland?s independence from UK, dies at 69  PBS NewsHour

Alex Salmond, champion of Scottish independence, dies at 69 - The Washington ...
12 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
Alex Salmond, champion of Scottish independence, dies at 69  The Washington Post

Alex Salmond, former Scottish First Minister who sought Scotland's independen...
12 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
Alex Salmond, former Scottish First Minister who sought Scotland's independence, dies at 69  CBS News

Scottish independence: 10 years on - YouGov
17 Sep 2024 at 8:00am
Scottish independence: 10 years on  YouGov

Body of Scottish independence champion Alex Salmond flown home from North Mac...
18 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
Body of Scottish independence champion Alex Salmond flown home from North Macedonia  ABC News