The Herald

The Herald | Politics


Mapped: How every Scottish constituency is predicted to vote - full list
3 Apr 2025 at 12:01am
Labour down. SNP up. Reform surging (but not in Scotland), according to a new MRP poll. We?ve mapped every Scottish constituency ? see who?s winning and where the margins are tightest.


SNP set to gain from Labour as Reform surges across UK, MRP poll suggests
3 Apr 2025 at 12:01am
Labour are on course to lose 19 of the 37 seats won in Scotland just nine months ago, according to a new poll.


Scottish industries react to Donald Trump tariff decision on US imports
2 Apr 2025 at 10:41pm
Scottish industries are urging the UK government to find a better deal with the US after Donald Trump announced tariffs on products.


Trump had the whole world waiting... just the way he wanted
2 Apr 2025 at 10:15pm
Fears over US trade policy warranted on tumultuous day for world trade


Scotch Whisky Association reveals disappointment at US tariff imposed by Dona...
2 Apr 2025 at 9:57pm
The Scotch Whisky Association admits it is ?disappointed? by Donald Trump?s announcement that there will be a 10% tariff placed on UK imports to America.


Fergus Ewing slams as Nairn bypass ?granddaddy of all undelivered Scotgov ple...
2 Apr 2025 at 1:32pm
A former minister has described his party?s failure to deliver on its Nairn bypass commitment on time as the ?granddaddy of all undelivered Scottish Government pledges?.


Lib Dems warn Kate Forbes her SNP Holyrood seat is under threat in 2026
2 Apr 2025 at 9:05am
Kate Forbes has been warned her SNP Holyrood seat is the main target for the Scottish Liberal Democrats.


Scottish ministers accused of lacking leadership on alcohol rehab in prison
2 Apr 2025 at 6:00am
A leading charity has warned the Scottish Government lacks leadership amid the significant scale of problematic alcohol use in prison.


Robison hits back at Murray over claims SNP 'holding back Scottish growth'
2 Apr 2025 at 5:00am
Finance Secretary Shona Robison says the UK Chancellor is imposing cuts that will hit vulnerable Scots, calling Labour claims of SNP mismanagement ?not credible.?


Scottish growth forecasts cut
2 Apr 2025 at 4:33am
Scottish growth forecasts have been cut by the leading think-tank


So why does a Glasgow west end MSP want to switch to the Southside?
2 Apr 2025 at 1:48pm
So why does the SNP MSP for Glasgow Kelvin want to become the MSP for Southside?


Inside story: What's it like working in one of Scotland hothouse prisons
2 Apr 2025 at 5:00am
Senior prison officer Alan Henderson describes working life at top secuity HMP Low Moss, currently operating on the highest red risk security status.


Starmer urged to grant UK visas to Americans who want to escape Trump regime
2 Apr 2025 at 5:00am
Sir Keir Starmer should offer UK visas to Americans fleeing the Trump regime, according to the Scottish Liberal Democrats who want new customs union with Europe.


UK escapes worst as Trump slaps 'Liberation Day' tariffs on all imports
2 Apr 2025 at 9:37pm
Donald Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on UK and EU imports, including a 25% levy on foreign-made cars. Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer vow a measured response amid fears of a trade war.

The Scotsman

The Scotsman Politics


Donald Trump announces 10% tariffs on UK imports
2 Apr 2025 at 9:52pm

The US president unveiled his tariffs on Wednesday evening

The Scottish Government has called for a wealth tax to be introduced to protect public services.

MSPs fought back tears as they moved a motion of condolence in Holyrood

Substantial construction milestones have been completed for new Royal Navy warships being built.

A tariffs announcement will be made late on Wednesday evening by US president Donald Trump as he marks what he has called ?Liberation Day?

Patrick Harvie said he intended to stay on as an MSP

The Scotsman takes a look at what you need to know about today?s White House announcement by Donald Trump on what the US president has branded ?Liberation Day?

Academics said there could be a ?long and contentious road ahead?

Growing unease as firms anticipate ?rising costs and escalating geopolitical tension?

Wings over Scotland

The Gender Of Mountains
28 Mar 2025 at 11:26am
It’s increasingly common now for the Scottish news to feature another prison scandal or employment-tribunal judgment highlighting the extent of gender-ideology capture in the country’s public authorities. But it?s normally quite hard to get an overall picture of just how captured any particular public body really is, so we should offer some thanks to the …

The Long Future
27 Mar 2025 at 2:17pm
As he often does, Robin McAlpine has an interesting blog post up. Now, as alert readers will know, we’ve been calling for that on Wings for at least the last couple of years. For sane people any credible hope of reforming the SNP is long gone, by the deliberate design of its leadership, and so …

The Sacrifice
22 Mar 2025 at 2:38am

The Deep-Fried Banana Republic
20 Mar 2025 at 4:42pm
It’s 18C today in Bath, readers, so after the dentist we went out to enjoy the sunshine for the afternoon. And you know what happens when we go out. But really, what even is there to say? Two years after she was arrested and taken to a police station for questioning, where we’re reliably informed …

Live chat update
17 Mar 2025 at 4:56pm
So as promised, and having now spent 11 months trying to get answers any other way, this afternoon we had a live chat with controversial charity LGBT Youth Scotland. Below is how it went. When you log in, there’s an optional dropdown box where you can enter your age. The only options it allows are …

The Unquestionables
17 Mar 2025 at 12:26pm
In April last year we wrote to LGBT Youth Scotland asking them to explain why they were conducting activities in primary schools (and even with pre-school children) about sexual matters despite only having a remit to work with young people aged 13-25. We received no reply, so we contacted the Office of the Scottish Charity …

The plainest sight
16 Mar 2025 at 12:06pm
You know what, Surrey Live, we think you’re probably right. We DO think people will remember him. Some of those details are the sort of things that stick in the mind. And Ireland didn’t exactly keep it under wraps. ? The cover art is particularly on the nose. “Stay weird.” “Just be you.” “Be that …

Meet The FILTH
15 Mar 2025 at 12:24pm
It stands for “Failed In London, Try Holyrood”, of course. So enjoy The March Of The Rejects next year, as the SNP explains to you why you were wrong not to elect these candidates last year and gives you a chance to atone for your shameful error. You lucky people.

Signal and noise
12 Mar 2025 at 2:17pm
The Presiding Officer has finally reluctantly deigned to allow the Scottish Parliament to discuss the issues arising from Sandie Peggie vs NHS Fife, in the shape of a debate taking place in the chamber this afternoon brought forward by the Scottish Tories. We suspect that watching it will be profound waste of time and a …

The evolution of fairness
11 Mar 2025 at 3:13pm
Some of our more alert readers may recall the events of four years ago this month, when a mob of SNP representatives all suddenly raged against the idea of (perfectly legally) “gaming” the Holyrood electoral system to produce a pro-indy supermajority. Voters try to organise themselves to maximise their desired outcomes all the time (see …

Craig Murray

Liberation Scotland
2 Apr 2025 at 3:27pm

It is remarkable that few would dispute that Ireland was a British colony before most of it became Independent, but to point to Scotland’s highly analogous colonial position brings howls of anger. All Empires employ the human resources of their colonies. India was conquered for the British by Indian soldiers, not by British troops. Nearly …

Liberation Scotland

Starmer?s Thatcherite Economics
24 Mar 2025 at 7:41pm

You can only support the current manifestation of late-stage capitalism, if you believe that massive inequality of wealth is necessary to wealth creation, or if you believe that the total amount of wealth is unimportant so long as a very small minority are extremely wealthy. “Trickledown economics” is at heart simply a statement of the …

Starmer’s Thatcherite Economics

Artificial Intelligence vs Corrupt Judges
21 Mar 2025 at 11:41am

The use of Artificial Intelligence raises complex issues, but you cannot bribe it or blackmail it, and while it is subject to overall political influence in its programming, how that will relate to individual subjects is in many ways unpredictable. Rather on a whim, I decided to ask easily available and free Artificial Intelligence sources …

Artificial Intelligence vs Corrupt Judges

The Rot at the Core of ?Democracy?
18 Mar 2025 at 10:51am

As 320 Palestinians were massacred last night, most of them women and children, we live in a world where it is accepted as legal that Trump2 is genocidally Zionist because he received a $100 million donation from Miriam Adelson to be so. In addition to which Adelson is the second largest donor to AIPAC, which …

The Rot at the Core of “Democracy”

The Curious Case of Mahmoud Khalil
14 Mar 2025 at 2:32pm

Two key points the discussion has mostly missed: 1) It has been a bipartisan Justice Department policy for years to attempt to establish that the First Amendment does not apply to non-US citizens 2) Why has the Trump administration chosen Mahmoud Khalil out of thousands of potential victims; about as problematic a test case as …

The Curious Case of Mahmoud Khalil

The Moral Balance
12 Mar 2025 at 11:17am

There is a logical fallacy that dominates European neoliberal “thinking” at the moment. It goes like this. “Hitler had unlimited territorial ambition and proceeded to attempt conquest of all Europe after annexing the Sudetenland. Therefore Putin has unlimited territorial ambition and will proceed to attempt conquest of all Europe after annexing Eastern Ukraine.” This fallacious …

The Moral Balance

BBC Scotland

Scottish exporters 'disappointed' over Trump tariffs
2 Apr 2025 at 11:02pm
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes says the new 10% levy will have a negative impact on Scotland's economy.

Patrick Harvie to stand down as Scottish Greens co-leader
2 Apr 2025 at 3:39pm
The MSP is the longest-serving party chief at Holyrood, having been in the role for almost 17 years.

MSP's emotional tribute to 'star' and partner Christina McKelvie
2 Apr 2025 at 5:51pm
Keith Brown pays an emotional tribute to his partner Christina McKelvie MSP following her death.

Prison service boss says it should lose prosecution immunity
2 Apr 2025 at 6:32pm
Teresa Medhurst has backed the removal of crown immunity over deaths in custody.

Stephen Flynn confirms bid to win seat at Holyrood
1 Apr 2025 at 3:22pm
The SNP Westminster leader looks set to be chosen as the party's candidate in Aberdeen South and North Kincardine.

Councillor hits out at online trolls as she quits
1 Apr 2025 at 3:42pm
Maxine Smith says she has quit for personal reasons after 18 years as a Highland councillor.

Care at home to expand in plan to cut NHS waiting times
31 Mar 2025 at 10:13pm
An extra £200m of funding will go towards improvements, including greater use of digital technology.

Swinney leads tributes to SNP minister McKelvie
27 Mar 2025 at 1:43pm
Emotional parliamentarians shared their memories of McKelvie following her death at the age of 57.

Patient safety at risk from GP burnout, warns doctor
30 Mar 2025 at 12:00pm
Dr Sigi Joseph said GPs have to soak up more work while cross-covering shifts for each other, causing exhaustion.

Cuts needed to fund UK tax hike, says Robison
26 Mar 2025 at 5:36pm
The finance secretary says her government is facing a "major shortfall" after the chancellor's Spring Statement.

MacAskill succeeds Salmond as Alba leader
26 Mar 2025 at 11:46am
The former SNP justice minister defeated Ash Regan to lead the party after the death of its founder.

Ex-Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross to stand down as MSP
25 Mar 2025 at 12:20pm
The former Scottish Conservative leader has signalled he will seek to return to Westminster as an MP.

Scot Goes Pop

As rumours mount that Ash Regan may be on the brink of leaving the Alba party...
2 Apr 2025 at 3:46pm
I think by this stage it's fair to say that something is definitely afoot with Ash Regan, although probably only a tiny handful of people know exactly what's going on.  Even the best-informed peopl...

Labour in total freefall as they slump to new post-election low in any poll f...
2 Apr 2025 at 10:14am
These numbers initially seemed so wild that I had to double-check they weren't an April Fool, but someone from More In Common posted them on Twitter this morning (ie. as opposed to yesterday) so th...

A direct reply to Shannon Donoghue's threats: You, madam, are an overgrown ad...
1 Apr 2025 at 3:52am
When I heard a few hours ago that Shannon Donoghue had once again blown her top about me on social media, I laughed and said "I've got the sacred annual tradition of the Scot Goes Pop April Fool to...

How can the Alba Party ask for the trust of the public when it has shafted it...
31 Mar 2025 at 2:21pm
After yesterday's blogpost, an Alba member was kind enough to send me the full text of the relatively minor changes to the Alba constitution that were put to the party conference on Friday.  He als...

Alba's pay-per-vote NEC elections descend into chaos yet again as members are...
30 Mar 2025 at 11:24am
You really couldn't make this up.  Having practically torn their party apart just to keep the loathed and utterly discredited pay-per-vote system for NEC elections, you'd think the Alba leadership ...

The authors of the "Wee Alba Book" have both now rejected Alba - and Wings is...
28 Mar 2025 at 3:41pm
My year-and-a-bit on the Alba NEC, which now seems like about five centuries ago, was dominated by the interminable 'Wee Alba Book Tour'.  It got to the point where even McEleny was being a bit sar...

CALAMITY COLUMBO: Stunning rebuke to the Corri Nostra as Chris Cullen *FAILS*...
28 Mar 2025 at 11:25am
"You see, I'm a little confused here, sir...why have I lost the election?"The freshly announced Alba Party office bearer results are the quintessential curate's egg - good in parts, bad in others. ...

"Alba insiders" tell The Sun that the leadership election was rigged: yup, th...
27 Mar 2025 at 4:08pm
Now I'm not saying all of the leaks from "Alba insiders" to the unionist press over the last few months have necessarily come from "Mad Dog" - it's just that all of the quotes have sounded exactly ...

STV Politics News

Latest Politics News | STV News

Scottish Whisky Association ?disappointed? after Trump hits UK with 10% tariff
2 Apr 2025 at 10:00pm
The US president said his ?liberation day? announcement was a ?declaration of economic independence?.

Christina McKelvie?s partner pays emotional tribute to ?soulmate?
2 Apr 2025 at 4:35pm
Keith Brown said McKelvie was 'the best thing that ever happened to me'.

Horizon scandal: Postmaster?s life ?ruined? by injustice
2 Apr 2025 at 4:25pm
Rab Thomson said many victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal are 'unaware' that they can be exonerated.

Keir Starmer says UK ?preparing for all eventualities? as Trump?s tarffis loom
2 Apr 2025 at 1:21pm
'We?re taking a calm, pragmatic approach and keeping our feet on the ground', Starmer said.

Holyrood to honour SNP MSP Christina McKelvie following death at 57
2 Apr 2025 at 11:46am
Christina McKelvie announced in August that she would be taking medical leave due to treatment for secondary breast cancer.

MSP Patrick Harvie to step down as co-leader of Scottish Greens
2 Apr 2025 at 11:09am
Harvie was first elected in 2003 and is the Scottish Green's longest serving MSP.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer to face PMQs ahead of Donald Trump?s ?Liberation ...
2 Apr 2025 at 10:48am
Businesses will be hit by a new round of US trade tariffs on Wednesday afternoon.

Westminster decisions ?risk serious social and economic damage?, says Robison
2 Apr 2025 at 8:31am
The Finance Secretary said the Scottish Government would push UK ministers to ?change course?.

How will Donald Trump?s ?Liberation Day? tariffs impact you?
1 Apr 2025 at 5:24pm
Businesses will be hit by a new round of US trade tariffs on Wednesday.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn to run for Holyrood at next election
1 Apr 2025 at 5:02pm
Stephen Flynn intends to step down as an MP to take up a seat at Holyrood.

Scottish Water says ?door is open? as unions urged to ballot members on pay o...
1 Apr 2025 at 1:01pm
Staff walked out of the public body last week over a pay dispute.

Dundee University guilty of ?vandalism? as cuts to be ?worse than expected?
1 Apr 2025 at 12:01pm
An independent investigation into the university's financial crisis is ongoing.

Majority of Scots oppose early release of prisoners, poll finds
1 Apr 2025 at 7:18am
Scottish Government policy allows eligible inmates sentenced to less than four years to be released after serving 40% of their term.

?Ambitious? NHS improvement plan to reduce waiting times and increase capacity
31 Mar 2025 at 1:24pm
The Scottish Government's new NHS improvement plan is 'ambitious but realistic', according to the health secretary.

Daily Record

Daily Record - Politics

Donald Trump announces 10% tariffs on UK imports
2 Apr 2025 at 9:31pm
The UK got the joint lowest tariff rate of any country.

Hundreds of Grangemouth refinery workers agree redundancy terms with new jobs...
2 Apr 2025 at 1:44pm
Scotland's last remaining oil refinery is already in the process of being wound down with the future of the wider industrial site up for debate.

Donald Trump tariffs mean UK will take 'pragmatic approach', Keir Starmer pro...
2 Apr 2025 at 1:32pm
The US President is expected to slap import taxes on goods going to the US from around the world in a White House statement at 9pm.

Patrick Harvie to stand down as Scottish Greens co-leader after 17 years
2 Apr 2025 at 11:05am
The long-serving MSP has announced he will not seek re-election.

Glasgow Labour leader calls on UK Government to scrap plans to cut disability...
2 Apr 2025 at 7:57am
EXCLUSIVE: Long-serving councillor George Redmond claimed the proposals were something a Tory chancellor could have announced.

Scots MP fights to stop Easter eggs getting smaller and more expensive amid '...
2 Apr 2025 at 4:30am
EXCLUSIVE: Blair McDougall wants to force companies to clearly label when they make their products smaller.

Donald Trump set to announce tariffs today with UK likely to be hit
2 Apr 2025 at 4:30am
The US President will unveil sweeping tariffs on goods from around the world on Wednesday.

'£10bn funding black hole' at heart of SNP plan to decarbonise council homes ...
2 Apr 2025 at 4:30am
EXCLUSIVE: The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations warns costs of replacing gas boilers with clean heat sources are 'vastly underestimated'.

SNP urges Rachel Reeves to 'change course' as benefit cuts risks 'social and ...
2 Apr 2025 at 4:30am
Shona Robison spoke out after the UK Chancellor last week announced nearly £5 billion in benefit cuts by the end of the decade.

Scottish Labour under 'pressure' over Holyrood vote on UK Government welfare ...
2 Apr 2025 at 4:30am
EXCLUSIVE: MSPs will be forced to take a position on the Labour Government plan to save billions from the social security budget.

The National

The National | Politics

How Patrick Harvie helped the Scottish Greens become a serious political force
2 Apr 2025 at 6:42pm

I WAS three years old when Patrick Harvie was elected as Glasgow?s first ever Green MSP in 2003, and I was seven when he became co-convener of the party back in 2007 ...

Blaming refugees for crises is oldest trick in the oligarch?s playbook
2 Apr 2025 at 6:36pm

TO even entertain the notion that refugees ? those displaced by war, persecution, or the ravages of a world order they did not choose ?are the architects of Britain?s crumbling public services, its energy crises, or the stagnation of wages is to swallow, whole and unchewed, the most grotesque of falsehoods. Let us not mince words: this is a lie so brazen, so cynically manufactured, that it woul...

Is Angela Rayner now embarrassed that she called the Tories 'scum'?
2 Apr 2025 at 6:30pm

THE racism attributed to Keir Starmer in Tuesday?s National made me think of Angela Rayner who, as deputy leader of the opposition, once referred to the Tories as ?scum?. She said at the time that this was owing to their racism and misogyny, though I imagine the Tories? austerity politics rankled too.

Israel looks to carve up Gaza with new 'security corridor'
2 Apr 2025 at 5:23pm

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that Israel is establishing a new security corridor across Gaza as the country said it planned to seize large areas of the Palestinian territory and launched a wave of strikes that Palestinian health officials said killed more than 40 people.

Elon Musk will take a step back, Donald Trump tells inner circle
2 Apr 2025 at 5:22pm

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has told close confidantes, including members of his cabinet, that Elon Musk will be leaving his current role in the coming weeks

Labour warned 'you're responsible if anything happens to Jaggi'
2 Apr 2025 at 4:30pm

THE UK Government has been warned that ?if anything untoward were to happen? to a Scot who has faced torture and the threat of execution in an Indian jail, his brother will hold them responsible.

SNP's Keith Brown pays tribute to 'star' partner Christina McKelvie
2 Apr 2025 at 4:07pm

Keith Brown has paid tribute to his "star" partner Christina McKelvie in the Scottish Parliament following her death aged 57.

Post Office scandal victim says life 'ruined' as he starts Scottish support g...
2 Apr 2025 at 3:46pm

A former sub-postmaster who was wrongly convicted under the Horizon scandal has said the injustice left his life ?ruined? as he launched a new support group for Scottish victims ...

Who could replace Patrick Harvie as Scottish Greens co-leader?
2 Apr 2025 at 3:43pm

PATRICK Harvie has announced he plans to step down as co-leader of the Scottish Greens and the question of who will replace him will be firmly on voters? minds.

Alba to review leadership election after 'false' claims vote 'was rigged'
2 Apr 2025 at 3:39pm

ALBA?S leadership election is to be reviewed in an attempt to quash accusations briefed to the media that the vote was ?rigged? ...

Holyrood Magazine

Holyrood Website

Shona Robison: UK Government 'balancing books on backs of disabled people'
2 Apr 2025 at 6:37pm
Labour says the chancellor is on a 'rescue mission' for public services

Scotland to showcase gaming industry at world-renowned event
2 Apr 2025 at 4:36pm
Eight Scottish games companies will travel to Japan and showcase their products at the World Expo in Osaka

UK Government under pressure to back crypto market
2 Apr 2025 at 3:19pm
In a letter to the prime minister?s special advisor on business a?group?of trade bodies called for ?greater strategic focus and alignment? in the blockchain ecosystem

Patrick Harvie to step down as Greens co-leader
2 Apr 2025 at 12:16pm
The Glasgow MSP has been at the helm of the party since 2008

Stephen Flynn confirms Scottish Parliament bid
1 Apr 2025 at 5:15pm
SNP Westminster leader wins local backing as selection process continues

Come clean on ?13bn hole in full fiscal autonomy policy, Michael Marra tells ...
1 Apr 2025 at 4:40pm
Shona Robison has confirmed it was the government?s second preferred option ? after full independence

New ?pivotal? legislation to force businesses to boost cyber defences
1 Apr 2025 at 12:05pm
New measures plan to give Peter Kyle the power to require firms to strengthen their cyber security defences. ?

AI to underpin Scottish tech sector growth plans, survey reveals
1 Apr 2025 at 7:00am
Research carried out by ScotlandIS has shown that a majority of tech firms are optimistic about the coming year, with AI and machine learning expected to be the biggest areas of growth

University of Dundee cuts to be ?worse than expected?
1 Apr 2025 at 12:36am
In a letter to the Scottish Parliament?s education committee, interim principal Shane O'Neill provided further details as to how the university will try to bridge its ?35m deficit

Mandy Rhodes receives two Scottish Press Awards nominations
31 Mar 2025 at 8:00am
Holyrood?s managing editor has been shortlisted for Columnist of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year

Guardian - Scottish Politics

Scottish politics | The Guardian

Patrick Harvie to stand down as co-leader of Scottish Greens
2 Apr 2025 at 2:38pm
UK?s longest-serving parliamentary leader will leave legacy of rent freeze, housing rights and free under-21 bus travelUK politics live ? latest updatesPatrick Harvie, the UK?s longest serving parliamentary leader, has announced he is standing down as co-convener of the Scottish Greens after near...

Asylum system risks ?damaging social cohesion?, Glasgow city council warns
1 Apr 2025 at 12:01pm
Council says cost running into tens of millions, as homeless refugees granted asylum across UK come to city for supportThe asylum system risks ?damaging social cohesion? with homeless refugees putting ?unprecedented pressure? on Glasgow services, the city council has warned.Glasgow city council, ...

?Good chance? Reeves will have to raise taxes in autumn budget, thinktank say...
27 Mar 2025 at 5:18pm
Institute for Fiscal Studies also warns Reeves over her focus on sticking with fiscal rules regardless of real world eventsIn an interview with ITV?s Good Morning Britain, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, said she would not accept free tickets for concerts again in the future.Asked about the contro...

The battle for Glasgow?s Wyndford estate ? photo essay
24 Mar 2025 at 12:44pm
A carbon crime or bright new future? For nearly four years, a fierce debate raged over demolishing the site?s high-rise flatsFor nearly four years, a fierce debate raged over the future of the Wyndford estate in Glasgow, dividing residents and sparking wider national controversy. Was the demoliti...

Scottish voters split over free tuition as university financial crisis deepens
24 Mar 2025 at 5:00am
Poll finds up to 48% of voters believe Scottish students who can afford it should pay, with 29% opposedScottish voters are divided over Scotland?s policy of free tuition for Scottish students as the crisis over university finances intensified.A poll commissioned by the Carnegie Trust for the Univ...

?Hostile environment? drives many of SNP?s female MSPs to step down before 20...
23 Mar 2025 at 12:00pm
Women at Holyrood cite lack of support from party, abuse in chamber and online, and tolerance of bullyingHolyrood is becoming a ?hostile environment for women? and a significant number of female MSPs in the Scottish National party are stepping down before the May 2026 elections, citing lack of su...

Starmer must drop ?cruel? Pip proposals or face ?mother of all rebellions?, L...
19 Mar 2025 at 5:53pm
Richard Burgon says PM?s failure to defend new Pip eligibility rules at PMQs shows why ?cruel? plans should be dropped. This live blog is closedScores of Labour MPs raise concerns over welfare changesLast night, to back up its analysis of the disability cuts, the Institute for Fiscal Studies publ...

David Lammy says G7 considering further moves to pressure Russia into agreein...
17 Mar 2025 at 6:13pm
?We have more cards we can play,? foreign secretary tells MPs as he says G7 foreign ministers found ?common ground? when meeting last weekThe Reform UK press conference is about to start. There is a live feed here.Nigel Farage is going to announce that 29 councillors have defected to his party, a...

We know Nicola Sturgeon will stand down next year. But don't write her off ju...
14 Mar 2025 at 11:00am
For all the challenges, flaws and failures, there was a symbolism to her tenure that still engages the public and inspires younger activistsNicola Sturgeon must be sick of the sight of her own obituaries. Since she confirmed on Wednesday that she will not seek re-election as a MSP at next May?s H...

UK politics: Unison attacks ?shambolic? announcement of NHS England?s aboliti...
13 Mar 2025 at 6:12pm
Union says staff will have been left reeling after surprise news that body will be scrappedStarmer is now talking about regulatation, and giving examples of where he thinks it has gone too far.l give you an example. There?s a office conversion in Bingley, which, as you know, is in Yorkshire. That...

Wee Ginger Dug

Wee Ginger Dug

Reeves?s neo-liberal choice to punish the disabled
27 Mar 2025 at 4:30pm
Just before the Chancellor Rachel Reeves made her Spring Budget statement this week, the Guardian newspaper published a story reporting on the new austerity cuts that she was set to announce, the headline ran: “Further benefits cuts planned as Rachel Reeves forced to find extra £1.6bn.” This headline is, to put it kindly, misleading. Reeves …

Branchform?s meagre fruit
23 Mar 2025 at 12:19pm
It cost £2.3 million, it lasted four years. It originated in a politically motivated complaint from a notorious attention seeker with a habit of making nuisance complaints to the police, but Police Scotland’s Operation Branchform has finally come to an end – without any charges being brought against former first minister Nicola Sturgeon or former …

Labour out-Tories the Tories
18 Mar 2025 at 8:11pm
The head of the DWP, the Department of Wickedness and Persecution, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, the mad axe-woman of Westminster, today announced the biggest cuts ever to sickness and disability benefits, kicking away the crutches of some of the most vulnerable in society. The scale of the cuts is horrifying, all the more …

Visits from space aliens
16 Mar 2025 at 7:04pm
You may not have noticed, on account of doing something far more engrossing, like de-fluffing your navel, but last week Scotland was ‘graced’ – I use the term advisedly – by a visit from Russell Findlay’s boss Kemi Badenoch, a woman who makes the notoriously ill-tempered and uptight deputy leader of Reform UK, Richard Tetchy, …

Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer, we?ll kick your crutches out of here.
10 Mar 2025 at 8:18pm
Labour’s plan to target the disabled and the long term sick have been widely trailed in advance. The final details are to be announced at the end of this month, but it is expected that those on long term sickness benefits will come under greater pressure to find work or risk their already meagre benefits …

Chippy Richard Tetchy goes to the chippy
6 Mar 2025 at 7:32pm
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage mini-me, the notoriously bad tempered Richard Tetchy, sorry, Tice, was in Scotland this week in order to pretend that he and Farage’s private limited company masquerading as a democratically constituted far right English nationalist party actually care about Scotland. Spoiler alert, he failed miserably. It has been clear for some time …

The end of the Anglosaxon transatlantic alliance
1 Mar 2025 at 2:44pm
Anyone who’s not a fan of Putin or who hasn’t drunk deep of the MAGA Kool-Aid was horrified by the disgusting scenes in the Oval Office yesterday when America’s extortionist in chief and his pet rodent JD Vance ambushed the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who was in Washington DC ostensibly to sign a deal giving …

Rest in peace, Mary Docherty
28 Feb 2025 at 8:39pm
My friend Mary (known to her family as Maureen) Docherty passed away this morning. Mary was a huge lover of Scotland and a long time supporter of independence. Mary was one of the first people I met through this blog. Back in the blog’s early days, before the independence referendum when my late husband Andy …

Taking out the Nigel Garbage
27 Feb 2025 at 7:39pm
Nigel Farage, the man who makes you wish for a time machine so you could go back to the 1960s and insist his father used a condom, has announced that he’s planning a trip to Scotland in order to boost his far right band of millionaire enabling English ethno-nationalists in plenty of time for the …

The vile, gruesome people in charge of the Labour party
23 Feb 2025 at 7:21pm
Labour held its Scottish conference in Glasgow over the weekend. Naturally, it featured U-turn Sarwar and the pantomime Dame misrepresenting NHS Scotland, never mind that Labour is making a far worse job of running the NHS in Wales. Anas Sarwar is his own man, he makes his own decisions, and it’s entirely coincidental that he …

The Courier

Scottish Politics News From Holyrood and Westminster | The Courier

John Swinney: I can win back voters in Glenrothes by-election
2 Apr 2025 at 7:09pm
The first minister was speaking in Glenrothes as he campaigned in the council by-election.

Ex-Dundee University chief Iain Gillespie finally agrees to Holyrood grilling...
2 Apr 2025 at 2:19pm
MSPs will likely question the former principal and four others after Holyrood's Easter break this month.

EXCLUSIVE: SNP ministers ?volcanic? at Dundee University saying 700 jobs coul...
2 Apr 2025 at 11:45am
The Courier was told about the scale of anger inside government offices when further details were revealed by university management.

EXCLUSIVE: SNP government reduced initial Dundee University lifeline cash by £5m
2 Apr 2025 at 6:00am
Emergency loans announced by Shona Robison in February had originally been set at £20 million before the package was announced, The Courier can reveal.

Equalities watchdog sends enforcement warning to NHS Fife over trans changing...
1 Apr 2025 at 1:41pm
The regulator intervened in the row over NHS Fife allowing trans staff to use single-sex changing facilities.

NHS Fife refuses to answer SECOND key question on trans row tribunal
1 Apr 2025 at 6:00am
The health board previously refused to declare how much it had spent on the controversial case so far.

700 Dundee University staff could leave as crisis cuts hit life sciences
31 Mar 2025 at 8:58pm
Principal Shane O?Neill revealed the human cost of the cuts and the subjects at the institution which could be dramatically scaled back to plug a £35 million deficit.

EXCLUSIVE: St Andrews rector claims she?s victim of university ?smear campaig...
31 Mar 2025 at 6:00am
In an interview with The Courier, Stella Maris says university principal Sally Mapstone should be investigated for trying to silence pro-Palestine voices.

COURIER OPINION: All Dundee University chiefs owe staff answers ? even if it ...
29 Mar 2025 at 6:00am
Two senior managers at the institution - including ex-principal Iain Gillespie - have turned down requests to be grilled by MSPs.

EXCLUSIVE: Eljamel ?criminal investigation? launched as police chief reveals ...
28 Mar 2025 at 2:31pm
Police have already been probing the rogue former NHS Tayside surgeon for more than six years.

Talking up Scotland

Talking-up Scotland

Channel 4 reports 150 knife attacks in schools in England & Wales but has no ...
2 Apr 2025 at 10:13pm
Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Legerwood for alerting me to this. Channel 4 tonight had the above story. Had this been drug deaths you can be sure the Scottish data would be presented to remind us of our status as the drug death capital of Europe. I am not aware of directly comparable figures for Scotland and neither are Channel 4’s researchers, it seems, but there is evidence to point ...

?Scottish? MP praises NHS England and damns NHS Scotland on behalf of her boss
2 Apr 2025 at 9:51pm
By Liz S Imogen Walker , Labour MP for Hamilton and Clyde since last year, stood up today in PMQ?s to feed her weak and needy Labour leader with the usual #SotlandIsSh*te and also BTW her declaring that apparently #EnglandIsBetter. This kind of infantile behaviour neither impresses nor fools anyone into believing the credibility of what is being spun by MP?s like her as part of the weekly panto...

On Malta, timetables are purely expressions of intent ? ferries leave when t...
2 Apr 2025 at 7:02pm
By JB Didn?t see this across ?our? media, after all The herald and STV, are shouting about ?new direct flights from Glasgow to ?fantastic? holiday destination? Glasgow Airport sees new twice-weekly Malta flight launched | The Herald Ryanair announces new direct flights to Malta | STV News People stranded at Gozo fast ferry terminals after gangway falls in sea. No politician, no MP, no council, ...

100% of 328 prisoner referrals started alcohol-dependency treatment within th...
2 Apr 2025 at 8:55am
Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland on 25 March 2025, for the quarter 1 October to 31 December 2024, latest release: 328 referrals to prison-based services started treatment. Of these, 302 (92.1%) involved a wait of three weeks or less (alcohol, 100.0%; co-dependency, 98.6%; drugs, 88.9%). In the Herald report today: Scottish ministers ‘lack leadership’ in prison alcohol re...

Despite daily media campaign to undermine it Public satisfaction with NHS hig...
2 Apr 2025 at 8:38am
Professor John Robertson OBA Regulars here will have seen our almost daily rebuttals of the lies and selective bias against NHS Scotland and our reports of 95% plus target busting in areas such as IVF, operations completed and drug and alcohol treatment. You will also have seen our comparisons of, for example, the crucial cancer and 18 week waiting lists showing far better performance in Scotla...

BC Ferries in Canada just beginning to think of replacing four ferries betwee...
2 Apr 2025 at 8:04am
Professor John Robertson OBA From Global News yesterday: BC Ferries is going to get four new major vessels for its fleet. The new vessels will replace the aging Queens of Alberni 49, New Westminster 61, Coquitlam 49, and Cowichan 49, which are the oldest major ships still in use. BC Ferries applied for five new diesel-battery hybrid, all-electric-ready ships, but the independent British...

How the Scottish Government is supporting improved cancer care ? but shameful...
1 Apr 2025 at 9:28pm
By JB Some positive things you will not be allowed to read about in the ?Scottish? media. Funding for projects to benefit patients and clinical staff. A total of £1.5 million funding in 2024-25 is supporting 12 projects to continue providing direct and personalised support to patients with cancer. Over £1.5 million will support 12 pilot projects across Scotland to deliver a single point of cont...

So when will bills come down?
1 Apr 2025 at 5:51pm
By Liz S Research that is NOT ?Good news? for Anas Sarwar and Labour. (that, as a situation, is now becoming a habitual position for Sarwar and Labour) I looked on MSM Monitor Twitter account. He has a video where in a September 2024 Radio interview the BBC?s Gary Robertson asks a straight forward direct Q that should then have received a straight forward direct answer from the interviewee, Ana...

A&E in Scotland ? 17% better than NHS England, fewest waiting more than 4 hour...
1 Apr 2025 at 3:24pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From Accident and emergency Accredited official statistics for February 2025, published by Public Health Scotland today, for Type 1, full emergency departments: 818,710 (68.2%) of type 1 attendances were seen and resulted in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within 4 hours (compared to 18,082 (67.5%) the previous week, and 17,357 (64.7%) weekly average f...

?Bed-blocking? falls for third month in a row
1 Apr 2025 at 1:58pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland, today: In February 2025 the average number of beds occupied per day due to people delayed in hospital was 1,946. Compared to the previous three months, this is less than January 2025 (1,964), December 2024 (1,991) and November 2024 (2,023). https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/delayed-discharges-in-nhsscotland-monthly/delay...

Scotland and Independence

"scotland independence -guardian" - Google News

In the UK, Scottish independence and Irish reunification have lost their appe...
10 Jan 2025 at 8:00am
In the UK, Scottish independence and Irish reunification have lost their appeal  Le Monde.fr

Scotland?s pro-independence warriors are shifting on nuclear weapons ? slowly...
1 Apr 2025 at 6:35pm
Scotland?s pro-independence warriors are shifting on nuclear weapons ? slowly  politico.eu

Scotland March 2025 snapshot - YouGov
27 Mar 2025 at 9:51am
Scotland March 2025 snapshot  YouGov

Scottish independence figures to share 2026 priorities at grassroots conferen...
1 Apr 2025 at 5:09pm
Scottish independence figures to share 2026 priorities at grassroots conference  The National Scot

Kenny MacAskill: We must mobilise the grassroots if we are to achieve Indepen...
1 Apr 2025 at 1:10pm
Kenny MacAskill: We must mobilise the grassroots if we are to achieve Independence  Alba Party

Will Scotland ever become an Independent nation-state? - Forbes
19 Oct 2024 at 8:00am
Will Scotland ever become an Independent nation-state?  Forbes

John Swinney: Scottish independence vote left 'positive legacy' - BBC
18 Sep 2024 at 8:00am
John Swinney: Scottish independence vote left 'positive legacy'  BBC

Revival in SNP fortunes raises fresh questions about Scottish independence - ...
23 Dec 2024 at 8:00am
Revival in SNP fortunes raises fresh questions about Scottish independence  Financial Times

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

Holyrood Election can be Scotland?s ?Independence Day? says MacAskill - Alba ...
29 Mar 2025 at 7:31pm
Holyrood Election can be Scotland?s ?Independence Day? says MacAskill  Alba Party

SNP

"SNP" - Google News

Nicola Sturgeon lends voice to calls for SNP to save River City - The Nationa...
2 Apr 2025 at 2:49pm
Nicola Sturgeon lends voice to calls for SNP to save River City  The National Scot

SNP set to gain from Labour as Reform surges across UK, MRP poll suggests - T...
3 Apr 2025 at 12:07am
SNP set to gain from Labour as Reform surges across UK, MRP poll suggests  The Herald

Christina McKelvie: John Swinney leads tributes to SNP minister - BBC
27 Mar 2025 at 1:43pm
Christina McKelvie: John Swinney leads tributes to SNP minister  BBC

?Hostile environment? drives many of SNP?s female MSPs to step down before 20...
23 Mar 2025 at 7:00am
?Hostile environment? drives many of SNP?s female MSPs to step down before 2026 vote  The Guardian

Police investigation 'could weaken SNP's election chances', top pollster warn...
20 Mar 2025 at 7:00am
Police investigation 'could weaken SNP's election chances', top pollster warns  Sky News

Nicola Sturgeon no longer a suspect in SNP finances investigation - BBC
20 Mar 2025 at 7:00am
Nicola Sturgeon no longer a suspect in SNP finances investigation  BBC

SNP MP calls for Trump state visit to be scrapped - BBC
1 Mar 2025 at 8:00am
SNP MP calls for Trump state visit to be scrapped  BBC

Nicola Sturgeon no longer under investigation over SNP fraud claims - The Gua...
20 Mar 2025 at 7:00am
Nicola Sturgeon no longer under investigation over SNP fraud claims  The Guardian

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon cleared in police investigation into SN...
20 Mar 2025 at 7:00am
Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon cleared in police investigation into SNP's finances  Sky News

Scottish civil servants living just over border ?to avoid SNP taxes? - The Te...
2 Apr 2025 at 4:42pm
Scottish civil servants living just over border ?to avoid SNP taxes?  The Telegraph

Referendum (Google News)

"Scotland referendum -guardian -telegraph" - Google News

Scotland?s pro-independence warriors are shifting on nuclear weapons ? slowly...
1 Apr 2025 at 6:35pm
Scotland?s pro-independence warriors are shifting on nuclear weapons ? slowly  politico.eu

Scotland March 2025 snapshot - YouGov
27 Mar 2025 at 9:51am
Scotland March 2025 snapshot  YouGov

In the UK, Scottish independence and Irish reunification have lost their appe...
10 Jan 2025 at 8:00am
In the UK, Scottish independence and Irish reunification have lost their appeal  Le Monde.fr

Holyrood Election can be Scotland?s ?Independence Day? says MacAskill - Alba ...
29 Mar 2025 at 7:31pm
Holyrood Election can be Scotland?s ?Independence Day? says MacAskill  Alba Party

SNP minister Christina McKelvie dies aged 57 - BBC
27 Mar 2025 at 1:39pm
SNP minister Christina McKelvie dies aged 57  BBC

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

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

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

Election 2024: Scotland headed for huge change with SNP set to lose dozens of...
31 May 2024 at 8:00am
Election 2024: Scotland headed for huge change with SNP set to lose dozens of seats to Labour  The Conversation

How attitudes towards independence reshaped Scottish elections: A longitudina...
3 Nov 2024 at 7:00am
How attitudes towards independence reshaped Scottish elections: A longitudinal analysis (1999?2021)  Wiley Online Library