The Herald

The Herald | Politics


Highland councillor quits Alba Party as ex-chief warns of 'continued demise'
10 Dec 2025 at 8:09pm
Karl Rosie had defected from the SNP to join the late Alex Salmond?s party in March 2024, but has since quit the party.


For Women Scotland warns Sandie Peggie judgment 'undermines' courts
10 Dec 2025 at 6:16pm
For Women Scotland has warned the Sandie Peggie employment tribunal ruling against NHS Fife ?undermines? faith in the courts system.


Letter obtained by Herald shows Constance misrepresented expert in grooming d...
10 Dec 2025 at 5:43pm
Correspondence released to The Herald shows Angela Constance seemingly misled the Scottish Parliament about Professor Alexis Jay?s position on a proposed grooming-gang inquiry ? despite her insistence that she did not.


Scottish Labour plunge in major poll as SNP tapped to maintain grip on power
10 Dec 2025 at 2:41pm
35% of the public would vote for the SNP with their contituency ballot, followed by Reform with 18% and Labour with 16%.


McAllan hits back at Farage over asylum housing pressure in Glasgow
10 Dec 2025 at 2:43pm
Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan has hit back at Nigel Farage after claims asylum seekers are prioritised for housing in Glasgow, while acknowledging growing pressure on the city.


Former SNP councillor switches to Reform UK
10 Dec 2025 at 11:16am
A former SNP councillor has defected to Nigel Farage?s Reform UK.


20-year high for Scotland and UK leadership on key measures
10 Dec 2025 at 4:35am
The Scottish economy has hit a 20-year high on a key measure


'Positive' Grangemouth announcement expected 'very soon', UK minister ays
10 Dec 2025 at 5:51pm
A UK minister has told The Herald the government is expecting to make a 'positive announcement' on the closed oil refinery 'very soon'.


Why potholes have become the perfect symbol of Scotland's broken councils
10 Dec 2025 at 3:49pm
Potholes can reveal how stretched Scotland's councils and crumbling roads are becoming.


Minister deals new blow to Ash Regan 'Unbuyable Bill' with scathing assessment
10 Dec 2025 at 5:01am
The Scottish Government minister Siobhain Brown has dealt a significant blow to Ash Regan's plans to crackdown on prostitution after delivering a scathing assessment of her bill.


Glasgow?s pothole crisis: More than 34,000 complaints with millions paid out
10 Dec 2025 at 5:00am
More than 34,000 potholes have been reported on Glasgow?s roads in two years, with fewer than half this number repaired and millions paid out in damage claims.


Analysis: Can stretched justice system cope with impact of 'rape shield' ruling?
9 Dec 2025 at 4:00pm
Can Scotland's under pressure justice system cope with the hefty new demands now on it from the Supreme Court's judgment on rules around what evidence can be heard in sexual offence trials?


'Anxiety, appeals, delays': Lord Advocate warns of 'disruption' after rape la...
9 Dec 2025 at 5:04am
The Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has given a detailed assessment of the impact a Supreme Court ruling will have on complainers, defendants and on lawyers in sex offence trials as the judgment is implemented.


Harvie calls for lifting of Holyrood toilet trans ban after Sandie Peggie ruling
9 Dec 2025 at 5:03pm
Scottish Greens MSP Patrick Harvie has called for Holyrood to lift its ban on trans people using toilets in their acquired gender in the Scottish Parliament building.

The Scotsman

The Scotsman Politics


John Swinney told to sack Angela Constance after 'shocking' grooming gangs em...
10 Dec 2025 at 7:03pm

Douglas Ross has told John Swinney it is now ?a test of his leadership? whether he sacks Angela Constance if she does not quit

Deputy First Minister joins Labour and Tory MSPs in highlighting concerns about legislation expected to come before MSPs for a final vote in March

Ipsos gave the Nationalists a 17 point over Reform UK in its constituency voting intention, with Labour trailing in third.

Karl Rosie is no longer listed as an Alba representative on the Highland Council website - meaning the party now has just one elected representative.

Insiders said the Scottish Government commissioned a Minimum Guarantee Report without the appetite to implement it

?If we want higher growth, better wages and improved living standards, we need a plan of action which delivers? ? Michelle Ferguson, CBI Scotland

Wings over Scotland

Spoiler Alert
10 Dec 2025 at 12:08pm
One must assume from reading the Sandie Peggie judgment that the tribunal was more concerned with discouraging further litigation than with giving full and fearless effect to the Equality Act. At the heart of this case lies a straightforward question: does a biologically male employee have a legal right to undress in a female-only changing …

The Valley Of The Dolls
9 Dec 2025 at 3:42pm
The first and most important thing to note about yesterday’s judgment in the Sandie Peggie tribunal is that it’s a very big victory. The tribunal found that Sandie Peggie was gravely and heinously harassed by her employer through no fault of her own, and she’ll be entitled to substantial compensation as a result. It also …

The Long Walk To Freedom
7 Dec 2025 at 12:13pm
On 5 April 2021, I sent a short and simple Freedom Of Information (FOI) request to the Scottish Government asking for: ?All written evidence to James Hamilton’s QC investigation into the FM under the ministerial code. This includes evidence from the FM, her chief of staff Liz Lloyd and any other individuals within the Scottish …

The cost of failure
4 Dec 2025 at 1:19pm
For several years now, this site has recorded how the SNP’s continued existence is now entirely dependent on UK state funding. The party would simply go bust without Westminster money. And how precarious a position that puts it in is sharply illustrated by the latest release of donations income from the Electoral Commission. In a …

Ain?t Got Time To Bleed
3 Dec 2025 at 8:12pm
It is our solemn duty to inform you we’ve received another legal threat, readers. Should we cease and desist? Let’s see. The article in question is this one, and this is everything it said about Mr McNeil: Only one “statement” is attributed to him – the words “The authorities will be there so we need …

Ginger beer and fruit and nuts
3 Dec 2025 at 1:44pm
We miss the days when this was parody, not “progressive” ideology. ? But we are where we are. And hey, it’s great news that their adult roles are still open to all.

Wishing for swans
1 Dec 2025 at 1:58pm
For lack of anything more interesting to write about, we thought we might do a monthly rundown of polling in the leadup to next year’s Holyrood election, with seat projections from a neutral source, in the shape of the newish Devolved Elections website. And very quickly, things got a bit weird. Our original thought was …

The Groomers? Friends
27 Nov 2025 at 12:59pm
We’re just putting this here for the record, really. It’s a “debate” from the Scottish Parliament last night, on a motion from Patrick Harvie complaining that vulnerable children aren’t being pushed into a programme of lifelong medicalisation, sterilisation and mutilation quickly enough. The motion completely ignored both the findings of the Cass Review and the …

Searching And Looking
22 Nov 2025 at 9:44pm
Disgraced ex-policeman and notorious vexatious serial complainant Lynsay Watson is having quite the meltdown on the groomer-and-paedophile haven Bluesky tonight. Let’s listen in. The trigger is that Watson has been asked to attend a voluntary police interview in connection with allegations of harassment against him – something that’s happened before, and which he’s managed to …

Reach For The Stars (And Stripes)
19 Nov 2025 at 8:49am
To be honest, we’re mainly putting these here so you don’t have to keep looking at that picture of Alan Cumming. But they also show what you can achieve, whether in football or politics, if you actually attack rather than being content to endlessly shuttle it all sideways and backwards until you get beaten without …

Craig Murray

Your Party, and Its Conference
9 Dec 2025 at 1:14am

It is probably no bad thing that health struggles have delayed my writing up Your Party’s extraordinary Liverpool founding conference. Perspective is definitely helpful to process something unique. Personally, I could not help but be struck by the number of participants who approached me as regular readers of my blog, certainly well into three figures. …

Your Party, and Its Conference

The Filton Trial
7 Dec 2025 at 8:35pm

“The policewoman attacked by a sledgehammer” has been the constant refrain of the government against Palestine Action. A couple of days before the judicial review of the proscription in England, and despite fierce reporting restrictions on the trial, the prosecution released to the media highly edited video footage from the current trial in Woolwich Crown …

The Filton Trial

The Terrifying Case of Natalie Strecker
2 Dec 2025 at 8:30am

I am confident that over 2 million people in the UK have shared thoughts on the Genocide in Gaza that are stronger than anything Natalie Strecker has expressed. I am quite certain that I am one of those 2 million. Yet Natalie Strecker, an avowed pacifist, today faces up to ten years in prison under …

The Terrifying Case of Natalie Strecker

Resisting Authoritarianism
28 Nov 2025 at 8:34am

In the last three days I have been in London at the judicial review of Palestine Action and today I am in Jersey for the terrorist trial of Natalie Strecker. I made a brief impromptu speech outside the High Court, in intervening to try and stop some people in wheelchairs from being arrested as “terrorists”, …

Resisting Authoritarianism

Judicial Malfeasance and Palestine Action
26 Nov 2025 at 2:56am

The Scottish judicial review of the proscription of Palestine Action – funded so far by readers of this blog – has been simply shelved by delay tactics that plainly break the Scottish legal system’s own rules. Our case was ruled competent for us to serve the petition on the UK government. They replied in the …

Judicial Malfeasance and Palestine Action

The Beat of the War Drums
20 Nov 2025 at 6:34am

In fascist lockstep, the entire British media, broadcast and print, corporate and state, is leading with a Ministry of Defence press release about a “Russian spy ship” inside “British waters”. No British media appears to have been able to speak to anybody who knows the first thing about the Law of the Sea. Here are …

The Beat of the War Drums

BBC Scotland

Tories say justice secretary must go over grooming gangs row
10 Dec 2025 at 8:08pm
Douglas Ross MSP says Angela Constance misled the Scottish Parliament over the views of a UK expert.

Union warns 'inaction' could sabotage shipyard's survival
10 Dec 2025 at 3:33pm
The biggest union at Ferguson Marine warns time is running out to help the yard recover from the ferries controversy.

How is Scotland's economy performing - and how can it improve?
10 Dec 2025 at 11:36am
An annual report shows some good, bad and middling aspects of Scottish productivity - and there are no easy or quick fixes.

Pupils needing additional support hits new high of 43%
9 Dec 2025 at 2:02pm
Nearly 300,000 children in Scotland's schools are now listed as needing extra support in the classroom.

Why Sandie Peggie ruling could lead to big changes for employers
8 Dec 2025 at 8:22pm
A tribunal has ruled that the nurse was harassed by NHS Fife - but dismissed all other claims in her case.

Is there a future for carbon capture and storage in Scotland?
9 Dec 2025 at 6:24am
Academics say the Acorn project in Aberdeenshire is facing difficulties, but the company insists it is viable.

'Astonishing' rise in average waits for NHS 24 calls, report says
8 Dec 2025 at 1:29pm
The author of a report on the Scottish health service, commissioned by Scottish Labour, has criticised the "astonishing" increase.

Partial victory for nurse in NHS trans changing room row
8 Dec 2025 at 8:17pm
A tribunal said NHS Fife harassed Sandie Peggie but dismissed other claims she made against the health board and a transgender doctor.

Teens as young as 15 seeking help over botched Botox and fillers
8 Dec 2025 at 11:02am
Advice Direct Scotland (ADS) says it wants tighter restrictions on cosmetic procedures in new Scottish legislation.

Flu cases likely to 'spike' in coming weeks, warns health secretary
7 Dec 2025 at 12:23pm
Neil Gray says the rise in cases is a challenge and urges anyone able to get vaccinated to do so.

Is Holyrood bad at making law?
7 Dec 2025 at 9:23am
Recent emergency measures to fix legislative issues may point to a wider problem in how Holyrood operates.

Scottish Conservative peer defects to Reform UK
6 Dec 2025 at 5:23pm
Malcolm Offord appeared at a rally alongside Nigel Farage in Falkirk on Saturday to announce the move.

Scot Goes Pop

Ipsos poll puts support for independence at 52% - and says it will go higher ...
10 Dec 2025 at 7:47pm
Should Scotland be an independent country?  (Ipsos / STV)Yes 52%No 48%I have an analysis piece about this poll at The National, which you can read HERE.  I'm also going to try to make a video about...

Eurovision and Israel: No More Hiding Places For The BBC
9 Dec 2025 at 8:09am
Scot Goes Pop: The Final Fundraiser is underway (you can read more about why I anticipate it being the final one HERE) and it's already pretty close to halfway to its target figure of £1700.  A mil...

Nigel Farage's rant about the native languages of Glasgow school pupils revea...
6 Dec 2025 at 7:52am
Today's video commentary below is in two parts.  Firstly, I look at how Nigel Farage's complaint that almost one-third of Glasgow school pupils do not speak English as a native language marks out R...

If Rachel Reeves' rejection of an independence referendum "carries little wei...
4 Dec 2025 at 8:41am
Stephen Flynn has said that Rachel Reeves' rejection of an independence referendum in the event of an SNP overall majority "carries little weight", but if it really doesn't matter what the UK gover...

"Utterly dominant": SNP soar to almost 40% support in latest Scottish subsamp...
3 Dec 2025 at 5:52pm
*  *  *Scot Goes Pop: The Final Fundraiser is underway (you can read more about why I anticipate it being the final one HERE) and it's already pretty close to halfway to its target figure of £1700....

Scot Goes Pop: The Final Fundraiser (plus an update about the video blogging ...
1 Dec 2025 at 6:37am
Click here to go straight to the fundraiser page.Scot Goes Pop's annual fundraiser for 2025 ended up getting much, much closer to its target figure than I ever thought was possible, so a million th...

STUNNING YouGov polling confirms SNP are far more popular with voters in Scot...
30 Nov 2025 at 5:59am
* .* .*With just over one month of the year left 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...

IT'S OFFICIAL: Rachel Reeves confirms Scotland is in a FORCED union with Engl...
28 Nov 2025 at 11:17am
* .* .*With just over one month of the year left 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...

STV Politics News

Latest Politics News | STV News

Reform surges behind SNP as Labour support falls, poll shows
10 Dec 2025 at 12:06pm
Ipsos Scotland Political Pulse survey gives John Swinney's party a 17-point lead over Reform UK ahead of next year's Scottish Parliament election.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces PMQs amid calls to ?modernise? ECHR to tack...
10 Dec 2025 at 11:53am
European ministers, including the deputy prime minister, are due to meet in Strasbourg, France on Wednesday.

Former SNP Aberdeenshire councillor defects to Nigel Farage?s Reform UK 
10 Dec 2025 at 10:29am
John Cox previously represented the SNP until 2017.

Ministers burying their heads in sand over ballooning benefits bill, say Tories
10 Dec 2025 at 7:05am
The Tories will lead a debate at Holyrood on Wednesday urging MSPs to tackle the ?crisis? in Scotland?s welfare system.

Burnham on Labour leadership: ?If the call came I?m not going to turn away?
9 Dec 2025 at 4:49pm
In an interview with ITV News, the Mayor of Greater Manchester hinted at a leadership bid after revealing in the Autumn that MPs were asking him to run.

Young people to lose benefits if they turn down work, says minister
9 Dec 2025 at 2:46pm
A jobs guarantee scheme will be launched in central and east Scotland.

Early release of prisoners ?cold comfort? to victims of crime, says justice s...
9 Dec 2025 at 11:10am
The justice secretary said up to 84 criminals will be released early on Tuesday amid attempts to crack down on the growing prison population.

?Dangerous? electric bikes and scooters to be debated at Holyrood
8 Dec 2025 at 3:06pm
A motion calls on the Scottish Government to provide Police Scotland with the 'appropriate resources' to tackle the issue.

Scottish Government to ?work closely? with councils over pub closing times du...
8 Dec 2025 at 12:59pm
Scotland's opening game, against Haiti in Boston, will kick off at 2am UK time.

Swinney to call independence fresh start and says Starmer could be next Thatcher
8 Dec 2025 at 7:05am
The First Minister said independence could allow Scotland to improve living standards and ensure wealth is shared fairly.

Former deputy Scotland secretary Malcolm Offord defects to Reform UK
6 Dec 2025 at 2:29pm
Malcolm Offord made the announcement at a rally attended by Nigel Farage in Falkirk on Saturday.

Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy resigns from shadow cabinet over friendship with...
6 Dec 2025 at 10:41am
Pam Duncan-Glancy resigned from the shadow cabinet with immediate effect after the Daily Record approached her over her links to former councillor Sean Morton.

Scotland?s energy industry facing ?existential threat?, John Swinney warns Ke...
5 Dec 2025 at 2:39pm
The First Minister met with the Prime Minister ahead of a summit of the British-Irish Council in Wales.

John Swinney brands Glasgow schoolchildren comments made by Nigel Farage as ?...
5 Dec 2025 at 2:33pm
The Reform leader posted a video on social media claiming one in three Glasgow schoolchildren do not speak English as their first language.

Daily Record

Daily Record - Politics

SNP justice secretary Angela Constance faces calls to resign for misrepresent...
10 Dec 2025 at 5:59pm
One Labour MP accused Constance of "doubling down on excuses she knew to be false and incomplete".

Kate Forbes warns Assisted Dying legislation could 'lead to people dying who ...
10 Dec 2025 at 4:12pm
MSPs are expected to get a final vote on Assisted Dying in March.

Reform support grows as immigration becomes increasing priority for Scots voters
10 Dec 2025 at 2:45pm
Scottish Labour's support has dropped sharply in the last six months as voters lose faith in Keir Starmer.

Glasgow City Council faces threat of judicial review from housing campaigners...
10 Dec 2025 at 1:20pm
EXCLUSIVE: Scotland's largest local authority admitted its services were "under extreme pressure" as the city struggles with the volume of homelessness applications.

Barlinnie prison given listed building status after being labelled 'outstanding'
10 Dec 2025 at 1:19pm
Peter Manuel was hanged at the infamous Glasgow jail.

Scotland continues to have lowest life expectancy in UK in 'damning indictmen...
10 Dec 2025 at 11:10am
Scots can expect to live two years less than people born in England, and over a year less than those in Wales.

Scotland 'should consider' following Australia and ban social media ban for u...
10 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
EXCLUSIVE: A Scottish Labour MP said "we shouldn?t waste time arguing about whether to follow suit" if the Australian social media ban is proven to work.

Scottish Child Payment 'must be raised to £40 a week to help tackle poverty'
10 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
The Action for Children charity called for the Scottish Child Payment to be increased to £40 per week.

Sandie Peggie tribunal ruling shows need for 'consistent approach' to single ...
9 Dec 2025 at 3:28pm
Jackie Baillie said both NHS Fife and the SNP Government had "significant questions to answer" following the Sandie Peggie ruling.

Mum of murdered Emma Caldwell fears police 'could avoid accountability' at pu...
9 Dec 2025 at 2:01pm
An inquiry into the 2005 murder of Emma, 27, by serial rapist Iain Packer officially starts work today.

The National

The National | Politics

Iceland boss and top Downing Street aide among Keir Starmer?s new Labour peers
10 Dec 2025 at 7:27pm

THE chairman of the supermarket chain Iceland, Richard Walker, and Matthew Doyle, a former Number 10 director of communications, have been nominated for a peerage by the Prime Minister ...

New payment to recognise 'important contribution' of Scotland?s carers
10 Dec 2025 at 6:49pm

SCOTS who provide care for more than one disabled person could receive in excess of £500 more in support thanks to a new benefit payment coming in next year ...

Massaging the ego of President Trump has clearly got us nowhere
10 Dec 2025 at 6:30pm

IN recent months the UK Government has gone out of its way to massage the ego of the US President, Donald J Trump. On Tuesday they got their reward for Prime Minister Starmer?s kissing of the Donald?s posterior.

Token cheque will not right the wrong done to Waspi women like me
10 Dec 2025 at 6:30pm

YOUR recent front page announcing that the UK Government has ?backed down? on Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) compensation will have given some people hope that justice is finally on its way. I wish that were true. For the women born in the 1950s who were promised a state pension at 60, this is not good news ? it is a tactical retreat and a slap in the face.

'A culture of dependency': Novelist slams 'lazy Scots' in Wall Street Journal
10 Dec 2025 at 6:23pm

A SCOTTISH novelist has criticised his fellow Scots as he described them as ?lazy? and claimed that state intervention for those in need has done great ?harm? to the country?s work ethic ...

Five Palestine Action hunger strikers hospitalised as protest nears 40-day mark
10 Dec 2025 at 5:59pm

FIVE prison hunger strikers affiliated to Palestine Action have been taken to hospital as pressure grows on the Government to acknowledge the potentially deadly protest.

Speaker furious as David Lammy ignores MPs' pleas on Palestine Action hunger ...
10 Dec 2025 at 5:44pm

SPEAKER Lindsay Hoyle has said it is ?not acceptable? for the Justice Secretary to ignore MPs' pleas to discuss prisoners affiliated with Palestine Action who are on hunger strike.

What we learned about independence, Reform and Labour in new polling
10 Dec 2025 at 6:00pm

A new poll gives our polling expert James Kelly a lot to unpack.

I'm in prison and on hunger strike over Palestine. This is what it's like
10 Dec 2025 at 5:30pm

AMU Gib is one of the Palestine Action-affiliated prisoners on hunger strike.Today we are publishing an extract from their prison diary which covers the initial days of their hunger strike.

I won the historic Caerphilly by-election. You will see a new Wales in 2026.
10 Dec 2025 at 5:00pm

SEVEN weeks ago, Plaid Cymru shook the world of UK politics in a way they hadn?t before, storming to victory in a seat Labour had held for a century and collecting more votes there than Keir Starmer?s party and Reform UK combined.

Holyrood Magazine

Holyrood Website

Angela Constance faces calls to resign over Alexis Jay grooming inquiry row
10 Dec 2025 at 6:26pm
John Swinney warned 'he's going to lose his justice secretary'

Australia bans social media for under 16s
10 Dec 2025 at 3:46pm
Australia has enacted a world-first ban on social media usage for those under the age of 16

Keir Starmer says ministers will look into Rockstar Games firings
10 Dec 2025 at 2:43pm
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that ministers will look into allegations of "union busting" at video game developer Rockstar Games.

Renfrewshire council?s AI adviser wins public service innovation award
10 Dec 2025 at 2:24pm
Renfrewshire council?s AI-powered digital adviser took home the Digital Public Services Award at Holyrood?s annual Scottish Public Services Award ceremony

SNP in lead as Reform gains ground and Labour sees sharp dip, according to poll
10 Dec 2025 at 1:44pm
Research?by Ipsos Scotland for STV News has suggested that the SNP will command 35 per cent of the constituency vote

Richard Lochhead: ?The space sector is incredibly important for Scotland's fu...
10 Dec 2025 at 11:40am
'Really significant investment has now been directed towards space technologies and the space economy in many countries around the world and there is a danger the UK will fall behind if that is not matched,' says Lochhead.?

Health secretary sidesteps question on single-sex spaces in workplaces
9 Dec 2025 at 3:46pm
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie called for ?one consistent approach? to be implemented across Scotland on access to single-sex spaces

Employment tribunal finds Sandie Peggie was harassed by NHS Fife
8 Dec 2025 at 2:20pm
The tribunal dismissed the claim made against Dr Beth Upton and all other claims made against the health board

Home Office to blame for Glasgow immigration housing crisis, John Swinney says
8 Dec 2025 at 1:57pm
The first minister also said he was 'not going to change my mind' on immigration more broadly

Scottish space sector calls for increased funding in strategy review
5 Dec 2025 at 2:50pm
In the wake of business minister Richard Lochhead?s announcement that a review of Scotland?s space strategy is on the cards for 2026, Holyrood asked key players in the Scottish space sector what they are hoping for from the strategy

Guardian - Scottish Politics

Scottish politics | The Guardian

Scotland?s looser rules on assisted dying could lead to ?death tourism?, say ...
10 Dec 2025 at 5:11pm
Cross-party group of MSPs says bill going through Holyrood could attract people from elsewhere in UKSenior Scottish politicians fear there could be a risk of ?death tourism? from terminally ill people travelling from other parts of the UK to end their lives in Scotland.A cross-party group of MSPs...

?It?s Scotland?s energy?: SNP to focus on renewables in Holyrood election
8 Dec 2025 at 6:05pm
Leader John Swinney says independence could cut household energy bills by a third in the long termThe future of Scottish renewables will underpin the Scottish National party?s Holyrood election campaign, the party leader, John Swinney, has said, as he claimed independence could cut household ener...

No 10 declines to comment on White House claim that Europe facing ?civilisati...
8 Dec 2025 at 5:49pm
US national security strategy takes aim at EU and other bodies over issues including migration, free speech and falling birthratesBadenoch is now taking questions.Q: From Sky News You said you did not want to leave any stones unturned. That is what Sajid Javid said when he ordered an inquiry in...

Farage dodges press as he unveils Reform?s first peer after Conservative defe...
6 Dec 2025 at 5:20pm
Party leader leaves latest recruit, Malcolm Offord, to field questions on antisemitism allegations at Scotland rallyNigel Farage has addressed Reform UK?s largest rally in Scotland to date but refused to engage with local journalists ? leaving the newly defected peer Malcolm Offord to field quest...

John Swinney defends immigration as Scotland faces rise of Reform
6 Dec 2025 at 9:00am
Exclusive: First minister mounts robust defence of diversity as SNP prepares campaign for Holyrood election in MayScotland needs immigration to bolster the size of its working-age population, the country?s first minister has said, mounting a forceful defence of diversity in the face of rising su...

Farage criticises BBC over racism allegations and claims one fellow pupil sai...
4 Dec 2025 at 6:01pm
This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereNigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said that in Essex county council elections were postponed. He said district councils were being replaced with a new ?pretty amorphous unitary authority?. Because of that, the area also needed ?a clea...

Starmer says budget did not break manifesto tax pledge ? as it happened
27 Nov 2025 at 5:54pm
PM says: ?We kept to our manifesto in terms of what we?ve promised. But I accept the challenge that we?ve asked everybody to contribute?Ask the Guardian your budget questionsShare your views on the new ?mansion tax?Budget calculator: find out if you are better or worse offThe Conservative party i...

Uk politics: Streeting defends asylum policy, but says he?s not ?comfortable?...
19 Nov 2025 at 5:31pm
Health secretary still maintains that forced removals are ?right thing to do for the country?Healey is now taking questions.Q: How close are are we to war?It is Labour that is the party of defence. Continue reading...

Starmer stands by McSweeney and says he has been ?assured no briefings agains...
13 Nov 2025 at 6:06pm
This blog has now closed, you can read more on this story herePA Media has more on what the monthly performance figures from NHS England show. PA says:The data shows 180,329 people in England had been waiting more than a year to start routine hospital treatment at the end of September, down from ...

Scotland plans to issue £1.5bn of its own bonds ? ?kilts? rather than gilts
13 Nov 2025 at 12:48pm
Announcement by first minister John Swinney comes after Moody?s and S&P give country same credit rating as UKThe Scottish first minister John Swinney has said Edinburgh is on track to issue its own government bonds, nicknamed ?kilts?, after the country was given the same credit rating as the UK.T...

Wee Ginger Dug

Wee Ginger Dug

The dangerous stupidity of Keir Starmer
10 Dec 2025 at 4:29pm
You can say many things about the opportunistic moral vacuum that is Keir Starmer, but he’s not stupid, he just behaves as though he was. The one time human rights lawyer Starmer’s latest foray into deliberate and dangerous stupidity was his plea to European leaders yesterday to curb human rights laws in order to introduce …

Westminster and Scotland?s energy, fool me once?
8 Dec 2025 at 6:21pm
Scotland is, by far and away, the most energy rich country of the islands of Britain and Ireland. Moreover it has more in the way of energy resources than just about any other country in Europe, with the exception of Norway (Russia’s vast fossil fuel resources are overwhelmingly concentrated in the Asian part of Russia …

Farage?s contemptible attack on Glesca weans
3 Dec 2025 at 9:15pm
Nigel Farage has been a racist bully again. But don’t worry, he’s only doing it indirectly and without intent to offend or insult. So that’s OK then. Just days after the Scottish Languages Act came into force the English nationalist golf club boor has taken aim at school children in Glasgow. Apparently it’s the “cultural …

The Scottish Languages Act
1 Dec 2025 at 6:56pm
Scotland’s status as a multilingual country is now recognised in law with the Scottish Languages Act coming into force on St Andrew’s Day. The Act beefs up the legal protections previously given to Gaelic and elevates it to the status of an official language of Scotland. For the first time in history, official legal recognition …

I?m disabled, here?s the truth about the Motability scheme.
29 Nov 2025 at 4:06pm
The Labour party has capitulated to right wing demonisation of the most vulnerable minority group in the country, the disabled. I’ve pointed this out before but it bears repeating. The disabled are the only minority group that anyone can become a part of at any time. Anyone can become involved in a serious accident that …

The lie that protects the rich from tax rises
27 Nov 2025 at 3:30pm
Better late than never, Rachel Reeves finally followed the lead of the SNP Government in Holyrood and announced that the heinous two child cap on benefits will finally be abolished from May next year, cue a load of hypocritical Labour MPs trying to pretend that they supported this measure all along despite voting to keep …

Hope of a better Scotland can defeat the far right
25 Nov 2025 at 2:42pm
Racists complain that migrants don’t want to learn English and integrate, but when migrants do want to learn English and integrate, racists mount a protest outside the school where English language lessons are being given to the mothers of some of the pupils, insisting that they are “protecting our kids” from unvetted adults on school …

The Scottish media?s covid double standards
21 Nov 2025 at 1:37pm
Did Nicola Sturgeon get everything right during the Covid pandemic when she headed a devolved government limited powers at its disposal and she was faced with an anti-independence Scottish media that screamed she was politicising the pandemic in order to further the cause of independence whenever she sought to diverge from the line being taken …

A Labour vote in Scotland is a vote not to matter
19 Nov 2025 at 5:01pm
You’ve got to hand it to the Labour party, they are certainly consistent, consistent in their shafting of Scottish workers. It’s almost as though, despite Labour’s protestations to the contrary, Scottish votes don’t matter to the Labour party and its strategists. We’ve seen a party which campaigned on the slogan vote Labour to save Grangemouth …

Starmer?s Labour enables fascism
17 Nov 2025 at 6:58pm
When the race baiting far right criminal Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and the hard right Reform UK are praising Labour’s policies, you know that something has gone profoundly wrong in a party which purports to be on the centre-left. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a set of measures which are aimed at making the lives of …

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 'Albatraz'

Is Malcolm Offord now Reform UK?s spokesperson in Scotland?
10 Dec 2025 at 6:31pm
By Liz S ?Storm Brann? you say. Well tomorrow there may be another kind of storm??one created by one of our many many UK nemeses , BBC QT and UK politicians (as in all of those ones whom we see as being sympathetic to and supportive of English Nationalism while opposing Scottish Independence and the SNP). Tomorrow BBC QT is in Paisley??..the last show before Xmas???of course it is. To no doubt ...

Daily Record manages to miss easily accessed figures proving that the SNP has...
10 Dec 2025 at 1:00pm
Somebody post this here - https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotland/ - I'm banned Professor John Robertson OBA In the Record today, the above and: Even with Covid in mind, Record View says closing the poverty-related attainment gap in schools is yet another key SNP promise the party has failed to deliver. They have just not bothered or deliberately avoided the evidence easily accessed in the public dom...

Storm Brann fails to breach even one of Scotland?s flood defences after 18 ye...
10 Dec 2025 at 10:27am
Professor John Robertson OBA Yesterday, Sepa forecast widespread and intensive flood risk across the most populous parts of Scotland. Today BBC England had Thousands of flood defences meant to protect multiple homes or businesses in England were below the required condition when winter began, a new analysis has found. The 6,498 “high consequence” defences were among about 8,500 that were not fu...

Corridor care least common in Scotland and most common in Wales and Northern ...
10 Dec 2025 at 10:05am
The Guardian today has: Corridor care ?endemic? in UK, doctors say as study reveals scale of problem The report is based on Understanding corridor and escalation area care in 165 UK emergency departments: a multicentre cross-sectional snapshot study by the Trainee Emergency Research Network TERN in the BMJ, yesterday. The above map has England broken up into regions but it’s clear that put toge...

There is a marked overall decline in youth violence in Scotland but a surge f...
10 Dec 2025 at 7:54am
Professor John Robertson OBA Today’s reporting of apparent surges in youth violence across parts of England bears no resemblance to Scotland other than in the bonfire riots in 2023 and before. What is the long-term youth violence trend in Scotland? Overview of Youth Violence in ScotlandYouth violence in Scotland typically refers to violent incidents (e.g., assaults, robberies, or homicides) inv...

The Emma Caldwell Public Inquiry must ask if the Scottish Labour Government o...
9 Dec 2025 at 10:53pm
From Emma Caldwell Public Inquiry begins work, published yesterday: The independent Public Inquiry into the investigation of Emma Caldwell?s murder in April 2005 has been formally set-up and begins its work today (9 Dec). Justice Secretary Angela Constance informed Parliament on the formal setting-up date and on the Inquiry?s terms of reference through a Government Initiated Question today. The...

English schools excluding pupils at twice the rate and expelling infinitely m...
9 Dec 2025 at 10:51pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From School attendance, absence and exclusions statistics 2024-25 published yesterday: Cases of exclusion decreased from 11,673 in 2022/23 to 10,647 in 2024/25. This is consistent with the overall downward trend since 2006/07. The rate of exclusions per 1,000 pupils decreased from 16.6 in 2022/23 to 15.2 in 2024/25. This is consistent with the overall downward trend...

6 505 fewer teachers yet more teachers and still far fewer pupils per teacher...
9 Dec 2025 at 10:49pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From Pupil and teacher characteristics 2025 published yesterday, the above data revealing a significant fall in pupil numbers yet a small increase in the number of teachers.1 There are 18 pupils for every teacher in England, 18.9 in Wales but only 13.3 in Scotland’s schools. That’s a huge difference that must surely transform the experience in Scottish schools.2 The...

TB cases in Scotland at less than half that in England and 40% down on last S...
9 Dec 2025 at 10:48pm
From Tuberculosis annual report for Scotland 2024 published yesterday, the above graph and: In 2024, 266 cases of tuberculosis were reported in Scotland, equating to an annual incidence of 4.8 cases per 100,000 population. Whilst this is a 6.0% decrease in case numbers compared to 2023 (283 cases, 5.1 cases per 100,000 population), it is a 33.7% increase since 2022, (199 cases, 3.7 cases per 10...

NHS Scotland treats 23% more for pain management than NHS England
9 Dec 2025 at 10:46pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From Waiting times for pain management services Quarter ending 30 September 2025 published yesterday: During the quarter ending 30 September 2025, 5,791 patients were referred to a pain management service. This compares to 5,838 referrals in the previous quarter, a decrease of 0.8%, and to 5,859 a year ago in the quarter ending 30 September 2024, a decrease of 1.2%....

Scotland and Independence

"scotland independence -guardian" - Google News

SNP remain ahead but Reform support in Scotland rises, while Labour support s...
10 Dec 2025 at 11:00am
SNP remain ahead but Reform support in Scotland rises, while Labour support slumps  Ipsos

Scottish independence could 'reduce energy bills by more than a third', First...
8 Dec 2025 at 3:23pm
Scottish independence could 'reduce energy bills by more than a third', First Minister John Swinney says  Sky News

Independence takes lead and Labour support plummets in new Scottish poll - Th...
10 Dec 2025 at 3:50pm
Independence takes lead and Labour support plummets in new Scottish poll  TheNational.scot

The new hero of Scottish independence? Nigel Farage - politico.eu
13 Oct 2025 at 8:00am
The new hero of Scottish independence? Nigel Farage  politico.eu

Scottish political snapshot, November 2025 - YouGov
17 Nov 2025 at 8:00am
Scottish political snapshot, November 2025  YouGov

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

The State of the Scottish Independence Debate - Brig Newspaper
8 Dec 2025 at 2:46pm
The State of the Scottish Independence Debate  Brig Newspaper

SNP claims Scottish independence could cut energy bills - Energy Voice
9 Dec 2025 at 12:03am
SNP claims Scottish independence could cut energy bills  Energy Voice

Scotland casts fresh eye on independence vote as UK's political landscape shi...
24 Oct 2025 at 8:00am
Scotland casts fresh eye on independence vote as UK's political landscape shifts  Courthouse News

X feature exposes Iranian-run pro-Scottish independence accounts - UKDJ - ???...
24 Nov 2025 at 8:00am
X feature exposes Iranian-run pro-Scottish independence accounts - UKDJ  ????? ??????????

SNP

"SNP" - Google News

SNP remain ahead but Reform support in Scotland rises, while Labour support s...
10 Dec 2025 at 11:00am
SNP remain ahead but Reform support in Scotland rises, while Labour support slumps  Ipsos

?It?s Scotland?s energy?: SNP to focus on renewables in Holyrood election - T...
8 Dec 2025 at 7:25pm
?It?s Scotland?s energy?: SNP to focus on renewables in Holyrood election  The Guardian

Holyrood 2026: SNP retains top spot as Reform surges in poll - The Herald
10 Dec 2025 at 2:41pm
Holyrood 2026: SNP retains top spot as Reform surges in poll  The Herald

SNP in lead as Reform gains ground and Labour sees sharp dip, according to po...
10 Dec 2025 at 2:00pm
SNP in lead as Reform gains ground and Labour sees sharp dip, according to poll  holyrood.com

Former SNP councillor completes defection to Reform UK - TheNational.scot
10 Dec 2025 at 11:04am
Former SNP councillor completes defection to Reform UK  TheNational.scot

Sandie Peggie ruling backs trans access to female spaces, says SNP group - Th...
10 Dec 2025 at 3:11pm
Sandie Peggie ruling backs trans access to female spaces, says SNP group  The Times

Poll: SNP well ahead for Holyrood election with Labour behind Reform - The Sc...
10 Dec 2025 at 1:22pm
Poll: SNP well ahead for Holyrood election with Labour behind Reform  The Scotsman

SNP claims Scottish independence could cut energy bills - Energy Voice
9 Dec 2025 at 12:03am
SNP claims Scottish independence could cut energy bills  Energy Voice

Reform surges behind SNP as Labour support falls, poll shows - STV News
10 Dec 2025 at 2:33pm
Reform surges behind SNP as Labour support falls, poll shows  STV News

Development of a cost-effective, multifunctional SNP panel and analysis workf...
19 Nov 2025 at 8:00am
Development of a cost-effective, multifunctional SNP panel and analysis workflow for Wolf monitoring in Finland  Nature

Referendum (Google News)

"Scotland referendum -guardian -telegraph" - Google News

Scottish independence could 'reduce energy bills by more than a third', First...
8 Dec 2025 at 3:23pm
Scottish independence could 'reduce energy bills by more than a third', First Minister John Swinney says  Sky News

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

The State of the Scottish Independence Debate - Brig Newspaper
8 Dec 2025 at 2:46pm
The State of the Scottish Independence Debate  Brig Newspaper

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

Scotland casts fresh eye on independence vote as UK's political landscape shi...
24 Oct 2025 at 8:00am
Scotland casts fresh eye on independence vote as UK's political landscape shifts  Courthouse News

The new hero of Scottish independence? Nigel Farage - politico.eu
13 Oct 2025 at 8:00am
The new hero of Scottish independence? Nigel Farage  politico.eu

Scottish political snapshot, November 2025 - YouGov
17 Nov 2025 at 8:00am
Scottish political snapshot, November 2025  YouGov

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

Part Two: What an independent Scotland could look like - A Fresh Start with I...
8 Oct 2025 at 8:00am
Part Two: What an independent Scotland could look like - A Fresh Start with Independence  The Scottish Government

John Swinney's independence strategy backed by SNP members - BBC
11 Oct 2025 at 8:00am
John Swinney's independence strategy backed by SNP members  BBC