The Herald

The Herald | Politics


Health secretary Neil Gray faces fresh questions over 'limogate' controversy
13 Jun 2025 at 12:09pm
Health Secretary Neil Gray, who used Scottish Government limousines to travel to football games, faces new questions after it emerged he was also chauffeured to a pub.


As politicians bicker, Scotland faces losing yet another manufacturing powerh...
13 Jun 2025 at 4:31am
Proposed cuts at Falkirk bus company add to a run of industrial job cuts in Scotland


Swing similar to Hamilton by-election could cost SNP 11 of their most margina...
13 Jun 2025 at 6:30am
Elections expert warns SNP could lose control of Holyrood minority with a small Labour swing in 2026


Israel attacks Iran: Tehran rocked by strikes in escalation of tensions
13 Jun 2025 at 6:06am
Israel attacked Iran?s capital Tehran early on Friday in strikes which targeted the country?s nuclear programme and raised the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries


SNP ministers reject proposal for major tax rise on second homes in tourist h...
13 Jun 2025 at 5:01am
A new tax rise on second homes in tourist hot spots will not go ahead after the Scottish Government knocked back proposals from the Scottish Greens's Ross Greer


Bowie: Time for Tories to stop 'self-flagellating' over Truss and Johnson chaos
13 Jun 2025 at 5:00am
Shadow Scottish Secretary Andrew Bowie says the Conservatives must move on from past chaos and offer a clear, optimistic vision to rebuild voter trust.


Badenoch claims 'Scotland needs Conservatives now more than ever'
13 Jun 2025 at 12:45pm
The UK Conservative party leader has insisted her party is what Scotland needs as she hit out at what she described as the ?cosy left-wing consensus? of the SNP, Labour and Greens in Scotland.


Police Scotland send 80 officers to Northern Ireland as riots spread
13 Jun 2025 at 10:29am
Police Scotland officers have been sent to help quell violence in Northern Ireland after a fourth consecutive night of disorder as riots spread.


Badenoch to call for end to oil and gas windfall tax and ban on new licences
12 Jun 2025 at 10:30pm
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is set to call for an end to the windfall tax on oil and gas companies and the ban on new licences.


UK Government ?putting its money where its mouth is? with £200m for Acorn scheme
12 Jun 2025 at 5:04pm
The UK Government is ?putting its money where its mouth is?, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said as it was revealed £200 million is being made available for a carbon capture project in Scotland.


Analysis: Scottish Tories face 'existential crisis' as Reform support grows
12 Jun 2025 at 1:03pm
The Scottish Conservatives gather tomorrow and Saturday for their two day spring conference in Edinburgh facing what could be called an existential crisis.


Sixth Aberdeenshire councillor defects to Reform UK amidst Tory collapse
12 Jun 2025 at 1:48pm
Glasgow City Council?s Thomas Kerr, who defected to Reform UK in January, travelled to Aberdeenshire to welcome Knight to the party.


John Swinney responds to concerns SNP figures are briefing against leadership
12 Jun 2025 at 1:34pm
John Swinney has said he is not worried in the slightest over concerns SNP rebels are briefing against him, warning a leadership contest would not be wise.


Councillors and businessman in court for disability health and safety concerns
12 Jun 2025 at 11:25am
Five senior councillors and a local businessman will appear in court over disability and safety concerns.

The Scotsman

The Scotsman Politics


Israel Iran attack: Sir Keir Starmer's de-escalation plea as 'horrendously da...
13 Jun 2025 at 9:17am

Israel has attacked Iran?s nuclear sites overnight.

Ed Miliband has claimed there are ?unlimited opportunities? for energy jobs in Labour?s vision for the North Sea.

The way forward is amplifying the new common-sense agenda

There has been a huge increase in the number of infections since the pandemic - and it is hoped the vaccine programme will prevent thousands of cases.

Scottish Labour say the First Minister should follow the lead of Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who has procured around 160 vehicles from the Falkirk facility.

The charity say the Sabrina Carpenter album cover design is ?regressive? and promotes violence and control.

John Swinney has spoken about the Air India crash that has appeared to kill all 242 people on board.

John Swinney, the First Minister, insisted he was not worried about internal critics.

The Scottish Conservatives say the First Minister should cut taxes following the Chancellor?s spending review.

The Spending Review delivered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves has had a mixed response.

The Steamie won the Best Local and Community Podcast

Cammy Day had been suspended, but has now been cleared by police of inappropriate behaviour.

Wings over Scotland

The Grand Tour
10 Jun 2025 at 6:50pm
Lacking anything better to do on a grey and cloudy day in Bath, we thought it might be a lark to go through every Holyrood constituency in Scotland and contemplate where it might go in next year’s election, based on the current state of polling. And just to make things interesting, compared to our last …

Two Of A Kind
9 Jun 2025 at 2:33pm
Humza Yousaf, March 2024: Actual result: Labour 37, SNP 9, Lib Dems 6, Tories 5. The two horses in the two-horse race finished second and fourth, and won just 19% of seats between them. And here’s John Swinney a week and a half ago: The two horses finished second and third. The matter of whether …

What We Don?t Know Now
8 Jun 2025 at 1:02pm
One of the very few phrases universally recognised in Scotland but which will draw blank looks anywhere else in the UK is the dry, dark “Well, ye ken noo”. Until recently it had no equivalent that we can bring to mind in the rest of the English-speaking world, although arguably that gap has now been …

The Jokers
6 Jun 2025 at 2:46am
In the end, the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse made fools of us all. Because nobody, but nobody, saw that result coming. The bookies didn’t see it coming – they’d shifted Labour out from favourites at the start of the campaign to astronomical 11/1 outsiders by the close of books. The New Statesman’s experts …

Ball Of Confusion
5 Jun 2025 at 3:22pm
We must admit, we don’t quite get what the Daily Record is trying to achieve. Having already told its dwindling band of readers that voting for both the SNP and Labour is the only way to stop Reform in today’s Hamilton by-election, for the last two days it’s deployed some random loony in a hard …

Why genocide is brilliant
4 Jun 2025 at 1:54pm
Wait, not genocide. Biscuits. We’re thinking of biscuits. Sorry about that. As you were, everyone. Mmm, biscuits.

And No Great Mischief Should They Fall
3 Jun 2025 at 8:01am
A few weeks ago we had a thought. And it seemed quite an interesting thought, so we decided to commission a poll on it from our old pals at Norstat. 63-37? Well, there’s your clear and overwhelming support. There is not, in our lifetimes, going to be another independence referendum on the terms of the …

Here And There
2 Jun 2025 at 7:16pm
This is what Labour say in Scotland: And this is what they say elsewhere, when they think nobody in Scotland is looking: One day someone’s going to tell them about the internet, and our life’s going to get a lot more difficult. Until that day, though, let’s just enjoy the laughs.

A Butterfly On Absinthe
2 Jun 2025 at 7:37am
If you’ve been reading Scottish social media or the Scottish press for the last year and a half or so, the following graph is going to come as a bit of a shock to you. But there it is all the same. Activists, who are tiny in number but loud of voice, habitually like to …

The Flip
1 Jun 2025 at 12:53pm
We’ve just taken delivery of some REALLY interesting polling results, readers, but it’s going to take a while to fully analyse and write them up, so in the meantime let’s look at some slightly less interesting ones which came from the same poll – the Norstat one commissioned by the Sunday Times and published today, …

Craig Murray

The UK Rebukes the UN and Bows to the Israeli Embassy over ?Terrorism? Arrest...
28 May 2025 at 6:43am

There is a stunning contrast between the access given by the UK to the Israeli Embassy to influence prosecutions of anti-Genocide journalists and protestors, and the repudiation by the UK of United Nations querying such prosecutions. The UK has rebuked the UN for “outside interference”. I cannot state enough how unusual it is for the …

The UK Rebukes the UN and Bows to the Israeli Embassy over “Terrorism” Arrests of Journalists

MI5 Take Us For Fools
20 May 2025 at 10:33am

Imagine my hilarity when the front page headline new “Iranian plot”, trailed by MI5 as involving weapons stores, attacks on the Israeli Embassy and on Whitehall, turned out to be yet another faked “surveillance operation” against Iran International, the “media company” that is dodgier than Al Capone’s accountant. The BBC still made it the second …

MI5 Take Us For Fools

MI5?s Fake Terror Plots
10 May 2025 at 7:31pm

Back in the “War on Terror” days, the UK security services fabricated multiple fake terror plots. There was, for example, the 2009 Easter Bomb Plot in Manchester, taking entire front pages of newspapers. Gordon Brown as PM hyped it as a “very big terror plot”. It was a total fabrication, nobody was convicted and it …

MI5’s Fake Terror Plots

The Strange Death of Social Democratic Britain
5 May 2025 at 9:53am

The UK’s first-past-the-post electoral system can have some remarkable results and is capable of enacting extraordinarily quick political revolution, as in the triumph then rapid fall from power of the great Liberal Party in the first quarter of the twentieth century. We are in such a moment now. The Labour Party today has a Commons …

The Strange Death of Social Democratic Britain

Kashmir and the Indus
27 Apr 2025 at 1:31pm

India’s Hindutva President, Narendra Modi, has used the Kashmir terrorism incident to abrogate the 1960s Indus Waters Treaty – a longstanding goal of Modi. The Indian version of the “terrorist attack”, most of whose victims were Muslim, has largely been accepted by Western governments without evidence. False flags abound nowadays. You may recall that we …

Kashmir and the Indus

Syria to Recognise Israel By End 2026
14 Apr 2025 at 6:04pm

A British diplomatic source tells me that “President” al-Jolani aka al-Sharaa has assured the UK that Syria will “normalise relations” with Israel, recognise the State of Israel and exchange ambassadors, by the end of 2026. This is part of a deal in exchange for substantial Western financial support and the lifting of sanctions on Syria. …

Syria to Recognise Israel By End 2026

BBC Scotland

Couple lose legal challenge of winter fuel payment cuts
13 Jun 2025 at 12:39pm
Pensioners Peter and Flo Fanning, from Coatbridge, wanted to sue the UK and Scottish governments

Schools to create single-sex toilets after gender row
13 Jun 2025 at 11:45am
At least 18 schools are making changes after a court ruling on the provision of gender-neutral bathroom facilities.

Swinney 'deeply concerned' over bus firm job cuts
12 Jun 2025 at 4:13pm
Up to 400 jobs are at risk at Falkirk and Larbert as the firm considers moving operations to Yorkshire.

Scotland to get extra £2.9bn from spending review, says Treasury
11 Jun 2025 at 10:17pm
SNP say Scotland has been "short changed" but the chancellor claims it is the largest settlement since devolution.

McAllan to tackle housing emergency in Swinney reshuffle
11 Jun 2025 at 4:39pm
The former net zero and energy secretary, tipped as a future SNP leader, rejoins the cabinet after maternity leave.

How Spending Review will shape Scottish priorities for years to come
11 Jun 2025 at 5:57am
Announcements from Chancellor Rachel Reeves later will have a significant effect on public spending in Scotland.

MSPs vote to introduce scaled-back social care reforms
10 Jun 2025 at 7:14pm
The Care Reform (Scotland) Bill will introduce changes to social care procurement and new rights for unpaid carers.

Scotland's emission cuts 'too slow' despite fall
10 Jun 2025 at 3:15pm
Emissions in Scotland have been cut by 51.3% since 1990 - a 1.9% year-on-year reduction

Scotland to prioritise renewable energy over nuclear power
10 Jun 2025 at 4:19pm
The SNP will keep its effective ban on new nuclear plants through devolved planning powers, a minister says.

Better-off pensioners able to opt-out of Scottish fuel payment
10 Jun 2025 at 11:43am
The Scottish government says wealthier pensioners will be made aware of the benefits of not accepting the money.

How the SNP's flagship social care reforms were scaled back
10 Jun 2025 at 6:29am
A new law would see changes to social care procurement, family care home visits and a right to breaks for unpaid carers.

Scottish ministers 'in the dark' over winter fuel payment U-turn
9 Jun 2025 at 4:58pm
The Scottish government says it was not consulted on the chancellor's new plan that could leave some Scots pensioners worse off than those in England and Wales.

Scot Goes Pop

A genuine question for Sovereignty and Liberate Scotland: am I Scottish enoug...
12 Jun 2025 at 5:23pm
A few weeks ago, I pointed out that the new "Liberate Scotland" electoral alliance has three component parts, and one of those parts is the Sovereignty party, which boasts a large number of nativis...

BREAKING: The Daily Express back down and publish an apology for falsely clai...
12 Jun 2025 at 12:14pm
As you'll probably remember, two weeks ago I pointed out that there was a deliberately misleading headline in the Daily Express which read "Humiliation for SNP as Nigel Farage's Reform UK now level...

WARNING - *Danger* - Emergency - NEE-NAW NEE-NAW - It's Stew, he thinks he's ...
11 Jun 2025 at 12:14pm
It's only around six months since the controversial and increasingly far-right Somerset-based blogger Stuart "Stew" Campbell told us that we had to vote against the SNP on the list because voting f...

Is the new speculation about John Swinney's future as leader a hopeful sign f...
11 Jun 2025 at 9:15am
I'm not quite sure what to make of the story in The National suggesting that 25 senior SNP figures have met to discuss replacing John Swinney as leader.  I suppose the questions that form in my min...

It's just a straw in the wind, but a highly encouraging one: the first post-H...
10 Jun 2025 at 4:43pm
As I've been pointing out repeatedly since Friday (and some people really, really haven't wanted to hear this message, but I'm afraid facts are chiels that winna ding), the swing in the Hamilton by...

Here's how the SNP have a 15% to 25% chance of securing an independence refer...
10 Jun 2025 at 12:03pm
Last week, I tried to look up what the leading betting exchange was showing about the Hamilton by-election - only to find that it wasn't showing anything at all, because of course it's far too Angl...

Stew
9 Jun 2025 at 8:51am
My devoted stalker from Somerset famously claims to never even mention me on Twitter, or if he does mention me, it's only "twice a year" or so.  Mysterious, then, that he somehow managed to post th...

Electoral illiteracy, part 2
8 Jun 2025 at 4:18pm
There was another attempted comment an hour or two ago, which this time I'm not going to publish because it's grossly misleading, which among other things claimed that the Hamilton result showed th...

STV Politics News

Latest Politics News | STV News

Kemi Badenoch: ?We?ll offer a new way of doing things in Holyrood elections?
13 Jun 2025 at 1:26pm
In her first Scottish party conference as Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch warned that Nigel Farage's Reform will 'let the SNP in'.

Families most at risk of poverty to be supported by £1.5m of childcare funding
13 Jun 2025 at 1:12pm
Children's minister Natalie Don-Innes said the fund will be split between seven organisations over two years.

Kemi Badenoch to call for end to windfall tax and ban on new oil licences at ...
13 Jun 2025 at 6:32am
She will address her first Scottish party conference as Conservative leader at Murrayfield Stadium on Friday.

Early intervention and prevention needed to tackle youth violence, summit hears
12 Jun 2025 at 7:02pm
The meeting came in the wake of the deaths of three teenagers - Kory McCrimmon, Amen Teklay and Kayden Moy.

Scottish housing crisis is making people suicidal, industry warns
12 Jun 2025 at 5:19pm
Susie Fitton of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations said staff speak to people in such circumstances ?on a daily or weekly basis?.

Anas Sarwar: ?Senior SNP figures say John Swinney has two weeks to save his job?
12 Jun 2025 at 1:22pm
The Scottish Labour leader accused Swinney's own MSPs of 'openly rebelling against him'.

UK Government commits £200m for Acorn carbon capture project in St Fergus, Ab...
12 Jun 2025 at 12:28pm
The pledge comes less than 24 hours after chancellor Rachel Reeves committed to supporting the project as part of her three-year spending review.

Conservative councillor becomes 15th Scottish representative to defect to Ref...
12 Jun 2025 at 11:54am
Lauren Knight is the 15th Scottish councillor to join Nigel Farage's party.

John Swinney to face FMQs ahead of youth violence summit
12 Jun 2025 at 11:49am
Swinney will also be asked what impact chancellor Rachel Reeves' spending review will have on Scotland.

Swinney to chair youth violence summit after stabbings and classroom violence
12 Jun 2025 at 7:33am
The First Minister will lead the cross-party meeting as he looks at reducing violence among young people.

Recall of Flamingo Land resort plans ?a disaster?, say campaigners 
11 Jun 2025 at 6:29pm
The future of the major tourist attraction on the banks of the loch is in doubt after the Scottish Government decided to recall the plans.

Major £250m redevelopment announced for Faslane naval base 
11 Jun 2025 at 4:44pm
The funding will kickstart a 'multi-decade multi-billion redevelopment, to help sustain the UK?s fleet of nuclear-powered submarines'.

Insight: A minimalist reshuffle at Bute House, but is John Swinney just rearr...
11 Jun 2025 at 4:04pm
The First Minister offered a 'modest' reshuffle on Wednesday, but will it be enough to stave off rumours of leadership challenges?

Rachel Reeves pledges ?largest settlement since devolution? for Scotland
11 Jun 2025 at 1:25pm
Reeves announced significant increases in funding for the NHS, defence and education.

Daily Record

Daily Record - Politics

John Swinney describes Iran situation as 'horrendously dangerous' after Israe...
13 Jun 2025 at 12:25pm
The First Minister warned "this is a profoundly serious moment for us all" amid fears the fragile region could be tipped into war.

SNP minister Neil Gray in fresh 'Limogate' scandal after being chauffeured to...
13 Jun 2025 at 11:42am
Gray was driven in a taxpayer-funded limo to the Brig O?Don pub in Aberdeen before travelling to Pittodrie for a game against Livingston.

End violence for next generation as justice secretary pledges £6m at summit
13 Jun 2025 at 4:30am
Record View says young people have been forgotten and marginalised too often by decision-makers at both local and national levels

Call for RTS meter switch-off to be delayed to protect Scots living in rural ...
12 Jun 2025 at 3:38pm
Scots are being urged to double check their energy meters ahead of the June 30 deadline.

John Swinney rejects calls for SNP leadership contest as he promises fresh in...
12 Jun 2025 at 2:43pm
The First Minister also said "phase two" of his leadership would focus on the case for independence.

John Swinney pledges to do 'everything we can' to save jobs at Alexander Dennis
12 Jun 2025 at 2:42pm
More than a century of bus manufacture in Falkirk could soon come to an end with cheap imports from China blamed.

Former Edinburgh council leader Cammy Day back in Labour after being cleared ...
12 Jun 2025 at 9:35am
Labour has ended the suspension and Day will resume his duties as party councillor.

SNP 'overlooking Scottish industry' as historic bus manufacturer threatens mo...
12 Jun 2025 at 9:18am
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said the English city had invested more in Scottish-built buses than the SNP Government.

Scots MP reveals celebrity A-listers he taught golf at world famous hotel
12 Jun 2025 at 4:30am
EXCLUSIVE: Brian Leishman taught footballers, singers and movie stars during his time at Gleneagles.

Time to step up and fix housing crisis after Swinney handed £9billion funding...
12 Jun 2025 at 4:30am
Record View says there must be a joint approach with local authoritie to ensure there is a huge push to build more affordable homes.

The National

The National | Politics

Reform UK claim to have 11,000 Scottish members in challenge to Labour
13 Jun 2025 at 12:11pm

Scottish Labour have said that they have more members north of the Border than Reform UK after Nigel Farage?s party claimed to have hit 11,000

Unionists just don?t view the status quo the same way we do
13 Jun 2025 at 12:00pm

THE recent unexpected win by Labour and

Lots more fleshing out of the ?how and when? for indy will be required
13 Jun 2025 at 12:00pm

AS one of the older SNP-supporting independence voters, but well short of your correspondent R Mill Irving?s 87 years, Old John?s despair that the ?SNP have taken away from me my dream of an independent Scotland in my lifetime? chimes with me (Letters, June 10). I, too, conclude that it is unlikely I will see independence.

Should a supercomputer be a top priority amid a housing crisis?
13 Jun 2025 at 12:00pm

I ACCEPT that technology moves along at an almost frightening pace, but I am fascinated by the fact that Edinburgh University has now acquired the financial means to host its very own ?supercomputer?. The UK Government in its latest spending spree has allocated a massive chunk of taxpayers? cash to placate the political and academic demands for this project to be undertaken.

SNP minister Neil Gray under fire over 'using ministerial car to visit the pub'
13 Jun 2025 at 11:57am

SNP Health Secretary Neil Gray is facing fresh pressure after it emerged that he used a ministerial car to visit the pub before a football game ...

Israel 'already planning even more brutal' attacks on Iran, Donald Trump claims
13 Jun 2025 at 11:26am

DONALD Trump has said that Israel has already planned ?even more brutal? attacks on Iran after a series of major strikes killed Iranian leaders overnight ...

Scottish council urged to remove 'far-right racist' banners from town landmark
13 Jun 2025 at 10:50am

A COUNCILLOR has called for banners which have been branded "racist" to be removed ...

'Disappointing': SNP Government rule out Scottish independence convention
13 Jun 2025 at 10:50am

The SNP Government has explicitly ruled out holding an independence convention this summer

Russell Findlay objects to BBC question on Kemi Badenoch's popularity in Scot...
13 Jun 2025 at 10:14am

RUSSELL Findlay has refused to say what Scottish voters think of Kemi Badenoch, instead taking issue with the BBC?s question ...

Fears of full-scale war as Israel kills Iranian leaders in major strikes on c...
13 Jun 2025 at 7:43am

TENSIONS in the Middle East have ramped up dramatically after Israel launched a series of attacks on Iranian soil ...

Holyrood Magazine

Holyrood Website

Kemi Badenoch: Labour is killing North Sea oil and gas
13 Jun 2025 at 7:00am
The Conservative leader will address her party's Scottish conference in Edinburgh today

UK critical infrastructure under threat by foreign-owned AI, expert says
12 Jun 2025 at 7:13pm
Speaking at?Holyrood?s annual public sector digital transformation event, he said the UK may need its?own large language model?(LLM)?for ?sovereignty reasons?

Alexander Dennis job losses ?another SNP failure? says Anas Sarwar
12 Jun 2025 at 2:09pm
John Swinney said he was ?deeply concerned? about the proposed closure of the Falkirk and Larbert factories

'Short-changed': Scottish Government reacts to Spending Review
11 Jun 2025 at 6:18pm
Shona Robison expresses disappointment at Rachel Reeves' spending plan

Spending review: What?s in it for Scotland?
11 Jun 2025 at 5:03pm
The chancellor made a raft of promises worth ?52bn for Scotland by the end of 2029

Ofcom investigates potential Online Safety Act breach across nine platforms
11 Jun 2025 at 2:58pm
The UK regulator said it had received concerns about possible sharing of child sexual abuse material on various file-sharing services

Mairi McAllan becomes housing secretary in minor government reshuffle
11 Jun 2025 at 2:03pm
Former housing secretary Paul McLennan and acting climate minister Alasdair Allan leave government

UK Government U-turn on Edinburgh supercomputer project
11 Jun 2025 at 12:48pm
The University of Edinburgh will host the UK's new national supercomputer, after securing ?750m in government funding

Douglas Ross refuses to leave committee after dialling in from the Caribbean
11 Jun 2025 at 12:33pm
MSP urged to step back during Turks and Caicos visit

Rachel Reeves pledges to ?renew Britain? as SNP urges her to ?abandon? cuts
11 Jun 2025 at 7:01am
The spending review is a major moment for the UK Government as Reeves sets out departmental budgets for the next few years

Guardian - Scottish Politics

Scottish politics | The Guardian

?Disastrous?: John Swinney facing SNP backlash after Hamilton byelection loss
12 Jun 2025 at 9:45am
Leader hears demands for a clearer vision focused on independence ahead of next year?s Holyrood electionsSNP activists and senior figures have vented their frustrations at their leader, John Swinney, after a ?disastrous? byelection campaign that saw the party lose a pivotal Holyrood seat to Scott...

Winter fuel payments U-turn likely to lead to higher taxes or other welfare c...
9 Jun 2025 at 6:22pm
Treasury says move to restore the funding for most pensioners will cost around £1.25bnWinter fuel payments threshold to rise to £35,000The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are both trying to take credit for the winter fuel payments U-turn by the government.This is from Kemi Badenoch, the T...

The Guardian view on Scottish politics: Labour wins the seat but not ? yet ? ...
6 Jun 2025 at 5:44pm
A Tory collapse, the SNP?s slump and Reform?s rise signal a volatile shift ? and the return to deal-making after the next Holyrood electionLabour?s victory in the Holyrood byelection offers the UK government a rare political comfort but not, perhaps, the strategic breakthrough it might like to im...

Tory proposal to leave ECHR would put peace in Northern Ireland at risk, Labo...
6 Jun 2025 at 3:57pm
Labour dismisses Kemi Badenoch speech on European convention on human rights as an attempt to appease Reform UK and Robert Jenrick. This live blog is closedAs Jessica Elgot and Amelia Gentleman report, Downing Street is exploring new proposals for a digital ID card to crack down on illegal migrat...

Labour byelection win shows ?SNP?s balloon has burst?, says Anas Sarwar
6 Jun 2025 at 2:13pm
Scottish Labour leader accuses SNP of misinformation in its campaign and attacks Reform?s ?dirty? tacticsScottish Labour?s surprise byelection win proves ?the SNP?s balloon has burst?, a jubilant Anas Sarwar has said, after the popular local candidate, Davy Russell, defied predictions to beat the...

Scottish Labour celebrates 'incredible' byelection win and hits out at Reform...
6 Jun 2025 at 11:03am
Scottish Labour is celebrating an 'incredible' win in a pivotal Holyrood byelection, beating the incumbent SNP and fighting off Reform UK, whose campaign was condemned as racist, in a result that confounded predictions and will boost the party ahead of next year?s Scottish parliamentary elections...

Hamilton byelection win is vindication of Scottish Labour?s doorstep strategy
6 Jun 2025 at 10:12am
Victory over SNP and Reform sends strong signal to Scotland?s political parties before next May?s Holyrood electionsLabour?s victory in Hamilton is both a surprise and a vindication ? a demonstration that in a byelection, shocks can take different forms.It is a surprise to those of us in the outs...

Scottish Labour wins pivotal Holyrood byelection, beating SNP and Reform UK
6 Jun 2025 at 9:24am
Labour celebrates ?incredible? win in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse as voters rally around popular local candidateScottish Labour is celebrating an ?incredible? win in a pivotal Holyrood byelection, beating the incumbent Scottish National party and fighting off Reform UK?s ?racist? campaignin...

Badenoch challenges Starmer at PMQs over winter fuel payment U-turn, Chagos d...
4 Jun 2025 at 5:20pm
Tory leader says PM should apologise to pensioners and asks how U-turn will be fundedReeves says her changes to the fiscal rules last year will make more investment possible.The decisions that we made in October mean that, for the first time, the Treasury actually takes account of the benefits an...

UK politics: Yvette Cooper quizzed over immigration and prisons crisis ? as i...
3 Jun 2025 at 5:30pm
Home secretary appears to accept early release proposals will put more pressure on police as she is questioned at select committeeDefence sources believe that Britain will be forced to sign up to a target of lifting defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035 at this month?s Nato summit after a campa...

Wee Ginger Dug

Wee Ginger Dug

Thoughts on that by election
8 Jun 2025 at 12:23pm
My mum is not doing any better. She’s not really conscious any more. They are giving her strong painkillers and sedatives to keep her comfortable but are no longer giving her any other treatment. We are going to see her this afternoon. I fear it’s only a matter of time now until she passes away. …

My mum
6 Jun 2025 at 9:16am
I need to step away from the blog for a while. As regular readers may be aware, my mum is battling stage four cancer – ocular melanoma. My mum told me many months ago that she was happy for me to discuss her health on the blog. The latest news is not good. Despite having …

Making plans for Nigel
2 Jun 2025 at 5:38pm
I’ve been preoccupied with a family emergency involving my mother’s health, which has taken a sharp turn for the worse, so I’ve been too distracted to sit down and write a piece about recent political developments. However, on the basis that the best thing to do right now is find something else to focus on, …

A case for independence to break through the lies of the far right
29 May 2025 at 6:07pm
We are facing a serious political crisis. The next Westminster general election is four years away, given the size of Starmer’s majority in the Commons it would require a rebellion of unprecedented magnitude to unseat him. Despite the rumblings of discontent from Labour’s left wing old guard, there is little likelihood of there being enough …

Boldness is needed to challenge the far right and deliver independence
26 May 2025 at 8:48pm
We need to brace ourselves for the very real and alarming prospect that the frothing über-yoons of Reform UK come in second in next week’s Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Holyrood by-election. I dislike the pejorative term yoon as a rule, but in the case of Reform UK it’s fully warranted. It’s less likely, but not …

Scottish child poverty can only be eliminated with independence
24 May 2025 at 4:58pm
The Guardian newspaper has reported that Labour’s “flagship child poverty policy” has been delayed until at least the autumn, pushing tens of thousands more children into poverty in the meantime. It was because this policy was supposed to be unveiled in a few months that the Labour party justified voting against an SNP motion in …

Reform lets its mask slip to reveal its true ugliness
22 May 2025 at 8:20pm
Readers of this blog will know that I am not in the business of defending Anas Sarwar, the Scottish branch manager of the Labour party. There is a multitude of reasons for legitimately criticising him, his frequent and many lies, his willingness to spin on a sixpence in order to justify the latest monstrous policy …

The difficulty of tactical voting in the Holyrood list vote
20 May 2025 at 11:04am
It is now less than a year to the next Scottish Parliament elections and once more social media screen space is being consumed with arguments about tactical voting in the regional list vote. Every time there’s a Scottish election this argument comes up, even though tactical voting on the regional list vote has never worked …

Starmer?s Enoch Powell moment
14 May 2025 at 7:08pm
The fall out continues over Keir Starmer’s gob-smacking speech on immigration on Monday in which he echoed the language of the notoriously racist “rivers of blood” speech delivered by Enoch Powell in 1968 to a meeting of the Conservative Political Centre in Birmingham. At the time Powell was the Shadow Secretary of State for Defence …

The right wing takeover of the Labour party is now complete
12 May 2025 at 1:47pm
The unpalatable truth for Labour supporters, that is those who adhere to the traditional values and beliefs of the Labour party as they were understood throughout the entire twentieth century, is that the Labour party they believed in is dead. It’s deader than the parrot in the famous Monty Python sketch and it’s every bit …

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 [Collective]

Only in Scotland, unpaid carers will be over £4,400 better off than in rest o...
13 Jun 2025 at 12:12pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From Scotland?s unpaid carers over £4,400 better off published yesterday: This Carers Week (9 ? 15 June), unpaid carers across Scotland are being encouraged to find out if they are eligible for social security support ? through Carer Support Payment, Carer?s Allowance Supplement and Young Carer Grant.    Carer?s Allowance Supplement – a payment only available north ...

Sickle cell patients to have quicker and more accessible treatment in England...
13 Jun 2025 at 9:28am
Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above and: People living with sickle cell disease in England are to benefit from quicker and more accessible treatment due to a £9m investment, the government has announced. Apheresis services, which are a type of treatment that removes harmful components from a patient?s blood, are to improve across England through the funding of more spe...

Blood cancer patients in England first in world [not including Scotland] to b...
13 Jun 2025 at 9:10am
Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair It’s kind of sad that when I see headlines like the one above, in the Guardian today, I immediately think: Did they bother checking NHS Scotland? When they say ‘England’, do they mean ‘UK?’ There’s no mention of Scotland in the report, but not for the first time, I find something that shows their habitual Anglocentrism. From Mye...

Beware ?gushing? British Labour Party politicians in Scotland in the wake of ...
12 Jun 2025 at 7:30pm
By stewartb The BBC News website on June 11 covered the Spending Review announcements in separate articles, in its Wales and Scotland sections. The BBC Wales article had this cautionary headline: ?Spending review could mean cuts in Wales – experts?. Critical views ares shared by BBC Wales on the significance of the SR and not just from politicians opposed to the British Labour Party government ...

The dark Brian Wilson allowed to challenge SNP universalism on winter fuel al...
12 Jun 2025 at 9:52am
Professor John Robertson OBA Brian ‘Bad Vibrations’ Wilson, former Minister under Tony Blair, is in the Herald today to claim: Winter fuel payment u-turn exposes flaws in SNP’s universalism Have I read it? No way? Do I need to read it? No way. I have the oven-ready, fully-researched, response from a think tank set up by that real socialist, the late Jimmy Reid. The facts, from the Jimmy Reid Fo...

As Police Scotland send officers to help in Northern Ireland again, how the S...
12 Jun 2025 at 9:09am
Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland yesterday: Police Scotland has agreed to send officers to Northern Ireland after two nights of disorder in Ballymena. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) asked for extra support under mutual aid arrangements following violent scenes in the County Antrim town. The deployment will involve an undisclosed number of public order officers who a...

Covid Inquiry reports praising Scottish Government?s approach which you?re no...
11 Jun 2025 at 10:08am
By Brenda Robb I’ve done what BBC reporters routinely do ie scan a document and pick out selective bits to back up an argument. I make no apologies for this because rarely does Scotland get any positive mentions, while negative findings are highlighted, amplified in headlines and endlessly discussed. If I ever get the time & energy I’m going to work my way through all the Covid reports, maybe d...

A closed breastfeeding support service and failed hospital disinfectants rese...
11 Jun 2025 at 9:07am
By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS BBC Scotland today, headlining: A breastfeeding support service which has helped mums of newborn babies for a decade has closed down after funding was withdrawn. Breastfeeding Buddies was run by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) charity in five hospitals in Greater Glasgow and Lothian, offering peer support to mothers ...

Despite mass media misrepresentation most Scots still do not support new nucl...
10 Jun 2025 at 5:02pm
Professor John Robertson OBA In the last few months, we’ve seen the MSM in Scotland support the Labour Party’s plans, across the UK and in Scotland, to build new nuclear power stations. Coverage has largely ignored the international research pointing to massive real costs, increased waste and health risks, as well as Scotland’s zero need for nuclear power as new windfarms and battery farms have...

Suspected drug deaths fall by 166 (14%) in last year
10 Jun 2025 at 5:01pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: January to March 2025 – This quarterly report presents Police Scotland management information to provide an indication of current trends in suspected drug deaths in Scotland, published today: There were 1,053 suspected drug deaths over the 12 months to March 2025, 14% (166) fewer than the 12 months to March 2024 (1,219). Note ...

Scotland and Independence

"scotland independence -guardian" - Google News

'Disappointing': SNP Government rule out Scottish independence convention - T...
13 Jun 2025 at 10:51am
'Disappointing': SNP Government rule out Scottish independence convention  TheNational.scot

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

Michael Gove 'in agreement' with SNP leader John Swinney over independence - BBC
17 May 2025 at 8:00am
Michael Gove 'in agreement' with SNP leader John Swinney over independence  BBC

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

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

Putin's puppet makes bizarre appeal to Scotland as he mocks Starmer - Daily E...
12 Jun 2025 at 7:22pm
Putin's puppet makes bizarre appeal to Scotland as he mocks Starmer  Daily Express

Putin?s Propagandist Mocks Starmer: Urges Scotland to Fight for Independence ...
13 Jun 2025 at 10:28am
Putin?s Propagandist Mocks Starmer: Urges Scotland to Fight for Independence  MSN

Claim 37 per cent of Scots want to abolish Holyrood is Unsupported - The Ferret
11 Jun 2025 at 9:22am
Claim 37 per cent of Scots want to abolish Holyrood is Unsupported  The Ferret

Beyond the Union: a new economic model for Scotland and Wales - Nation.Cymru
11 Jun 2025 at 7:00am
Beyond the Union: a new economic model for Scotland and Wales  Nation.Cymru

Starmer says no independence referendum while he is prime minister - BBC
3 Jun 2025 at 8:00am
Starmer says no independence referendum while he is prime minister  BBC

SNP

"SNP" - Google News

SNP?s wish to ?throw open our borders? would risk security ? Badenoch - The H...
13 Jun 2025 at 10:36am
SNP?s wish to ?throw open our borders? would risk security ? Badenoch  The Herald

Hamilton by-election result: Live updates as Labour narrowly defeats SNP and ...
6 Jun 2025 at 8:00am
Hamilton by-election result: Live updates as Labour narrowly defeats SNP and Reform  BBC

Scottish Labour win by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse as SNP s...
6 Jun 2025 at 10:33am
Scottish Labour win by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse as SNP suffer shock defeat  Sky News

Scottish Labour wins pivotal Holyrood byelection, beating SNP and Reform UK -...
6 Jun 2025 at 1:33am
Scottish Labour wins pivotal Holyrood byelection, beating SNP and Reform UK  The Guardian

Labour byelection win shows ?SNP?s balloon has burst?, says Anas Sarwar - The...
6 Jun 2025 at 1:39pm
Labour byelection win shows ?SNP?s balloon has burst?, says Anas Sarwar  The Guardian

SNP to "learn lessons" as Labour wins crucial by-election - BBC
6 Jun 2025 at 9:20pm
SNP to "learn lessons" as Labour wins crucial by-election  BBC

Michael Gove 'in agreement' with SNP leader John Swinney over independence - BBC
17 May 2025 at 8:00am
Michael Gove 'in agreement' with SNP leader John Swinney over independence  BBC

?Disastrous?: John Swinney facing SNP backlash after Hamilton byelection loss...
12 Jun 2025 at 7:07pm
?Disastrous?: John Swinney facing SNP backlash after Hamilton byelection loss  The Guardian

'Disappointing': SNP Government rule out Scottish independence convention - T...
13 Jun 2025 at 10:51am
'Disappointing': SNP Government rule out Scottish independence convention  TheNational.scot

Swing similar to Hamilton by-election could cost SNP 11 of their most margina...
13 Jun 2025 at 6:32am
Swing similar to Hamilton by-election could cost SNP 11 of their most marginal seats  The Herald

Referendum (Google News)

"Scotland referendum -guardian -telegraph" - Google News

Michael Gove 'in agreement' with SNP leader John Swinney over independence - BBC
17 May 2025 at 8:00am
Michael Gove 'in agreement' with SNP leader John Swinney over independence  BBC

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

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

Starmer says no independence referendum while he is prime minister - BBC
3 Jun 2025 at 8:00am
Starmer says no independence referendum while he is prime minister  BBC

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

Lord Gove: Westminster must bow to Scottish referendum clamour - The Times
18 May 2025 at 8:00am
Lord Gove: Westminster must bow to Scottish referendum clamour  The Times

New poll shows Scots overwhelmingly back indy over Westminster direct rule - ...
3 Jun 2025 at 8:00am
New poll shows Scots overwhelmingly back indy over Westminster direct rule  TheNational.scot

Welsh Independence Is No Longer a Fringe Idea - Novara Media
4 Jun 2025 at 3:51pm
Welsh Independence Is No Longer a Fringe Idea  Novara Media

Gove suggest second independence vote will happen if Scots show 'overwhelming...
18 May 2025 at 8:00am
Gove suggest second independence vote will happen if Scots show 'overwhelming desire'  The Herald

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