The Herald

The Herald | Politics


Alison Rowat: You might fancy another 500 miles First Minister, but is it wise?
13 Jan 2025 at 5:46am
Click or flick through UK newspapers and you might think there was a competition going on among picture editors to find the most unflattering picture possible of Rachel Reeves. One headline helpfully pointed out how tired and fretful the Chancellor looked, as if the strains on the economy were somehow mirrored in her face. It is not entirely a sexist thing. Holding high office ages male politicians too. At the funeral of Jimmy Carter last week, with all five living US presidents gathered in the pews, Barack Obama, for one, looked older than his 63 years..


Forbes: Trump uncertainty could see green energy investors divert to Scotland
13 Jan 2025 at 7:42am
Uncertainty caused by the new Trump administration in the US could see green energy investors divert to Scotland and the UK, the Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has said.


Glen Sannox ferry 'at risk of cancellation' on maiden voyage, CalMac warns
12 Jan 2025 at 5:59pm
CalMac has warned the highly anticipated MV Glen Sannox maiden voyage is at risk of disruption or cancellation due to high winds.


Moira Salmond: Let Alex rest in peace amid distressing bullying claims
12 Jan 2025 at 1:05pm
Bullying claims against former first minister Alex Salmond are deeply distressing, his widow Moira has said as she demands he is left to 'rest in peace'.


'That's the way it was' Swinney backs Salmond 'bullying' claims from Sturgeon
12 Jan 2025 at 10:56am
John Swinney has backed up claims made by Nicola Sturgeon that senior SNP figures stepped in to stop Alex Salmond 'bullying' colleagues.


Machismo or madness? Trump just might actually be serious about Greenland and...
12 Jan 2025 at 6:15am
With barely a week before his inauguration the president-elect has given the world a foretaste of his foreign policy ambitions - or has he? Foreign Editor David Pratt examines the fact and fiction


?Human zoo? rooms to take heroin are win-win for SNP?s elitist roasters and b...
12 Jan 2025 at 6:00am
IS there no end to the SNP?s loathing of Scotland?s poor and vulnerable people, especially in Glasgow?


'Scotland needs confidence in police vetting system', says Constance
12 Jan 2025 at 5:00am
Scotland needs confidence in Police Scotland's vetting system after a watchdog flagged significant concerns, Justice Secretary Angela Constance has said.


John Swinney vows to remain First Minister until 2031 if SNP wins Holyrood el...
12 Jan 2025 at 11:46am
John Swinney has vowed to remain First Minister until at least 2031 if his the SNP wins the 2026 Holyrood elections.


Trump?s ?First Gimp? and free speech fan-dan Musk needs to shut up on child g...
12 Jan 2025 at 6:13am
Free speech fan-dan and Trump?s First Gimp needs to shut up on child abuse


Alex Salmond Institute would be fitting tribute, says outgoing Alba chief
12 Jan 2025 at 6:00am
Chris McEleny has called for Alex Salmond to be honoured through the creation of an educational institute in his name.


SNP told to cut bowel cancer screening age after disease rise in younger Scots
12 Jan 2025 at 5:00am
Senior MSPs Jackie Baillie and Edward Mountain have urged ministers to extend the national bowel screening programme to the under 50s after an alarming rise in the disease among younger Scots.


Analysis: I do believe in ferries, I do, I do
12 Jan 2025 at 5:00am
Arran and its ferries remind me of fond childhood memories but, for the community, this network is a lifeline which needs fixed.


Can John Swinney fix Scotland's NHS before the next election?
12 Jan 2025 at 5:00am
First Minister John Swinney has vowed to 'fix' Scotland's NHS ahead of the 2026 election. With mounting waiting lists, staff shortages, and bed-blocking crises, can he turn things around?or will voters turn elsewhere?

The Scotsman

The Scotsman Politics


Sir Jim Ratcliffe warns of industry 'extinction' as Grangemouth plant closes
13 Jan 2025 at 6:00am

Ineos chairman?s plea on energy prices and carbon taxes as ethanol plant shuts down

With Donald Trump about to become US President, Labour must live up to their promises on climate change

Loans and grant support agreed for partners at University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI)

Dentists made more than 1,000 cancer-related referrals in 2023-24

The incoming president has threatened a blanket 20 per cent tariff on all imports into the US

Widow?s comments follow Nicola Sturgeon?s claim she stepped in ?many times? when Alex Salmond was ?really rough on people?

The Scottish Labour leader hopes to reform the system

Wings over Scotland

Inability To Learn
12 Jan 2025 at 11:28am
Y’know, maybe we were a little harsh on the lads at Holyrood Sources yesterday when we implied that a more direct and aggressive interviewing style might have cut through John Swinney and Kate Forbes’ pathetically feeble waffling evasion on the SNP’s lack of an independence strategy in their recent podcast. But the closest thing (along …

In Ruins
11 Jan 2025 at 12:51pm
Don’t watch this. You’ll only waste 12 minutes of your life making yourself angry. ? It’s our job to be angry for you. Quite aside from anything else, the title is a barefaced lie. There is nothing remotely resembling a “route to independence” aired anywhere in the interview. Despite being gently pressed by former SNP …

Eyes Full Of Beams
9 Jan 2025 at 3:38pm
The National carried a strange article yesterday, apropos of seemingly nothing, about a Brussels-based political thinktank supposedly linked to the right-wing Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban. The piece actually originated on superwoke “fact-checking” site The Ferret a couple of days earlier, and professed to expose how the thinktank was “stoking Scotland’s culture war”. Alert …

Safeguarding Is Not Right-Wing
9 Jan 2025 at 12:34pm
As more horrific experiences from survivors of rape torture gangs surface from across the UK, we must focus not on knee-jerk political posturing but on the root cause that led to the failure of these children by our society. ? Political inaction has now opened the door to inevitable political mileage, nurtured from stoking vengeance …

Dreaming Of Perfection
7 Jan 2025 at 1:30pm
Any rational assessment of Scottish (or indeed UK or world) politics at the moment tends to be negative and depressing, so since it’s a new year we thought we’d make an extra-special effort at writing something positive. Unfortunately that does require us to enter the realm of fantasy. But hey, everybody needs a little holiday …

Where We Stand Now
5 Jan 2025 at 1:23pm
Nobody really answered the question in this article from a few days ago. A few of the dimmer bulbs in the indy movement have been getting over-excited at what are still currently a couple of outlier polls from fringe polling companies, which suggest that the 2026 election could unexpectedly return a pro-indy majority due to …

Once more around
31 Dec 2024 at 11:59pm

And Then What?
29 Dec 2024 at 1:34pm
Look, we know that mocking front pages on The National is low-hanging fruit, and this particular example could hardly be any more of a self-parody if it tried. But just for the sheer mental exercise in that stone-dead last week of December when nobody even knows what day it is, let’s imagine if it came …

Bad Santa
21 Dec 2024 at 12:37am

The Cost Of Truth
17 Dec 2024 at 1:39pm
The Scottish Government just issued another response in the long-running Freedom Of Information battle with alert Wings reader Benjamin Harrop over its conspiracy to frame and imprison the late Alex Salmond on false charges. Here’s a genuine extract. Yeah, definitely nothing to hide here. The release came a couple of days after the Scottish Information …

Craig Murray

The United States? Pet General Appointed President of Lebanon
10 Jan 2025 at 3:32pm

Yesterday I did two short video reports from outside the Lebanese Parliament – inside a military cordon that totally sealed off downtown Beirut – on the appointment of General Joseph Aoun, Head of the Lebanese Armed Forces, as President of Lebanon. There is no other Western source giving any of this detail – not even …

The United States’ Pet General Appointed President of Lebanon

Will Section 12 Die of Shame?
7 Jan 2025 at 7:32am

There was absolutely nothing stopping them, but not one single member of Western mainstream media ever visited a bomb site in Lebanon to verify whether Israeli claims it was a Hezbollah base or missile site were true. Because they knew the answer is negative, as I found across dozens of bomb sites, and that is …

Will Section 12 Die of Shame?

The Bank Israel Bombed
23 Dec 2024 at 8:59pm

Israel has relentlessly bombed all 38 branches of the Al-Qard Al-Hasan Association in Lebanon. Why is it so important to the Zionist cause to specifically obliterate a savings and loan institution? I investigate in our fourth mini-documentary from Lebanon. Click on the “Closed Captions” option at the bottom of the video and you will get …

The Bank Israel Bombed

Lebanon and Syria: My Interview for L?Indipendente
17 Dec 2024 at 9:46am

What’s happening in Lebanon: interview with former British Ambassador Craig Murray 11 December 2024 – 19:00 The current situation in Lebanon is more delicate than ever. Despite the entry into force of the fragile cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, the Jewish state continues to violate the terms of the agreement, claiming that it is only …

Lebanon and Syria: My Interview for L’Indipendente

Imperialism is Winning
16 Dec 2024 at 12:57pm

After six weeks in Beirut, duing which I witnessed a substantial swing in the balance of power in the Middle East in favour of the Greater Israel project, it is time to take stock. My reporting and advocacy work has no source of finance at all other than your contributions to keep us going. …

Imperialism is Winning

Abolishing Democracy in Europe
14 Dec 2024 at 2:17pm

On 4 October I spoke to a meeting of the United European Left group of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Arriving a bit early, I sat through a presentation by a Moldovan judge, Victoria Sanduta, who was formerly the President of the Association of Judges in Moldova. She had recently been dismissed, …

Abolishing Democracy in Europe

BBC Scotland

Glen Sannox ferry completes first official sailing
13 Jan 2025 at 8:17am
The MV Glen Sannox is to make its first scheduled passenger voyage between Troon and Arran early on Monday.

I'll use Trump's Scottish links in tariff talks - FM
12 Jan 2025 at 2:43pm
John Swinney vows to use Donald Trump's affinity for Scotland in a bid to avoid the prospect of tariffs being applied on imports to the US.

Call for Hogg to be stripped of MBE reasonable - FM
10 Jan 2025 at 3:25pm
The former Scotland rugby captain was given a community payback order after he admitted domestic abuse.

Yousaf accuses Musk of inflaming racial tensions
9 Jan 2025 at 7:00pm
The ex-first minister criticised the X owner after he shared a post about the murder of a Scottish schoolboy.

We will not dictate to Scottish Labour - Rayner
9 Jan 2025 at 4:03pm
The deputy prime minister says Anas Sarwar will always get a "listening ear" from Downing Street.

Swinney meets family of murdered Nairn banker
9 Jan 2025 at 4:34pm
Alistair Wilson's shooting on the doorstep of his home in Nairn has remained unsolved for 20 years.

Ash Regan aiming to succeed Alex Salmond as Alba leader
9 Jan 2025 at 10:56am
The party's sole representative at Holyrood says she is standing for the party's leadership.

Galleries at 'crisis point' over £40m funding gap
9 Jan 2025 at 2:22pm
Some of Scotland's most renowned artworks could be locked away if galleries close due to a funding gap.

MSP Oliver Mundell to stand down at next election
9 Jan 2025 at 3:08pm
The 35-year-old Conservative has represented Dumfriesshire in the Scottish Parliament since 2016.

Swinney says sorry to islanders for ferry delays
8 Jan 2025 at 1:54pm
The first minister has offered an "unreserved" apology days before a new CalMac ship finally begins passenger sailings.

Patrick Harvie to take time off from parliament
8 Jan 2025 at 3:53pm
The Greens co-leader is expected to be in recovery for at least six weeks due to a planned medical procedure.

Ex-council leader Purcell banned for drink driving
8 Jan 2025 at 2:39pm
Steven Purcell was more than three times over the limit on the M77 motorway in Glasgow last October.

Scot Goes Pop

Where would the independence movement be after six more years of not particul...
12 Jan 2025 at 6:15pm
So a few thoughts about John Swinney's announcement that he intends to stay on until 2031, assuming the SNP win the Holyrood election next year - * This shouldn't necessarily be taken ultra-literal...

THE ALBA FILES, Part 1: 'A McCarthyite atmosphere', 'trial by vagueness', 'th...
10 Jan 2025 at 10:05pm
Welcome to a new series of articles on Scot Goes Pop entitled 'THE ALBA FILES' (before anyone panics, it's only a name).  Now that I'm irrevocably out of Alba and no longer owe any loyalty to the p...

Reform UK hits an all-time high vote share with yet another polling firm - th...
10 Jan 2025 at 1:30pm
I said yesterday that we shouldn't necessarily expect to see Reform UK in the outright lead in most GB-wide polls, at least in the immediate future, and these new More In Common numbers demonstrate...

As expected, Alba's kangaroo court has upheld my expulsion - so now that I no...
9 Jan 2025 at 7:28pm
As this process has been a blatant stitch-up from beginning to end, it won't surprise anyone to hear that my appeal against expulsion has been rejected, and that the Alba Party is now permanently a...

It's actually happened: Reform UK move into a JOINT LEAD in the latest Britai...
9 Jan 2025 at 1:25pm
Technically, this is not the first time this has happened, because Reform UK is legally a direct continuation of the Brexit Party, which held the outright lead in a handful of polls during that mad...

And here they are, they're so appealing...
8 Jan 2025 at 3:02pm
Tonight at 7pm, my appeal hearing against expulsion from the Alba Party will take place, but my preparations have been interrupted by a bit of unexpected drama.  I was out walking near my home yest...

So I discovered one thing last night - at least one person is keen enough on ...
7 Jan 2025 at 11:25am
Although self-selecting online polls are hopelessly unscientific, there's a case to be made for paying some slight heed to them in situations such as the Alba leadership election, because one thing...

Drama as controversial blogger Stuart Campbell denounces his own regular poll...
6 Jan 2025 at 1:42pm
Former independence supporter Stuart Campbell has a long and storied history of making bold political predictions which prove to be completely wrong, and then retrospectively coming up with excruci...

STV Politics News

Latest Politics News | STV News

Scotland ?can benefit from Trump uncertainty? in green energy investment, say...
13 Jan 2025 at 7:40am
The Deputy First Minister also defended the Government?s stance that it would meet the President-elect.

FM John Swinney says he will speak with incoming president Donald Trump in bi...
12 Jan 2025 at 2:29pm
The First Minister said the incoming US President was 'very warm and positive' during a call in December.

Alex Salmond?s widow Moira says attacks on late husband ?unfair and distressing?
12 Jan 2025 at 1:51pm
Moira Salmond urged critics of her late husband to 'let Alex rest in peace', following an interview in which Nicola Sturgeon discussed his behaviour.

Faults in monitoring of sewage dumping not recorded, say Scottish Liberal Dem...
12 Jan 2025 at 11:09am
The party said updated Scottish Water figures showed there were 25,109 sewage dumps in Scotland in 2023, more than double the number recorded in 2020.

John Swinney vows to serve full five years as First Minister if SNP win 2026 ...
12 Jan 2025 at 10:49am
The First Minister said it would 'be his plan' to serve the full amount of time if the SNP are successful in next year's election.

Badenoch calls on Prime Minister to sack Tulip Siddiq over property allegations
12 Jan 2025 at 10:42am
The treasury minister allegedly lived in properties linked her aunt, the former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, who is under an anti-corruption investigation.

Rise of Reform ?a danger to Scotland?, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harv...
11 Jan 2025 at 10:20am
Polling suggests Nigel Farage's party is growing in support with 22% of the vote share in terms of voting intention as of December 2024.

Nicola Sturgeon says she grieved for Alex Salmond four or five years followin...
10 Jan 2025 at 4:52pm
The relationship between the pair broke down as allegations of harassment were made against Salmond.

Call to protect thousands of households ahead of energy meter switch-off
10 Jan 2025 at 2:19pm
The Scottish Government is urging UK ministers to step in ahead of radio teleswitch service transmissions ceasing in June.

Family of murdered banker meet First Minister two decades after shooting
9 Jan 2025 at 6:06pm
Veronica Wilson spoke to John Swinney about the unsolved killing of her husband Alistair at their home in Nairn in 2004.

Angela Rayner says plans to scrap two-child benefit cap in Scotland ?not the ...
9 Jan 2025 at 5:26pm
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner made the comments during a visit to Scotland on Thursday.

Alba MSP Ash Regan says leadership bid is ?big opportunity? for party
9 Jan 2025 at 5:12pm
Ash Regan announced her bid to succeed Alex Salmond as Alba Party leader on Thursday.

First Minister John Swinney apologises to retired police officer who spent fi...
9 Jan 2025 at 2:16pm
The former policeman was forced to lie on the floor in pain due to a lack of beds in A&E.

Russell Findlay: Scottish Labour abstention means ?cheapest Budget deal? sinc...
9 Jan 2025 at 2:08pm
Russell Findlay blasted Scottish Labour's decision to abstain from the final vote - calling the party 'weak'.

Daily Record

Daily Record - Politics

Swinney is taking control of the NHS because he knows it is his Government's ...
13 Jan 2025 at 4:30am
Daily Record Political Editor Paul Hutcheon says Swinney has presided over a remarkable turnaround for the SNP, but voters may still punish him over public services.

SNP using government quangos to avoid taking responsibility for their actions
13 Jan 2025 at 4:30am
In his Daily Record column, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar says the buck will stop with ministers if he wins next year's Holyrood election.

John Swinney takes direct control of crisis-hit Scottish NHS response as heal...
13 Jan 2025 at 4:30am
The First Minister is taking an increasingly hands on approach to the health brief, with Labour saying Health Secretary Neil Gray has been "sidelined".

Scottish Labour MP encourages colleagues to speak out and 'hold UK Government...
13 Jan 2025 at 4:30am
EXCLUSIVE: Brian Leishman said backbench Labour MPs have to "make sure that the values and the ideals and the principles of the Labour Party are enacted in Government."

John Swinney says time as Education Secretary changed his politics as he move...
13 Jan 2025 at 4:30am
EXCLUSIVE: Allies say Swinney has moved left in recent years, with the First Minister saying his time in charge of schools was pivotal.

Alex Salmond?s widow says attacks on him are ?unfair and distressing?
12 Jan 2025 at 1:13pm
Moira Salmond has urged her late husband's critics to ?let Alex rest in peace?.

John Swinney will speak to Donald Trump in bid to avoid trade tariffs
12 Jan 2025 at 1:01pm
Swinney backed Kamala Harris to win the presidency, something which the Republican?s son Eric Trump criticised during a visit to Scotland.

John Swinney says he also intervened to stop Alex Salmond's 'bullying'
12 Jan 2025 at 11:22am
The First Minister said he told Salmond his behaviour was "not on" when he was "quite brisk with people".

Fears of crime hotspot around Glasgow's new drugs consumption room
12 Jan 2025 at 4:30am
Campaigners warn the policing strategy around the site is unclear.

Scots cop guilty of sex attack on colleague takes £100k in wages
12 Jan 2025 at 4:30am
David McQuade preyed on a junior female officer while on duty.

The National

The National | Politics

Tommy Sheppard: Decriminalisation of all drug use could eradicate the underworld
13 Jan 2025 at 5:00am

THE UK?s first drug consumption room opens at last today in Glasgow. As everyone involved is at pains to point out, this is not a silver bullet to solving Scotland?s drugs problem.

Ash Regan: Bold economic ambitions are not veiled ideological statements
13 Jan 2025 at 5:00am

IN my preparations for a new parliamentary term, I reflected on past lessons, assessed our current position and identified future potential. What is clear is that for Scotland?s potential to be embraced, we must be ready to lead the conversation and have confidence in our ability to do so.

'Milestone': UK's first safe drug consumption facility opens in Glasgow
13 Jan 2025 at 5:00am

SCOTLAND?S first safe drug consumption facility opens its doors today in what has been hailed as a ?crucial milestone? in tackling addiction.

George Kerevan: The UK is fast becoming the financial basket case of Europe
13 Jan 2025 at 5:00am

THE UK financial system went bonkers last week. Interest costs on government debt shot up higher than during the Liz Truss meltdown. The pound crashed.

'Betrayal': Labour pledge supercomputer cash after killing Edinburgh project
13 Jan 2025 at 5:00am

LABOUR have been warned that developing supercomputers in England after axing a pioneering project in Scotland would be a ?betrayal?.

Labour to go 'all-in' on AI amid desperate struggle to regain control of economy
12 Jan 2025 at 10:30pm

BRITAIN will go ?all-in? for artificial intelligence as Labour outline their plan to harness the tech in a bid to turn around the dismal economic outlook.

Michael Gove is a vile, immoral and ethically bankrupt creature
12 Jan 2025 at 6:30pm

THERE is a wretched inevitability to the way world events are currently unfolding. An increasingly menacing president-elect in the USA threatens to undermine his neighbour Canada whilst publicly warning of his intentions to annex Greenland and Panama.

'Unfair and distressing?: Alex Salmond's widow issues statement amid attacks ...
12 Jan 2025 at 1:03pm

The widow of Alex Salmond says comments from those ?determined to damage? her late husband?s reputation are unfair and distressing, urging critics to ?let Alex rest in peace?.

Labour 'considering scrapping BBC licence fee'
12 Jan 2025 at 1:03pm

THE UK Culture Secretary is reportedly considering scrapping the licence fee to fund the BBC ? and is even said to have considered funding the corporation through taxation.

SNP predicted to make Westminster recovery after poll boost
12 Jan 2025 at 11:51am

THE SNP have been projected to win back 24 seats based on new polling which predicts Labour would fall short of a majority at the next election.

Holyrood Magazine

Holyrood Website

Trump presidency offers ?opportunities? for Scotland?s clean economy, says Ka...
13 Jan 2025 at 12:01am
The DFM said the UK could look more attractive to investors due to offering more regulatory and policy certainty than the US

Nicola Sturgeon intervened ?many times? to stop Alex Salmond
10 Jan 2025 at 4:22pm
She said her predecessor could be 'really rough on people'

Scottish Government pressed over mandatory reporting of child abuse
10 Jan 2025 at 3:25pm
Remit of new group in focus after co-chairs depart

UK sends 30,000 ?state-of-the-art? drones to Ukraine
10 Jan 2025 at 2:53pm
UK sends 30,000 drones to Ukraine as part of a new international drive to end the Russian invasion

FMQs: Labour accused of doing ?cheapest budget deal? of devolution
10 Jan 2025 at 8:00am
Labour has been accused of doing the ?cheapest budget deal? of devolution by Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay.

EXPLAINER: Meta axes factcheckers
8 Jan 2025 at 1:17pm
Meta has announced it will get rid of third-party?fact-checking on?Facebook and Instagram, replacing it with a community notes model

MSP: Don't leave it to Elon Musk to 'shed light' on child sexual abuse
7 Jan 2025 at 2:59pm
Questions over Scottish Government response

Scottish Budget set to pass as Anas Sarwar confirms Labour will abstain
7 Jan 2025 at 10:36am
He also said his party would vote for the budget if ministers mitigate the two-child benefit cap this year

MSPs called on to back Scottish Budget and help eradicate child poverty
7 Jan 2025 at 12:04am
The social justice minister will urge opposition MSPs to back the budget, which will deliver more warm homes, help people to access and sustain good jobs, and put money in the pockets of families

John Swinney: Elon Musk remarks on Jess Phillips ?reprehensible?
6 Jan 2025 at 1:34pm
The FM also criticised Musk for promoting ?glib solutions? and warned that the Scottish Parliament failing to pass a budget was ?playing into the hands? of populists

Guardian - Scottish Politics

Scottish politics | The Guardian

Protection zone set up after bird flu outbreak in Angus area of Scotland
11 Jan 2025 at 12:00pm
Scottish government stresses risk to public is low, as chief veterinary officer says it is first outbreak since 2023A protection zone has been set up after an outbreak of bird flu in Angus, Scotland?s chief veterinary officer has said.On Friday night, Sheila Voas said a 10km (6.8 mile) surveillan...

Nigel Farage paid £189,000 for part-time job as ?brand ambassador? for gold b...
7 Jan 2025 at 6:05pm
MP for Clacton declares payments on register of MPs? interests after spending four hours a month working for gold bullion firmAt the end of last week Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary and runner-up in last year?s Tory leadership contest, said the child abuse grooming scandal started wi...

Anas Sarwar accuses Scottish government of ?weakening every institution?
6 Jan 2025 at 4:06pm
Scottish Labour leader sets out plan to revive party?s flagging fortunes before Holyrood electionsAnas Sarwar has accused the Scottish government of ?weakening every institution in Scotland? as he set out plans to revive Labour?s flagging fortunes before the Holyrood elections.The Scottish Labour...

Swinney to warn opposition of fuelling populism if Scottish budget not passed
6 Jan 2025 at 12:01am
Scottish Labour, Greens and Lib Dem MSPs accuse first minister of ?creating false narrative? John Swinney, Scotland?s first minister, will warn opposition parties that they will fuel populist forces if they prevent his budget from being passed this month.In a keynote speech in Edinburgh on Monday...

Director of Edinburgh international festival warns cuts put its status at risk
5 Jan 2025 at 11:00am
Nicola Benedetti calls for significant rise in public and philanthropic support to maintain its global reputationThe director of the Edinburgh international festival has warned it could lose its status as one of the world?s greatest arts events without significant increases in public and philanth...

?Eyewatering? £100m spent on repairs in Scotland?s ?ferry fiasco? over past d...
5 Jan 2025 at 6:00am
Government plans for publicly funded operator CalMac have been mired in controversy, with replacement vessels delayed and costs spirallingAlmost £100m has been spent over the past decade on repairs for eight of the largest publicly owned ferries in Scotland.The figure has been described as ?eye-w...

Figures reveal 1,500 drug-addicted babies born in Scotland since 2017
2 Jan 2025 at 11:48am
Lib Dems warn first minister that party could withdraw support if government does not boost funding for issueOpposition parties have called for a significant increase in addiction funding in Scotland after it emerged that more than 1,500 drug-addicted babies have been born in recent years.The Sco...

UK politics: Waspi campaign accuses Starmer of misinformation over claim 90% ...
18 Dec 2024 at 6:06pm
Activists say ombudsman?s findings ?based on rigorous evidence 60% had no idea? of changesScottish ministers are to set up a pilot project to test the automatic enrolment of young people on the electoral register, as part of a modernisation of Holyrood?s election laws.The trial is expected to inv...

Nigel Farage and Nick Candy say they met Musk at Mar-a-Lago to discuss doing ...
17 Dec 2024 at 5:46pm
Farage and Reform UK treasurer met Musk at Donald Trump?s Florida home, party saysJonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, has announced that the scope of the compensation programme for victims of the Post Office scandal will be extended to cover earlier potential victims.The government already...

Humza Yousaf to stand down and warns over Elon Musk?s UK election threat
17 Dec 2024 at 10:01am
Scotland?s former first minister to quit frontline politics and says alarm bells should be ringing over potential Musk interferenceHumza Yousaf, Scotland?s former first minister, has announced he is to quit frontline politics at the next Scottish elections as he criticised Elon Musk?s interferenc...

Wee Ginger Dug

Wee Ginger Dug

The rise of the far right, a threat and an opportunity for Scottish independence
12 Jan 2025 at 12:30pm
An opinion poll published this week ought to sound the alarm bells to anyone who values decency, compassion, and humanity in politics. According to an opinion poll carried out by pollsters Find Out Now, Reform UK ltd. Nigel Farage’s hard right English nationalist limited company masquerading as a political party is now neck and neck …

Musk vs. Farage, speed hating goes wrong
5 Jan 2025 at 5:42pm
Well it appears that Nigel Farage is going to have to look elsewhere for a multi-million pound donation from a far right billionaire sugar daddy. Fresh from falling out with Donald Trump’s MAGA base, Elon Musk has now fallen out with Farage over the latter’s failure to support the fascist thug Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, whom Musk …

Looking down the storm drain of 2025
2 Jan 2025 at 5:19pm
Happy New Year! and not so happy higher energy bills. On New Year’s Day the media gave extensive coverage to the higher energy bill price cap which came into effect on the first of January. What was not mentioned, and certainly was not mentioned on the Scottish news-where-you-are on the BBC was the promise made …

Starmer?s Christmas betrayals
22 Dec 2024 at 4:21pm
Starmer’s betrayals are coming thick and fast. It wasn’t too long ago that Starmer was promising to abolish the House of Lords. In 2022 Starmer vowed to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with a fully elected upper chamber. Yet the Labour manifesto for this year’s general election contained only a promise to …

Record support for an independent Scottish republic
19 Dec 2024 at 6:48pm
The pro-independence campaign group Believe in Scotland has released an important new poll. The group asked an additional question in the recent Norstat poll published in the Sunday Times which showed support for independence at an impressive 54%. The Times poll asked the question, Should Scotland be an independent country? This question produced the result …

Starmer?s Waspi betrayal will come back and sting him
17 Dec 2024 at 7:03pm
What exactly is going on with this Labour government? It’s like they have decided to set out to piss off as many pensioners as they can in the shortest amount of time. If that’s what they’re doing, then they are certainly one of the most successful governments in modern history. Perhaps they’re hoping all the …

2026 could be the last chance saloon for independence
16 Dec 2024 at 11:05am
There was the usual flurry of outrage from the usual suspects in the comments section of an article in the Sunday edition of The National which reported that the SNP leadership does not intend to use the recent positive opinion poll putting support for independence on 54% in order to press for an immediate independence …

Starmer?s Scottish chickens are coming home to roost
9 Dec 2024 at 11:23am
A Scottish opinion poll published following the announcement of the Scottish budget appears to show that in a sharp rebuke to Keir Starmer and the neo-Blairites who have captured the Labour party, Holyrood is set to have a pro-independence majority following the next Scottish elections, and support for independence is at 54%, its highest level …

Starmer continues the Tory war on devolution
6 Dec 2024 at 9:45am
The Labour party isn’t even pretending to respect the devolution settlement now. Labour’s idea of Scottish devolution is that they’ll support it as long as Scotland votes for a Labour controlled Scottish Government. It’s the do as we say because you can’t be trusted school of British nationalist paternalism. It’s not for a government in …

Farage and Musk are coming for Scotland
3 Dec 2024 at 10:14am
? ?Farage has KGBNews, Elon Musk and Twitter, he’s all over TikTok. The Trump cultists and all the power behind their libertarian aims back him too, as well as the dark money funded ‘think tanks of Tufton St. Farage is the UK face of a world wide and well funded movement to turn democracies into …

The Courier

Scottish Politics News From Holyrood and Westminster | The Courier

Grooming gangs: What authorities did to investigate in Tayside and Fife ? and...
12 Jan 2025 at 6:05am
Shocking reports of abusive ?grooming gangs? in Britain became the focus of global attention 10 years after a scandal in Rotherham.

NHS Fife trans row tribunal: Everything we know so far
11 Jan 2025 at 6:00am
A Kirkcaldy nurse was suspended by the health board after she complained about sharing a changing room with a transgender woman.

EXCLUSIVE: ?People could die? warning as Fife paramedics forced to run makesh...
9 Jan 2025 at 3:24pm
Paramedics are being tied up outside hospitals causing fears critically unwell patients could die as response times are delayed.

NHS Fife nurse suspended over trans changing room row breaks silence
9 Jan 2025 at 3:11pm
Sandie Peggie won a fight to stop her employment tribunal from being kept private.

EXCLUSIVE: Fife hospital chaos as pictures show ambulances queued outside A&E
8 Jan 2025 at 6:17pm
Eight ambulances were queued up outside the hospital on Wednesday afternoon as new figures revealed the extreme turnaround times last week.

Dundee University must reveal what went wrong, say SNP education ministers
8 Jan 2025 at 2:44pm
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth appeared to accept the city institution is "too big too fail" during questions at Holyrood.

EXCLUSIVE: SNP universities chief refuses to commit to saving Dundee University
8 Jan 2025 at 6:02am
In an exclusive interview with The Courier, higher education minister Graeme Dey was asked five times if he can pledge the university will not go bust.

Fife MSP slams Elon Musk over Sheku Bayoh smear
6 Jan 2025 at 3:48pm
The billionaire owner of social media platform X sparked a furious reaction for his comment on the Fife dad?s death in police custody.

Dundee University staff strike action ?inevitable? as anger at crisis intensi...
6 Jan 2025 at 6:05am
Senior insiders claimed under-fire university management had ?burnt the house down?.

St Andrews student with terminal cancer warns against assisted dying law
6 Jan 2025 at 6:00am
Matthew Wren, 40, shared his difficult story with The Courier as Holyrood and Westminster consider changing the law.

Talking up Scotland

Talking-up Scotland

As Meta drops factcheckers, thick Millennial accuses us Scots Boomers of Gene...
13 Jan 2025 at 8:36am
Ben Quinn, Guardian writer, age 40ish (?), today: Fears for UK boomer radicalisation on Facebook after Meta drops factcheckers – For middle-aged users, it will be ?even harder to discern the truth? among extremist content, expert says. Experts fear the decision by Meta to drop professional factcheckers from Facebook will exacerbate so-called boomer radicalisation in the UK. Even before what Kei...

Independent UK policy and research organisation praises Scotland?s high-achie...
13 Jan 2025 at 8:07am
I’m grateful to Linda at Broadcasting Scotland for alerting me to this. From Worlds apart: skills and learning inequalities in the UK published by the Learning and Work Institute, ‘an independent policy and research organisation focused on lifelong learning and better work‘, in December 2024, the above graph and: The proportion of 16?19-year-olds qualified to level 3 in Scotland (30%, though no...

BBC England reveals that ScotRail had fewer cancellations, often far fewer, t...
13 Jan 2025 at 7:47am
I’m grateful to my old friend, workmate, dry humourist* and sandwich stealer, from events he hadn’t been invited to attend, Prof Mike Danson of UWS, for alerting me to this. Never to my knowledge reported by BBC Scotland, STV, the Scotsman or the Herald, this BBC England report from December 2024, reveals ScotRail, in 2024, to have had the lowest rate of cancellations of any UK train company, a...

More than THREE TIMES as many Scots would prefer US statehood to staying as a...
13 Jan 2025 at 7:21am
US President Elect, Donald Trump’s recent comments on the importance of controlling Panama, Greenland and even Canada, for US national security, prompted the often insightful Professor Richard Murphy to wonder if Scotland might be next. Watch his explanation (6 min 21 secs only) at: I found it hard to take the notion seriously but thought then, why not see how a sample of Scots would respond to...

English financiers says ?Scotland ?subsidises? London energy bills? and it?s ...
12 Jan 2025 at 7:06pm
I missed this back in October 2024: Households in Scotland are paying higher energy bills than they ought to keep prices down south of the Border, according to experts at the Fuller Treacy Money investment strategy firm. In a newsletter arguing against zonal pricing, the firm?s owner Eoin Treacy above says it is better for Scots to pay over the odds than those living in the English capital. Z...

Better a US state than an English colony?
12 Jan 2025 at 6:20pm
Listen to the above from Richard J Murphy, suggesting that trump might buy Scotland from a Farage-led England. I’ll do a quick X poll on this but I have to say that US states have a lot more autonomy than we currently have. What do you think?

?SNP?s roasters and bangers? who ?loathe the poor and vulnerable?? With such ...
12 Jan 2025 at 10:54am
I’d kind of given up on reacting to Kevin McKenna, in the Herald, for the good of my mental health, but he’s got me going again today with: Human zoo drug rooms are win-win for SNP?s roasters and bangers – IS there no end to the SNP?s loathing of Scotland?s poor and vulnerable people, especially in Glasgow? If Scotland?s party of government isn?t threatening to imprison working-class people for...

Bowel cancer screening is already offered earlier in Scotland but you?ll need...
12 Jan 2025 at 9:04am
The Herald today, has the above ridiculous, propagandist, SNP-bad, headline, and: Senior MSPs have urged ministers to extend the national bowel screening programme to the under 50s after an alarming rise in the disease among younger Scots. Conservative MSP Edward Mountain, a survivor of bowel cancer, and Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie made the plea to health secretary Neil Gray. A...

Valuing ?culture? and public funding ? how Wales with a Labour government in ...
11 Jan 2025 at 6:37pm
By stewartb There will be a Scottish Government debate in Holyrood on January 14 on ?Valuing Culture: Scotland’s Support to the Culture Sector?. Will it generate heat or light? It will be worth observing how British Labour Party politicians in Scotland approach this debate. Will they acknowledge longstanding stresses and strains on Scottish Government finances due to Westminster austerity and i...

Update ? The sinking of the Solway Harvester ? BBC Scotland fails to explore,...
11 Jan 2025 at 4:17pm
On the BBC Scotland website today but written by BBC News Isle of Man: Solway Harvester tragedy ‘still felt’ 25 years on – The loss of seven fishermen in Manx waters “is still keenly felt” a quarter of a century after the Solway Harvester tragedy, the chief minister has said. The crewmen, from the Isle of Whithorn area of Dumfries and Galloway, died when the the scallop dredger sank off the coa...

Scotland and Independence

"scotland independence -guardian" - Google News

Scottish independence poll 2024 - Statista
10 Jan 2025 at 8:00am
Scottish independence poll 2024  Statista

I will work with Trump for low whisky tarriffs - John Swinney - BBC.com
13 Jan 2025 at 1:32am
I will work with Trump for low whisky tarriffs - John Swinney  BBC.com

In the UK, Scottish independence and Irish reunification have lost their appe...
10 Jan 2025 at 3:00am
In the UK, Scottish independence and Irish reunification have lost their appeal  Le Monde

Nicola Sturgeon: ?The independence movement has proven itself resilient? - Fi...
10 Jan 2025 at 12:30pm
Nicola Sturgeon: ?The independence movement has proven itself resilient?  Financial Times

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

John Swinney vows to ?finish the task? on Scottish independence - HeraldScotland
8 Jan 2025 at 12:30pm
John Swinney vows to ?finish the task? on Scottish independence  HeraldScotland

Is the dream of Scottish independence over? - POLITICO Europe
1 May 2024 at 8:00am
Is the dream of Scottish independence over?  POLITICO Europe

John Swinney rejects Nicola Sturgeon's 'independence off the radar' claim - T...
12 Jan 2025 at 10:56am
John Swinney rejects Nicola Sturgeon's 'independence off the radar' claim  The National

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

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

SNP

"SNP" - Google News

Alex Salmond?s widow urges SNP politicians to stop attacking late husband - T...
12 Jan 2025 at 9:39pm
Alex Salmond?s widow urges SNP politicians to stop attacking late husband  The Telegraph

Anas Sarwar hopes to pull rug from SNP with Budget call - BBC
7 Jan 2025 at 11:57am
Anas Sarwar hopes to pull rug from SNP with Budget call  BBC

SNP and Tories accuse each other of being populist parties at FMQs - BBC.com
9 Jan 2025 at 12:00pm
SNP and Tories accuse each other of being populist parties at FMQs  BBC.com

SNP predicted to make Westminster recovery after poll boost - The National
12 Jan 2025 at 11:53am
SNP predicted to make Westminster recovery after poll boost  The National

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

Angela Rayner: SNP plan to mitigate child benefit cap is 'little slogan' - He...
9 Jan 2025 at 8:37pm
Angela Rayner: SNP plan to mitigate child benefit cap is 'little slogan'  HeraldScotland

SNP using government quangos to avoid taking responsibility for their actions...
13 Jan 2025 at 4:30am
SNP using government quangos to avoid taking responsibility for their actions  Daily Record

Readers' Letters: SNP politicians more interested in being 'celebrities' - Th...
13 Jan 2025 at 4:55am
Readers' Letters: SNP politicians more interested in being 'celebrities'  The Scotsman

SNP government could boycott Twitter, FM warns - The Spectator
9 Jan 2025 at 11:42am
SNP government could boycott Twitter, FM warns  The Spectator

A PSA SNP associates with cellular function and clinical outcome in men with ...
6 Nov 2024 at 8:00am
A PSA SNP associates with cellular function and clinical outcome in men with prostate cancer  Nature.com

Referendum (Google News)

"Scotland referendum -guardian -telegraph" - Google News

Scottish independence poll 2024 - Statista
10 Jan 2025 at 8:00am
Scottish independence poll 2024  Statista

The agony and ecstasy of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum - BBC.com
17 Sep 2024 at 8:00am
The agony and ecstasy of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum  BBC.com

Is the dream of Scottish independence over? - POLITICO Europe
1 May 2024 at 8:00am
Is the dream of Scottish independence over?  POLITICO Europe

John Swinney vows to ?finish the task? on Scottish independence - HeraldScotland
8 Jan 2025 at 12:30pm
John Swinney vows to ?finish the task? on Scottish independence  HeraldScotland

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

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

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

'A matter of democracy': New petition calls for Scotland's right to decide in...
6 Jan 2025 at 2:56pm
'A matter of democracy': New petition calls for Scotland's right to decide indyref  The National

Scottish independence referendum: legal issues - Commons Library
16 Sep 2024 at 8:00am
Scottish independence referendum: legal issues  Commons Library

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