The Herald

The Herald | Politics


SNP chief whip: Nastiness has crept into Parliament in last 10 years
by jody.harrison@heraldandtimes.co.uk | Jody Harrison
31 Dec 2025 at 7:41am
Rona Mackay spoke about her time at Holyrood since her election win in 2016


Brian Leishman: Labour hurt me but we need more left wing voices in the party
by hannah.brown@newsquest.co.uk | Hannah Brown
31 Dec 2025 at 5:00am
Rebellious Labour MP and Herald award winner Brian Leishman reflects on Westminster, party rebellion, class politics and why Labour needs more left-wing voices.


Labour MP Brian Leishman calls for more left-wing voices to shape party policy
by hannah.brown@newsquest.co.uk | Hannah Brown
31 Dec 2025 at 5:00am
Labour MP Brian Leishman says more left-wing voices are needed in the party, arguing pressure from the parliamentary left has helped shift policy on welfare and child poverty.


Scotland needs to be at the table as Europe faces moment of reckoning
by Colin McLean
31 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
Should Scotland's economic relationship with Europe include defence co-operation?


Tatiana Schlossberg: John F Kennedy's granddaughter dies at age 35
by Josh.Pizzuto-Pomaco@newsquest.co.uk | Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco
30 Dec 2025 at 8:45pm
Environmental journalist and author Tatiana Schlossberg, a granddaughter of President John F Kennedy, has died at age 35.


Grooming gangs row could have been handled 'better', admits Justice Secretary
by Josh.Pizzuto-Pomaco@newsquest.co.uk | Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco
30 Dec 2025 at 8:24pm
The Herald revealed has that a leading child abuse expert believed Angela Constance misrepresented her during a debate, despite the minister later insisting she did not.


Poll: Independence support would see hefty rise if Farage becomes PM
30 Dec 2025 at 5:47pm
Polling results show support for independence would take a 22% lead with the prospect of a Nigel Farage government in Westminster.


Analysis: Could a Reform post election pact oust the SNP from power?
30 Dec 2025 at 4:00pm
Reform UK MSP Graham Simpson made an eye-catching point the other day and one which highlights just how dramatically different the Scottish Parliament may be come late Spring 2026.


Scottish Government urged to pause licensing of salmon farms amid scrutiny
by Josh.Pizzuto-Pomaco@newsquest.co.uk | Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco
30 Dec 2025 at 2:13pm
While salmon production was up 27% in 2024, the most recent survival rates are the lowest since 1989.


Not proven verdict to be abolished as justice reforms come into force
by Craig Paton
30 Dec 2025 at 11:11am
The unique not proven verdict in Scotland?s justice system will be scrapped from New Year?s Day as major reforms come into force.


Scots Tory leader Findlay ?not holding breath? on budget deal
by jody.harrison@heraldandtimes.co.uk | Jody Harrison
30 Dec 2025 at 7:49am
Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay has said he is ?not holding my breath? on achieving a budget deal with the Scottish Government.


Martin Compston: 'Online hate has driven me away from social media'
by jody.harrison@heraldandtimes.co.uk | Jody Harrison
30 Dec 2025 at 6:44am
Martin Compston has said he has made a ?conscious decision? to step back from expressing public opinions on football and politics amid the level of anger in Scotland.


Scottish Government civil servants receive exit payments worth over £1million
30 Dec 2025 at 5:01am
Civil servants working for the Scottish Government's core departments have received exit payments costing the public purse more than £1 million, it can be revealed.


£3 million paid in compensation to Caledonian Sleeper travellers
30 Dec 2025 at 12:05am
Compensation paid to travellers on the Caledonian Sleeper train service has reached almost £3 million, it can be revealed.

The Scotsman

The Scotsman Politics


Reform's politics of despair will not fix Britain's crumbling foundations
31 Dec 2025 at 11:46am
Labour needs to find an inspiring message about the future of this country


Flag-waving populists and nationalists are not going to fix the NHS's problems
31 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
Scotland needs politicians who are interested enough to ask questions about dry issues like NHS workforce planning. Lives depend upon it


SNP under fire for pressing ahead with 'farcical and fake' landfill ban
31 Dec 2025 at 6:00am

Waste can still be dumped at landfill if an exemption is obtained.

Scottish Labour?s Jackie Baillie said the SNP had ?failed miserably? to improve the NHS

Fears of childcare facilities becoming increasingly overstretched amid sharp rise in vacancies

Relations with the EU, benefits reform and elections in different parts of the UK will all present problems for the Prime Minister.

Wings over Scotland

The Fear Of The Briar
31 Dec 2025 at 11:42am
With Reform now pretty consistently miles in front in polling for the next UK election, logically this is brilliant news for the Scottish independence movement, isn’t it? So can anyone explain why the SNP is so desperate to stop them? That’s a rhetorical question, of course. As we’ve repeatedly explored on Wings over the last …

The Curious Fringes
29 Dec 2025 at 2:14pm
There’s a post on the superwoke poll-analysis account Ballot Box Scotland today bemoaning the lack of interest in the forthcoming Scottish Parliament election from polling companies, and presenting it as some sort of anti-Scottish conspiracy. The real reason nobody’s very interested, of course, is that as things stand the election is an obvious foregone conclusion …

A matter of class
19 Dec 2025 at 5:14pm
Something very odd happened when the Sandie Peggie employment tribunal delivered its judgment – and it wasn?t just the made-up quotes and mangled law. Call it institutional bias, ideological capture, or just the law doing its job, but what Employment Judge Sandy Kemp?s tribunal delivered was the most one-sided outcome since Butch and Sundance decided …

Contempt Of Government
19 Dec 2025 at 11:47am
This is actually pretty serious. Because, y’know, you can call us old-fashioned purists or sticklers or whatever if you like, but government ministers probably shouldn’t openly lie in prepared statements to the High Court in order to pervert the course of justice. And this is as clear a knowing, deliberate lie as you could hope …

The Idiot Rodeo
14 Dec 2025 at 2:12pm
As recently as this weekend, the Scottish Government claimed that it has “made clear it accepts the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland and is taking forward the detailed work necessary”. But as with so much the Scottish Government says, it’s a barefaced lie. And we know that not just from its total inaction, …

How Far To Go, How Far
12 Dec 2025 at 1:20pm
We thought we should keep track of all the issues with the Peggie tribunal judgment, now that Sandie Peggie has officially announced her intention to appeal it. Because this story has some distance left to run. PROBLEM 1 – THE FAKE FORSTATER QUOTE Severity: HIGH Status: PARTIALLY RESOLVED The judgment cited a quote from Forstater …

Strike One
11 Dec 2025 at 2:51pm
This is absolutely extraordinary. In the light of revelations exposed and detailed by Wings that the original contained several misleadingly-edited or completely made-up citations from previous cases, the Employment Tribunal today issued a corrected version of its judgment in the Sandie Peggie case. And much like NHS Fife’s repeatedly-edited previous statement on the tribunal, we …

The ginger stepchild
11 Dec 2025 at 1:38pm
According to a new poll, fewer than a third of SNP voters even think independence is in the top three priorities facing Scotland. It’s only five points ahead of immigration in fourth place, and seven ahead of housing. So it’s hardly surprising that the SNP aren’t bothering themselves about it. Their own support, like the …

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 …

Craig Murray

Hunger Strikes and Court Cases
16 Dec 2025 at 9:15pm

Fighting the proscription of Palestine Action has become more urgent as eight brave activists enter the crucial period of their hunger strike. 12 January has finally been set for the court hearing on holding a Scottish judicial review of the proscription of Palestine Action. I am frankly terrified for the hunger strikers. Qesser Zuhrah Amu …

Hunger Strikes and Court Cases

The Skripal Novichok Hoax
12 Dec 2025 at 9:58am

I did not anticipate that an open public meeting in Salisbury itself would be 95% sceptical of the official Novichok hoax – but it was. Thanks to UK Column for putting this on. I hope you find it enlightening – there is information which goes beyond my previous articles on the subject. In about a …

The Skripal Novichok Hoax

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

BBC Scotland

Grooming gang row 'could have been handled better' - Constance
30 Dec 2025 at 5:18pm
Angela Constance's remarks about Prof Alexis Jay are to be independently investigated to determine if they breached the ministerial code.

A&E waiting times improve ahead of busy festive period
23 Dec 2025 at 3:35pm
Figures from Public Health Scotland (PHS) show that 64% of people were seen to within the four-hour target last week compared to 59% the week before.

Resident doctor pay talks to continue over Christmas as strike looms
22 Dec 2025 at 2:52pm
Scotland's resident doctors have voted to strike in January, but the health secretary says it is an outcome both sides want to avoid.

Labour MSP to quit Holyrood over links to sex offender
21 Dec 2025 at 7:12pm
Pam Duncan-Glancy stood down as the party's education spokeswoman earlier this month after admitting a "serious error of judgement".

Call for time limits on public inquiries as costs soar
21 Dec 2025 at 9:20am
MSPs have recommended changes as they revealed almost £260m has been spent on Scotland's public inquiries since 2007.

First minister recalls 'moment of peace' as Christmas card revealed
21 Dec 2025 at 9:42am
John Swinney captured the image during a walk along the banks of Loch Ossian, on Rannoch Moor, in 2024.

No covert devices found in Holyrood bugging claims
19 Dec 2025 at 8:08pm
The Scottish parliament's presiding officer says the incident was part of an employment dispute involving an MSP.

Resident doctors in Scotland to go on strike for first time
19 Dec 2025 at 5:51pm
Their union BMA Scotland has accused the government of reneging on a commitment to restore pay to 2008 levels.

CalMac ferry Glen Rosa delayed again by up to six months
19 Dec 2025 at 3:33pm
The delivery date for MV Glen Rosa is pushed back by up to another six months while there is a further short delay with the Turkish-built Isle of Islay.

The 'fed up' Scottish town that voted for Reform UK
18 Dec 2025 at 6:16am
Why did the people of Whitburn - and nearby Blackburn - choose Nigel Farage's party over others?

MSP Ash Regan faces Holyrood ban over social media post
18 Dec 2025 at 11:39am
The independent representative has been found to have breached the Scottish Parliament's code of conduct.

Justice secretary apologises to grooming gangs expert
17 Dec 2025 at 3:24pm
Angela Constance has faced calls to resign after being accused of misrepresenting Prof Alexis Jay.

Scot Goes Pop

"Simply spellbinding": analysis of new Find Out Now poll showing support for ...
30 Dec 2025 at 8:18pm
Just a quick note to let you know that I have an analysis piece at The National about the new independence poll that the paper has commissioned from Find Out Now, and which has Yes comfortably ahea...

Exquisite end-of-year poll puts SNP / Greens on course to retain pro-independ...
30 Dec 2025 at 10:43am
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...

The year Scotland swung in favour of independence: an average of all polls in...
29 Dec 2025 at 7:52am
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...

It's been clear for over a year that the controversial "Stew" blogger intends...
28 Dec 2025 at 9:38am
I was away with the fairies yesterday - after checking the weather forecast I went on a spur-of-the-moment hiking expedition in the wilds of Clackmannanshire......and I completely forgot an article...

A lump of coal for sorry Sarwar as Scottish Labour slump to FOURTH place in Y...
24 Dec 2025 at 7:52am
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...

"Totally at odds with European values": should Israel's potential new aparthe...
22 Dec 2025 at 7:04am
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...

BBC Sports Personality of the Year and the "invisibling of Scotland"
20 Dec 2025 at 7:51am
Scott McTominay, in spite of his stellar year, was inexplicably excluded from the shortlist for BBC Sports Personality of the Year.  Meanwhile the Team of the Year award had a shortlist of three, o...

DESPAIR for Farage in Wales as Plaid Cymru stretch their Senedd lead in stunn...
19 Dec 2025 at 7:01am
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...

STV Politics News

Latest Politics News | STV News

Scots asked whether minimum age of marriage should be raised
29 Dec 2025 at 8:29pm
Scots are being asked whether they think the current minimum age of 16 for marriages and civil partnerships should be raised by two years.

Reform MSP hints at post-election pact to oust SNP from power at Holyrood
29 Dec 2025 at 8:04am
Graham Simpson added that there is a 'definite possibility' Nigel Farage?s party could have ?around 20 MSPs? after that ballot.

My family and I will face ?personal pain? in toxic election campaign ? Sarwar
29 Dec 2025 at 7:30am
Sarwar said he is acutely aware of how toxic the debate ahead of the election could become.

?Horrifying? rise in rat sightings due to street cleaning cuts, claims Labour
29 Dec 2025 at 6:44am
According to figures obtained by the party through a freedom of information request, councils last year received 19,752 complaints about rats.

Ministers challenged over ?huge plastic hole? in circular economy strategy
28 Dec 2025 at 12:57pm
Friends of the Earth argue the government's strategy must force businesses to pay for cleaning up the plastic they produce.

Upskirting case levels do not reflect number of incidents, Lib Dems claim
28 Dec 2025 at 10:15am
An FOI request from the Scottish Liberal Democrats revealed that between 2018 and October 2025, 302 charges of upskirting were reported.

Swinney sends message of ?warmth, kindness and connection? at Christmas
24 Dec 2025 at 11:37am
The First Minister thanked emergency service workers for being on call on Christmas Day.

Justice secretary Angela Constance faces investigation over alleged breach of...
23 Dec 2025 at 2:08pm
Constance is accused of misleading MSPs by misrepresenting comments made by an expert on grooming gangs during a Holyrood debate in September.

UK Government raises inheritance tax threshold for farmers after protests
23 Dec 2025 at 12:20pm
Farmers across Scotland and the rest of UK have been protesting for months against the tax changes.

All NHS Scotland boards fail urgent cancer treatment time target, figures show
23 Dec 2025 at 10:46am
Public Health Scotland's report shows the wait times are the fifth-worst on record.

Aberdeen MSP sends P45 to Starmer over predicted loss of oil and gas jobs
23 Dec 2025 at 6:39am
The document has been sent by special delivery.

Government ?honouring? resident doctors? pay deal, says Gray ahead of talks
22 Dec 2025 at 10:31am
Doctors with BMA Scotland are due to go on strike as part of the pay dispute next month.

Streeting faces criticism as he appears to back joining customs union with EU
21 Dec 2025 at 11:36pm
Opposition parties accused Wes Streeting of putting ?political pitch-making? above his role as Health Secretary.

Labour MSP to quit Holyrood over friendship with convicted sex offender
21 Dec 2025 at 7:00pm
Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy announced on Sunday that she would be withdrawing as a candidate for the Scottish parliamentary election next year.

Daily Record

Daily Record - Politics

Cat bans to seagull gate: The maddest moments from Scottish politics in 2025
31 Dec 2025 at 10:30am
It was a year when John Swinney said he wouldn't be banning cats, Reform's deputy leader held a press conference outside a chippie, and an SNP minister quit in a row over seagulls. As 2025 ends, Ch...

John Swinney urges Scots in New Year message to follow example of Robert Burn...
31 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
The leaders of Scotland's major political parties have shared their New Year messages with less than six months to go before the crunch Holyrood election.

Scots men in their 50s should not be able to marry 16 or 17-year-old girls, w...
30 Dec 2025 at 12:29pm
EXCLUSIVE: More than 580 weddings in Scotland have involved at least one partner being aged 16 or 17 since 2008.

Overcrowded Scots prisons gripped by 'increasing levels of drugs misuse and v...
30 Dec 2025 at 9:46am
The Prison Officers' Association blamed the influence of organised criminal gangs operating behind bars for deteriorating conditions.

SNP 'decay' blamed as 950 dentists choose to take early retirement with pati...
30 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
The Scottish Lib Dems warned "dentists are rushing for the door because countless SNP health secretaries have failed to properly support them".

Labour MSP 'can't rule out' taking picture at centre of sex offender row engu...
29 Dec 2025 at 12:01pm
EXCLUSIVE: A Labour source said Pam Duncan-Glancy does not "recall" being the person who photographed ex-Downing Street comms chief Matthew Doyle campaigning for disgraced former councillor Sean Mo...

'Child marriages' to be banned in Scotland as public asked for views on raisi...
29 Dec 2025 at 11:40am
Scots can currently get married at the age of 16 without the approval of their parents or legal guardians.

Scottish Labour MP performed kidney transplant on Christmas Day to give patie...
29 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
EXCLUSIVE: Zubir Ahmed, who represents Glasgow South West at Westminster, has volunteered to work in hospitals at Christmas for nearly two decades.

Scottish Labour 'not interested' in Holyrood deal with Reform to oust SNP fro...
29 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
Jackie Baillie described Reform UK as a "party of undercover Tories and self-interested con artists".

SNP MSP George Adam shares love for wife Stacey and reason why couple support...
29 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
MSPs will be given a free vote when Liam McArthur's landmark legislation to legalise assisted dying returns to Holyrood in the New Year.

The National

The National | Politics

Nastiness has crept into Holyrood in last 10 years, SNP chief whip says
31 Dec 2025 at 12:18pm

NASTINESS has crept into the Scottish Parliament over the last 10 years, the SNP?s chief whip has warned ...

Energy bills to rise on New Year's Day 'to fund nuclear in England', Ofgem says
31 Dec 2025 at 11:49am

ENERGY bills are set for a slight rise on New Year?s Day as the price cap increase comes into effect

£1.5 billion 'wasted' paying wind farms to shut down in 2025, figures show
31 Dec 2025 at 10:00am

ALMOST £1.5 billion has been added onto UK consumers? energy bills in 2025 due to wasted wind power, according to figures from one of the country?s largest energy firms

Scottish charity head rejects MBE over UK Government 'demonising disabled peo...
31 Dec 2025 at 8:55am

THE head of a Scottish charity has rejected an MBE, saying the Labour Government has ?supercharged the inequalities and unfairness disabled people face?

John Swinney urges Scots to come together in New Year message
31 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

JOHN Swinney has urged Scots to follow the message of Robert Burns?s Auld Lang Syne and show small acts of kindness in 2026 ...

'It is hell': Gaza family speaks out on raising their baby amid a genocide
31 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

RAKAN turned two years old this month. His birthday party, though, was a muted affair ...

I will protect trans people in single-sex spaces row, new human rights chair ...
31 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

THE new head of the UK?s human rights watchdog has said she will ?endeavour? to protect trans people amid the ongoing row over access to single-sex spaces ...

A thorough timeline of what happened in Scottish politics in 2025
31 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

IT does not seem like five minutes ago Scottish Labour were on a high on the back of a landslide General Election victory for the UK party.

Keir Starmer?s 2025 slated after ?litany of failure? in Scotland
31 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

Keir Starmer?s 2025 has been slammed as a 'year of failure' after his Labour government slid in the polls and failed to deliver on several key pledges

Funding a war is not the priority for citizens of this unequal UK
30 Dec 2025 at 6:30pm

WE are bombarded with Nato and MI5 and MI6 scaremongering on how the existence of the democracies of the West is threatened by Russia and China. We are constantly reminded that we are the ?good guys? and we should be prepared to sacrifice our already depleted personal resources to keep the status quo.

Holyrood Magazine

Holyrood Website

Ministerial code advisers to investigate Angela Constance
23 Dec 2025 at 2:45pm
It follows a row over whether the justice secretary misled parliament about the views of a child sex abuse expert

Labour MSP to stand down at election
22 Dec 2025 at 7:43am
Pam Duncan-Glancy stepped down from the front bench earlier this month

UK Government data stolen in suspected Chinese hack
19 Dec 2025 at 11:13am
The trade minister Chris Bryant has confirmed that data from belonging to the UK Government has been stolen in a hack

UK Government moves to ban deepfake ?nudification? apps
19 Dec 2025 at 11:00am
The UK Government has announced new laws to make it illegal to create or supply artificial intelligence tools that can create nude images of people without their consent

How Reform UK is using Alex Salmond's image to get ready for the Scottish Par...
19 Dec 2025 at 10:53am
Leaked materials warn candidates not to 'drink and tweet'

Scottish Labour calls for 'urgent investigation' into MSP bugging allegations
19 Dec 2025 at 10:43am
Listening devices were allegedly planted in the office of at least one female SNP MSP

Nearly 50,000 RTS meters still in use in Scotland
19 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
Nearly 50,000 Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) meters are yet to be replaced in Scotland despite plans to switch the service off next year

Scientists?launch project to create 3D video of black holes?using AI??
19 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
Scientists based at Heriot-Watt University have launched a ?4m project to create the world?s first 3D videos of black holes using complex artificial intelligence systems

Why victims? rights need to stay at the top of Scotland?s political agenda
19 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
Our 40th anniversary theme of Listen, Act, Hope. was chosen to represent VSS?s enduring commitment to ensuring that victims are not voiceless in the system; that action is informed by their lived experience; and that together, this culminates in deliverin

A stronger regulator for Scotland?s water future
19 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
If we do this well, most people will never think about WICS, other than to know and to trust that customer interests are safeguarded.

Guardian - Scottish Politics

Scottish politics | The Guardian

The Guardian view on May 2026 elections: a new political geography is coming ...
25 Dec 2025 at 5:30pm
Over the holiday period, the Guardian leader column is looking ahead at the themes of 2026. Today we look at the impact of devolution on growing volatility of party political allegianceNext year will be pivotal in British politics, and 7 May will be the point around which things pivot. Elections ...

Keir Starmer planning new king?s speech after May elections
18 Dec 2025 at 1:19pm
Timing seen as moment to reset after potential loss of hundreds of council seats in England and defeat in Wales and ScotlandUK politics live ? latest updatesKeir Starmer is planning for a new king?s speech after crunch elections in May next year as a reset moment for the government amid speculati...

UK politics: Trump talks ?complete nonsense? about crime in London, says Met ...
12 Dec 2025 at 4:30pm
Mark Rowley says capital is a safe city, and claims of no-go areas are ?completely false?Members of the House of Lords have proposed ?totally unnecessary? and ?very cruel? amendments to the assisted dying bill in a bid to scupper it, Kim Leadbeater, the MP leading the campaign for the legislation...

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...

Wee Ginger Dug

Wee Ginger Dug

It?s not just independence that?s at stake in May?s Scottish election
29 Dec 2025 at 7:33pm
Another opinion poll has suggested that the pro-independence parties are on track to win a convincing majority in Holyrood in May’s Scottish parliament election. The poll, by Find Out Now for The National, paints a grim picture for both Labour and the Conservatives, who seem set to return their worst results in the history of …

Hope will start to dawn in 2026
27 Dec 2025 at 2:34pm
Making predictions in politics is a mug’s game, particularly if those predictions concern a year ahead. It has famously been said that a week is a long time in politics, so a year is the equivalent of a geological aeon. All sorts of unforeseen events could transpire between now and the end of next year. …

BBC Scotland, cheerleaders for Farage
20 Dec 2025 at 5:56pm
On Wednesday evening BBC Scotland’s flagship evening news programme Och Aye the News, AKA Reporting Scotlandshire carried its second puff piece about Reform UK’s recent narrow council by-election victory in West Lothian in which a Reform candidate with a questionable past scraped his way into a council seat on a 22% turnout. BBC Scotland never …

What?s in a name? The SNP and nationalism
15 Dec 2025 at 7:04pm
There’s nationalism and there’s nationalism. On the Rest is Politics podcast hosted by Tony Blair’s erstwhile Director of Communications Alastair Campbell, First Minister John Swinney addressed the issue of the SNP’s name, or rather, the non-issue. Both previous first ministers, Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon had expressed some disquiet that the SNP’s name, Scottish National …

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 …

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'

Did you know that ?For Women Scotland? are now far more angry with Sarwar?s b...
31 Dec 2025 at 1:08pm
On 16 April 2025, the Herald was delighted to report: The First Minister is facing increasing pressure from opposition parties and women’s groups to update guidance for public bodies following a landmark ruling on the legal definition of a woman.   The calls come after a long-running legal battle between For Women Scotland (FWS) above and the Scottish Government reached its conclusion on Wedn...

BBC Scotland conceals disability charity chief?s comment in letter rejecting ...
31 Dec 2025 at 11:30am
Professor John Robertson OBA The Guardian today has: Campaigner turned down MBE over ?scapegoating? of people with disabilities – Exclusive: In letter declining proposed award, Tressa Burke, CEO of Glasgow Disability Alliance, accused government of ?fuelling hatred? and While she argues that ?Scotland is doing better than the UK for sure?, Burke says her members will be watching carefully for t...

Why have NHS England A&E departments had to deal with 1 million sore throats b...
31 Dec 2025 at 9:18am
Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Breakfast this morning: Accident and emergency departments in England have dealt with more than 4 000 cases of hiccups in the past five years and well over a million sore throats. How do they explain the above and a tenfold increase in folk with minor ailments gong to A&E? They don’t, just leaving viewers with a plea to go elsewhere for treatment and confuse us ...

Absolutely no frightening surge in ketamine cases in Scotland unless you don?...
30 Dec 2025 at 8:10pm
Professor John Robertson OBA The Guardian today has the above chart and: ‘Absolutely frightening?: surge in ketamine cases hits UK urology wards – Young adults and teenagers prevalent in ?skyrocketing? admissions linked to class B drug, say doctors in northern England. 252%? OMG! Lisa Summers will tell you it’s even more frightening in Scotland. In 2007, there was 1 death due to the abuse of ke...

The Nuclear Regulated Asset Base Levy means Scots will pay ?nuclear tax? for ...
30 Dec 2025 at 7:06pm
Professor John Robertson OBA You’ll have seen headlines like – ‘SNP has slammed Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar for his silence on Westminster?s ?nuclear tax?, which could see Scottish households paying out a total of £300 million over the next decade to fund nuclear projects in England.’ Labour MPs and MSPs are already programmed to deny it and to demonise any who suggest it is true. It is ...

As UK Labour begin to claim falling knife crime in England & Wales, why their...
30 Dec 2025 at 11:49am
Professor John Robertson OBA In the Mirror today, a deceitful headline suggesting a wider reduction in knife crime when the figures only relate to robberies where a knife was present. While applauding this, I suspect most readers were more interested to hear of a decline in violence where a knife was used. More generally, I’ve been wondering how reliable these new data are. You’ll remember, I h...

Reposted as Anas Sarwar claims he will ?address the housing emergency?
30 Dec 2025 at 11:02am

As Anas Sarwar promises to address the housing emergency UK Labour have just ...
30 Dec 2025 at 10:59am

22 years later the Herald has changed its tune on whether firefighters ?deser...
29 Dec 2025 at 11:14pm
Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald, once again yesterday, embracing one of the very same trade unions which their corporate-owners insisted that they regularly demonise and mis-represent in earlier times. Now, of course, those same unions are useful in undermining the SNP in government. In the days before the growth of the SNP and the independence movement, corporate media hacks would have...

HS2 despite chopping link to Scotland to take 2 to 3 times as long as Japanes...
29 Dec 2025 at 11:07pm
Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this. From BBC England today: HS2 has confirmed that its aim to get trains running between Birmingham and London between 2029 and 2033 “cannot be achieved”. Birmingham’s Curzon Street Station is currently taking shape in the heart of the city but the divisive high-speed railway project has been plagued by serious challenges. Earli...

Scotland and Independence

"scotland independence -guardian" - Google News

Farage is pushing Scotland to independence - The Times
30 Dec 2025 at 7:28pm
Farage is pushing Scotland to independence  The Times

Let?s make a resolution in 2026 to let Scotland flourish - TheNational.scot
31 Dec 2025 at 12:05pm
Let?s make a resolution in 2026 to let Scotland flourish  TheNational.scot

No independence referendum if SNP wins majority, Reeves says - BBC
27 Nov 2025 at 8:00am
No independence referendum if SNP wins majority, Reeves says  BBC

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

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

Twenty-five years of data shows how link between identity and views on Scotti...
9 Oct 2025 at 8:00am
Twenty-five years of data shows how link between identity and views on Scottish independence has grown stronger  The Conversation

Scottish independence poll 2025 - Statista
28 Nov 2025 at 8:00am
Scottish independence poll 2025  Statista

A Fresh Start with Independence - The Scottish Government
8 Oct 2025 at 8:00am
A Fresh Start with Independence  The Scottish Government

Scottish independence could 'reduce energy bills by more than a third', First...
8 Dec 2025 at 8:00am
Scottish independence could 'reduce energy bills by more than a third', First Minister John Swinney says  Sky News

SNP remain ahead but Reform support in Scotland rises, while Labour support s...
10 Dec 2025 at 8:00am
SNP remain ahead but Reform support in Scotland rises, while Labour support slumps  Ipsos

SNP

"SNP" - Google News

SNP chief whip: Nastiness has crept into Parliament in last 10 years - The He...
31 Dec 2025 at 7:42am
SNP chief whip: Nastiness has crept into Parliament in last 10 years  The Herald

?Nastiness? has crept into Holyrood, warns SNP chief whip - Morning Star | Th...
31 Dec 2025 at 12:05am
?Nastiness? has crept into Holyrood, warns SNP chief whip  Morning Star | The People?s Daily

Politics ?nastier for women under SNP? - The Telegraph
31 Dec 2025 at 7:00am
Politics ?nastier for women under SNP?  The Telegraph

SNP under fire for pressing ahead with 'farcical and fake' landfill ban - The...
31 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
SNP under fire for pressing ahead with 'farcical and fake' landfill ban  The Scotsman

The questions facing the SNP that could decide the Holyrood election | ITV Ne...
31 Dec 2025 at 11:25am
The questions facing the SNP that could decide the Holyrood election | ITV News  ITVX

Former SNP deputy leader says 'shutting down North Sea oil' will cost the Nat...
31 Dec 2025 at 12:08pm
Former SNP deputy leader says 'shutting down North Sea oil' will cost the Nats a majority  Scottish Daily Express

Under-18s could be banned from marriage in Scotland by new SNP proposals - Th...
29 Dec 2025 at 10:56am
Under-18s could be banned from marriage in Scotland by new SNP proposals  TheNational.scot

Labour could slump to FOURTH in Scottish elections next year as poll finds SN...
30 Dec 2025 at 12:21pm
Labour could slump to FOURTH in Scottish elections next year as poll finds SNP are on course for a fifth term in power  Daily Mail

LGBTQ+ SNP members call on party to stand up for trans rights: ?Trans people ...
29 Dec 2025 at 4:56pm
LGBTQ+ SNP members call on party to stand up for trans rights: ?Trans people are not demons?  PinkNews

NDSS 2025 ? CounterSEVeillance: Performance-Counter Attacks On AMD SEV-SNP - ...
27 Dec 2025 at 5:51pm
NDSS 2025 ? CounterSEVeillance: Performance-Counter Attacks On AMD SEV-SNP  Security Boulevard

Referendum (Google News)

"Scotland referendum -guardian -telegraph" - Google News

Scotland would vote for independence in new referendum, exclusive poll finds ...
30 Dec 2025 at 5:05pm
Scotland would vote for independence in new referendum, exclusive poll finds  TheNational.scot

No independence referendum if SNP wins majority, Reeves says - BBC
27 Nov 2025 at 8:00am
No independence referendum if SNP wins majority, Reeves says  BBC

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

Scottish independence poll 2025 - Statista
28 Nov 2025 at 8:00am
Scottish independence poll 2025  Statista

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

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 independence could 'reduce energy bills by more than a third', First...
8 Dec 2025 at 8:00am
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