The Herald

The Herald | Politics


'Screaming into pillow': Why I'm furious with the government as an unpaid carer
by rebecca.mccurdy@newsquest.co.uk | Rebecca McCurdy
20 Dec 2025 at 8:00am
Being an unpaid carer is isolating and unrelenting, according to Lesley MacCulloch, a full-time carer for her 82-year-old mother with dementia.


'I took council to court after my autistic son's life changing service was pu...
by rebecca.mccurdy@newsquest.co.uk | Rebecca McCurdy
20 Dec 2025 at 6:30am
Parents took a local council to Scotland?s highest court after funding for a ?life-changing? social care programme for individuals with autism was withdrawn suddenly.


Fears right to break for carers could fall into Scotland's 'implementation gap'
by rebecca.mccurdy@newsquest.co.uk | Rebecca McCurdy
20 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
Charities have warned the right to a break for unpaid carers could fall into Scotland's implementation gap without additional funding.


Charities demand two-child cap mitigation is used to increase Scottish Child ...
by rebecca.mccurdy@newsquest.co.uk | Rebecca McCurdy
20 Dec 2025 at 5:30am
Charities have written to the Scottish Government to demand money allocated to mitigate the two-child benefit cap is used to increase the Scottish Child Payment to £40.


'Hostile place': Holyrood is not a welcoming environment says MSP exiting in May
20 Dec 2025 at 5:02am
SNP MSP Elena Whitham has described Holyrood as a 'hostile place' as she revealed she had always assumed she would stand again after she was first elected in 2021.


'No covert bugging devices' in historic employment cases says Presiding Officer
by andrew.learmonth@newsquest.co.uk | Andrew Learmonth
19 Dec 2025 at 6:35pm
There is no evidence of covert bugging devices being used in Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament's Presiding Officer has said.


Former First Minister hosts Israeli-Palestinian solidarity group at Holyrood
by gaby.mckay@newsquest.co.uk | Gabriel McKay
19 Dec 2025 at 2:10pm
Former First Minister Humza Yousaf hosted an Israeli-Palestinian solidarity group at Holyrood, in an effort to obtain cross-party support


Zarah Sultana says Your Party is 'ready' to fight Holyrood 2026 election
by gaby.mckay@newsquest.co.uk | Gabriel McKay
19 Dec 2025 at 1:12pm
Zarah Sultana says Your Party is ready for the Scottish parliamentary elections next year, despite the chaos surrounding its launch


Baillie demands Presiding Officer probes claims three SNP MSPs bugged by aides
by andrew.learmonth@newsquest.co.uk | Andrew Learmonth
19 Dec 2025 at 11:28am
Dame Jackie said if the Scottish Parliament ?ignores this behaviour, as the SNP appear to have done, it would be a shameful dereliction of duty and an implicit endorsement of serious misconduct?.


SNP minister takes responsibility as he 'won't dispute social care crisis'
by rebecca.mccurdy@newsquest.co.uk | Rebecca McCurdy
19 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
Social care minister Tom Arthur has said he will not dispute claims that the sector is in "crisis".


?Neglected in the community?: Home care failings exacerbated by immigration c...
by rebecca.mccurdy@newsquest.co.uk | Rebecca McCurdy
19 Dec 2025 at 5:30am
Staff shortages in home care in Scotland has left elderly and vulnerable people "neglected" in the community, it has been claimed.


North Sea jobs warning rubbished by Chancellor being used by UK Government
by andrew.learmonth@newsquest.co.uk | Andrew Learmonth
19 Dec 2025 at 5:00am
An academic whose warning on North Sea job losses was publicly dismissed by Rachel Reeves has revealed his analysis was used by the UK Government.


Your Party co-founder joins Glasgow hotel workers on picket line
by jody.harrison@heraldandtimes.co.uk | Jody Harrison
18 Dec 2025 at 7:57pm
Your Party co-founder Zarah Sultana joined hotel workers on a picket line in Glasgow to call for fair wages for all staff.


Swinney ?content? Justice Secretary did not breach ministerial code
by jody.harrison@heraldandtimes.co.uk | Jody Harrison
18 Dec 2025 at 2:38pm
John Swinney has said he is ?content? his under-fire Justice Secretary did not breach the ministerial code of conduct ? despite claims from Conservatives that she had ?blatantly and brazenly? done so.

The Scotsman

The Scotsman Politics


I was an Erasmus student. Here?s why it really matters to Scotland?s young ge...
20 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
The removal of rights and opportunities enjoyed by previous generations was one of the most appalling aspects of Brexit


As metaphor for SNP 'incompetence', the already rusting Glen Rosa ferry is ha...
20 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
Union official says skilled shipbuilders were ?lions led by donkeys? as she condemns ?the hubris, incompetence and mismanagement? of Scottish Government ministers and others


Putin can lie and complain all he likes, but he has made Russia the West's 'e...
20 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
Only a fool would be lulled into complacency by Vladimir Putin?s attempts to play the victim


How Scottish Parliament has become a Thick of It farce (and it's about to get...
20 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
If you think the current Scottish Parliament is bad, just wait until the expected influx of new and inexperienced SNP, Reform and Scottish Green MSPs in May


Why Scotland's high streets are dying while their European counterparts thrive
20 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
Two decades of SNP inaction, for fear of doing anything radical, has left Scotland?s retail sector in a dismal state but it does not have to be like this


The free press must not be sacrificed to protect BBC as public trust in this ...
20 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
All the commercial media world wants is a level playing field, not one tilted even more in the BBC?s favour


Holyrood bugging: No way to prevent private conversations being recorded say ...
19 Dec 2025 at 7:36pm

Presiding Officer Alison Johnson has insisted Holyrood has ?robust? security measures in place in the wake of The Scotsman?s exclusive report

Some 90 per cent voted in favour of striking from Tuesday January 13 to Saturday January 17.

Campaigners have accused the SNP government of ?lying? to ?chase votes?

Wings over Scotland

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 …

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

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

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

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.

'Secret bugging' of SNP MSP unacceptable - Swinney
18 Dec 2025 at 5:18pm
The first minister has responded to reports of a staff member recording an SNP member they worked for.

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.

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?

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.

New £150m funding package to protect jobs at Grangemouth
17 Dec 2025 at 4:45pm
The UK government and owners Ineos say the funding will support 500 jobs at the site's ethylene plant.

'I learned languages and travelled Europe through Erasmus'
17 Dec 2025 at 6:04pm
Several years after it was scrapped, the UK is now set to rejoin the Erasmus scheme in 2027.

Scottish government to spend £9.25m hosting Tour de France start
17 Dec 2025 at 11:26am
The government said it will publish a full breakdown of costs following the event.

Police warn mental health call-outs are 'unsustainable'
16 Dec 2025 at 11:05pm
Officers are spending more than 14,000 hours per month responding to mental health calls.

Justice secretary survives no confidence vote in grooming gangs row
16 Dec 2025 at 5:08pm
Opposition parties had accused Angela Constance of misrepresenting the position of a leading expert on grooming gangs.

Scot Goes Pop

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...

And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom, WELL...
18 Dec 2025 at 8:15am
Stew on Twitter: "People voting SNP for independence." pic.twitter.com/Y8U4XQ2SWA? Wings Over Scotland (@WingsScotland) December 17, 2025OK, Stew, now do people voting Reform UK "for independence"....

SNP are THIRTY percentage points ahead of Labour in fabulously festive Scotti...
17 Dec 2025 at 7:32am
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...

Stew, hear our plea: "REVEREND CAMPBELL, THINK AGAIN"
16 Dec 2025 at 9:18am

As Eurovision winner Nemo returns the trophy, a reply to a supporter of Israe...
14 Dec 2025 at 8:50am
I was a delegate yesterday at the SNP National Council in Dundee.  Regular readers may remember that when I was a delegate at the special SNP constitutional conference in March, I asked for advice ...

Pro-independence parties on course for their BIGGEST EVER majority of seats i...
11 Dec 2025 at 9:12am
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...

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

STV Politics News

Latest Politics News | STV News

Presiding officer says no ?bugging devices? involved in Holyrood employment case
19 Dec 2025 at 7:37pm
Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone sent a letter to Dame Jackie Baillie on Friday.

Scottish Labour calls for ?urgent investigation? into claims MSP?s office was...
19 Dec 2025 at 11:41am
An unnamed individual who worked for the SNP reportedly bugged an MSP's office.

Former minister stood down due to ?credible? threat against her
19 Dec 2025 at 9:41am
Elena Whitham said everything she did was affected by thoughts of ?what possibly could have happened?.

UK ministers view devolved governments as ?subordinate?, claims Robertson
18 Dec 2025 at 9:46pm
The Scottish Constitution Secretary also told MSPs that relations with the Labour Government at Westminster are ?suboptimal?.

Reports of MSP?s office bugged ?utterly unacceptable?, says Swinney
18 Dec 2025 at 4:11pm
An unnamed individual who worked for the SNP reportedly bugged the office.

PPE firm linked to Michelle Mone wound up after being ordered to pay back £148m
18 Dec 2025 at 1:31pm
The decision, made by a judge at a hearing on Thursday, could mean that the Government is unlikely to see most of the £148 million owed to it by the company.

John Swinney faces FMQs after justice secretary survives no confidence vote
18 Dec 2025 at 11:49am
Angela Constance has been fighting for her job amid a grooming gangs row.

Alba MSP Ash Regan faces two-day suspension after complaint
18 Dec 2025 at 11:36am
Regan's conduct was called into question over a post she made on X in April 2025.

Ministers urged to halt plans for ?humongous? data centres over energy use fears
18 Dec 2025 at 9:35am
Campaigners have raised concerns about the impact the sites could have electricity on demand and Scotland?s climate targets.

Whistleblowers raise ?extreme? concern about security of government?s Digital ID
18 Dec 2025 at 6:58am
Multiple sources have told ITV News it would be 'completely straightforward' for Russia or China to break into sensitive parts of the technology undetected.

Schools in England to teach healthy relationships to tackle misogyny
17 Dec 2025 at 10:31pm
Teachers will be given specialist training to talk to pupils about issues such as consent, and children who show harm towards parents, the government has said.

Scottish ministers request to meet child sex abuse survivors in 2026
17 Dec 2025 at 4:16pm
Education secretary Jenny Gilruth and justice secretary Angela Constance jointly wrote to Holyrood's cross-party group on Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves ?doesn?t believe? 1,000 North Sea jobs are being axe...
17 Dec 2025 at 3:10pm
Rachel Reeves downplayed the figure, with Scottish secretary Douglas Alexander saying the analysis was not produced by the Government.

Justice secretary apologises to child abuse expert over grooming gangs row
17 Dec 2025 at 12:02pm
Angela Constance said she owed Prof Alexis Jay a 'professional apology'.

Daily Record

Daily Record - Politics

Keir Starmer welfare chief says getting young people off benefits is the ?cau...
20 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
EXCLUSIVE: Pat McFadden spoke exclusively to the Record about the UK Government's drive to help young people into work.

Former SNP drugs minister stood down over 'credible' death threat
19 Dec 2025 at 10:07am
Elena Whitham said she had "no other choice for me but to step away".

John Swinney urged to provide £100m baby boost in SNP Budget next month
19 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
EXCLUSIVE: An option tabled for consideration in the SNP Government's January draft Budget is a large rise in best start grants.

John Swinney says allegations SNP member bugged MSP's office are 'completely ...
18 Dec 2025 at 3:06pm
The male staffer was employed by a female SNP MSP but is understood to now work for a Nationalist member at Westminster.

Scots family stuck in temporary accommodation for 13 years as SNP's 'shameful...
18 Dec 2025 at 1:35pm
Rough sleeping across Scotland is at a 14-year high while more than 17,000 households are registered as homeless.

MSPs claim record amount in expenses for items including toilet seat, sponge ...
18 Dec 2025 at 11:25am
Elected members at Holyrood racked up a total expenses bill of more than £27m in the last year.

Ash Regan facing two day Holyrood ban after breaching MSP code of conduct
18 Dec 2025 at 10:59am
The proposal has been made by Holyrood's Standards committee.

Union chief says she 'wouldn't' be comfortable representing Sandie Peggie in ...
18 Dec 2025 at 10:43am
Andrea Egan asked "what were the real issues" in a high-profile employment tribunal brought against NHS Fife.

Rachel Reeves claims SNP 'stood on the sidelines' while UK Government saved G...
17 Dec 2025 at 2:39pm
The UK's largest chemical manufacturing plant will remain open after the UK Government gave £120m funding to Ineos to secure 500 Scots jobs.

Rachel Reeves denies 1,000 North Sea oil and gas jobs being lost every month
17 Dec 2025 at 1:56pm
Industry leaders have blamed a windfall tax on the profits earned by energy giants for thousands of lay-offs in Scotland.

The National

The National | Politics

New photo of disgraced royal Andrew released in huge Jeffrey Epstein photo dump
20 Dec 2025 at 8:26am

A PHOTO of the disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor reclining across the legs of five women with his head near one woman?s lap and pictures of other famous faces have surfaced in a huge document dump related to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein ...

Owen Jones: It's not all bad. These are some reasons to be hopeful in 2026
20 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

In the looming new year, it will be a decade since the dawn of the "Age of Turmoil".

Pat Kane: Where to find the food for your mind in a year of some major birthdays
20 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

IF we?re looking to the highlights of 2026, let?s begin epochally ? and at our most Scottish

Kate Forbes: The debate on outdoor education was Holyrood at its best
19 Dec 2025 at 8:39pm

THE Scottish Parliament this week gave its final assent to a member?s bill designed to increase access to outdoor education for children across Scotland

Plotting ministers and tears in the Commons: Keir Starmer looks back on 2025
19 Dec 2025 at 6:00pm

LET me be clear: This year has been fantastic for my changed Labour Party and our absolutely central mission, really important, of national renewal ...

Resident doctors in Scotland set 2026 strike date amid pay dispute
19 Dec 2025 at 5:46pm

RESIDENT doctors in Scotland are set to go on strike in the first national walkout staged by NHS workers.

King?s throne protesters infiltrate House of Lords tour party
19 Dec 2025 at 5:37pm

PROTESTERS who unveiled banners beside The King's throne in the House of Lords had entered as part of a tour group

4 out of 5 children in Gaza to enter 2026 facing crisis hunger levels, charit...
19 Dec 2025 at 4:27pm

FOUR out of every five children in Gaza will enter 2026 facing crisis levels of hunger, a charity has warned.

Scottish Labour-run council condemns UK's actions on pro-Palestine hunger strike
19 Dec 2025 at 4:16pm

A SCOTTISH Labour-run council has condemned the alleged mistreatment of eight prisoners allegedly linked Palestine Action who are on hunger strike

5 stories sneaked out by the UK Government before festive break
19 Dec 2025 at 3:44pm

THE festive season has arrived and the House of Commons is in recess, so it is a perfect opportunity for the UK Government to sneak out some not-so-good news while the country prepares to put its feet up.

Holyrood Magazine

Holyrood Website

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.

Martin McCluskey: I?m not embarrassed by any of my music choices
19 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
The MP for?Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West tells Holyrood?about a Lady Gaga-based election night superstition and his love for Aretha Franklin

Russell Findlay: Angela Constance scandal shows the worst of the SNP
18 Dec 2025 at 1:09pm
Justice secretary saga dominates FMQs

Guardian - Scottish Politics

Scottish politics | The Guardian

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...

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

Wee Ginger Dug

Wee Ginger Dug

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 …

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

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

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

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'

Resident doctors split down the middle over strike action and Scottish Health...
20 Dec 2025 at 9:56am
Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland Unhealthy Correspondent, Lisa Summers, is off like a dog out of a trap this morning to report gleefully that Scotland’s resident doctors ‘will‘ but it’s still ‘may‘ Lisa, may go on strike. OMG Lisa! This week? No, it’s more than three weeks away. Will anyone in Government take this seriously and meet with them soon? Yes, on Monday. As always, the bias i...

No evidence that any SNP MSP was spied on by staff
20 Dec 2025 at 9:23am
Professor John Robertson OBA In my post earlier, I pointed out that there were no confirmed reports, ever, of an employer being spied on by an employee in the UK but many of the opposite. The supposedly Scottish media and Jackie Baillie have loved the rumours and have made as much hay as they can with them but even this morning BBC Scotland has burst their balloon with: The Scottish Parliament ...

Media-driven hysteria ? there is not one proven incident of an employee in th...
19 Dec 2025 at 11:03pm
Professor John Robertson OBA I used to be a sociologist but I’m better now, though I still love a good moral panic. Remember the last one? Spiking women with date rape drugs by hypodermic needle, almost impossible, rather than spiking drinks, worryingly easy. Why has it stopped? Not one arrest. I asked AI – Have there been any reports of proven cases of an employee bugging their boss in Scotlan...

There have now been 5 tower block fires in Scotland since 2000 and none have ...
19 Dec 2025 at 11:02pm
Professor John Robertson OBA Notice anything about that tower block fire? No towering inferno, again From BBC Glasgow & West yesterday: A 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a fire in a flat at a tower block in Coatbridge. Two people were treated by ambulance crews following the blaze at Calder Court in Whifflet which was reported at about 06:45. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Se...

Will Dame Jackie Baillie call for probe into her UK Labour government?s plans...
19 Dec 2025 at 1:39pm
Professor John Robertson OBA Leaping gleefully onto the allegations that 3 MSPs and ministers were spied on by SNP parliamentary staff, Dame Jackie Baillie has called for a probe. She shows little sign of wanting to probe Labour MSPs with paedophile pals or Labour councillors who are paedophiles. So that we don’t think she is being a bit of a hypocrite will she also call for a probe into her ow...

Top 1% US researchers find ?significantly increased cancer incidence? for tho...
19 Dec 2025 at 10:20am
Professor John Robertson OBA From the highly-rated Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health in the USA yesterday: In Massachusetts, residential proximity to a nuclear power plant (NPP) was associated with significantly increased cancer incidence, with risk declining by distance, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study was published Dec. 17 in Environ...

Crime clear-up in Scotland around 12 times better per head than in England
18 Dec 2025 at 10:52pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: December 2025 The clear up rate for all recorded crimes was 56.0% in 2024-25, up from 54.1% in 2023-24. Crimes against society (93.8%), non-sexual crimes of violence (68.4%) and sexual crimes (56.9%) continued to have higher clear up rates in 2024-25 than crimes of dishonesty (35.1%) and damage and r...

Since SNP came to power, massive reductions in property and violent crime, wi...
18 Dec 2025 at 10:44pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: December 2025 published yesterday: Property and violent crime has fallen by 37% since 2008-09. Increase in crime clear up rate. The clear up rate for all recorded crimes was 56.0% in 2024-25, up from 54.1% in 2023-24. Crimes against society (93.8%), non-sexual crimes of violence (68.4%) and sexual cr...

How Brexit destroyed Scotland?s endless trade surpluses
18 Dec 2025 at 10:40pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From Inflation Adjusted HMRC Regional Trade Statistics for Scotland Q3 2025 published yesterday: When comparing the year ending September 2025 with the previous year, the value of Scotland?s international goods exports increased by 1% to £24.1 billion, while Scotland?s goods imports increased by 3% to £24.3 billion. Overall, Scotland?s total international trade (imp...

In 2024 alone Scotland?s surplus electricity trade was worth between £2 and £3bn
18 Dec 2025 at 10:36pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From Energy Statistics for Scotland ? Q3 2025 published yesterday the above and: Total electricity consumption in Scotland in 2024 was 21.7 TWh. This is down 26.6% from the 2005-2007 baseline figure when 29.3 TWh of electricity was consumed (the baseline is the average consumption from 2005-2007 https://www.gov.scot/publications/energy-statistics-for-scotland-q3-202...

Scotland and Independence

"scotland independence -guardian" - Google News

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

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

UK to investigate 'Iran influence' in Scottish independence debate - TheNatio...
17 Dec 2025 at 3:29pm
UK to investigate 'Iran influence' in Scottish independence debate  TheNational.scot

Scottish independence: SNP ?misleads? over energy bill savings - The Times
16 Dec 2025 at 7:50pm
Scottish independence: SNP ?misleads? over energy bill savings  The Times

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

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

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

UK probe to examine Iranian interference in Scottish independence debate - Th...
17 Dec 2025 at 2:14pm
UK probe to examine Iranian interference in Scottish independence debate  The Scotsman

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

SNP

"SNP" - Google News

'Secret bugging' of SNP MSP unacceptable, John Swinney says - BBC
18 Dec 2025 at 5:18pm
'Secret bugging' of SNP MSP unacceptable, John Swinney says  BBC

SNP leader John Swinney condemns alleged office bugging of female MSP - Sky News
18 Dec 2025 at 4:31pm
SNP leader John Swinney condemns alleged office bugging of female MSP  Sky News

'Only the SNP can battle against poverty and inequality' - The Herald
20 Dec 2025 at 6:33am
'Only the SNP can battle against poverty and inequality'  The Herald

As metaphor for SNP 'incompetence', the already rusting Glen Rosa ferry is ha...
20 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
As metaphor for SNP 'incompetence', the already rusting Glen Rosa ferry is hard to beat  The Scotsman

Expenses data shows SNP MSPs paid £141,000 to party ally - The Times
20 Dec 2025 at 12:01am
Expenses data shows SNP MSPs paid £141,000 to party ally  The Times

'Unacceptable': John Swinney responds as SNP MSP's 'office bugged by male sta...
18 Dec 2025 at 1:46pm
'Unacceptable': John Swinney responds as SNP MSP's 'office bugged by male staffer'  TheNational.scot

Stop the SNP?s Business Tax Hikes - Scottish Conservatives
17 Dec 2025 at 11:33am
Stop the SNP?s Business Tax Hikes  Scottish Conservatives

Homeowners at risk of £15k fines under SNP net zero regime - The Telegraph
17 Dec 2025 at 2:01pm
Homeowners at risk of £15k fines under SNP net zero regime  The Telegraph

?It?s Scotland?s energy?: SNP to focus on renewables in Holyrood election | S...
8 Dec 2025 at 8:00am
?It?s Scotland?s energy?: SNP to focus on renewables in Holyrood election | Scottish National party (SNP)  The Guardian

Scotland's papers: SNP MSP's office 'bugged' and 'mortgage price war' - BBC
19 Dec 2025 at 6:31am
Scotland's papers: SNP MSP's office 'bugged' and 'mortgage price war'  BBC

Referendum (Google News)

"Scotland referendum -guardian -telegraph" - Google News

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

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

Tory MSPs can't hide disdain for Holyrood's independence referendum probe - T...
18 Dec 2025 at 5:22pm
Tory MSPs can't hide disdain for Holyrood's independence referendum probe  TheNational.scot

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

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

First Minister John Swinney sets out latest plan for independence referendum ...
4 Sep 2025 at 8:00am
First Minister John Swinney sets out latest plan for independence referendum  Sky News

Ukraine Today: Russia slams ?flawed? Scotland referendum; Kremlin observers c...
30 Nov 2025 at 12:20pm
Ukraine Today: Russia slams ?flawed? Scotland referendum; Kremlin observers critical of independence vote (VIDEO)  Kyiv Post

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