The Herald

The Herald | Politics


Heavy Labour losses in May could decide Starmer?s future ? expert
by Christopher McKeon
27 Dec 2025 at 8:35am
Sir Keir Starmer?s future could be determined in May as a polling expert warned Labour faces nationwide losses at next year?s elections.


Scottish firms put resilience to the test in 2025
by kristy.dorsey@newsquest.co.uk | Kristy Dorsey
27 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
The main message from 2025? Fortitude is not optional


Safety fears stop four in 10 women in Scotland walking after dark, survey finds
by hannah.brown@newsquest.co.uk | Hannah Brown
27 Dec 2025 at 5:00am
Nearly four in 10 women in Scotland say they would walk more if they felt safer after dark, according to a survey, highlighting calls for better lighting.


Scottish workers £700 a year worse off as Scotland lags UK pay growth, Labour...
by hannah.brown@newsquest.co.uk | Hannah Brown
27 Dec 2025 at 5:00am
Scottish workers are around £700 a year worse off under the SNP, Labour claims, as figures show Scotland has the lowest pay growth in the UK outside London.


Scots warned they could be ?punished again? by Labour pension age rise
by hannah.brown@newsquest.co.uk | Hannah Brown
27 Dec 2025 at 5:00am
SNP has warned Scots could be unfairly hit by Labour?s plans to raise the state pension age, warning about a "one-size-fits-all" approach.


Russian president Vladimir Putin appeared in a festive kids cartoon
by gaby.mckay@newsquest.co.uk | Gabriel McKay
26 Dec 2025 at 4:14pm
Russian president Vladimir Putin appeared in a festive children's cartoon described by the studio which made it as a "soft power" tool


'Where is the outrage?' Rape or attempted rape takes place in Glasgow every 1...
by Katrine Bussey
26 Dec 2025 at 12:01am
The Glasgow Rape Crisis centre supports more than 2,800 women and girls each year, and it says demand for its services has grown year-on-year for the last four years


The Tartan Army are ?great advocates? for Scotland, says John Swinney
by Craig Paton
26 Dec 2025 at 12:01am
The Tartan Army are ?great advocates? for Scotland, the First Minister has said, as he looks to capitalise on the team making the World Cup.


For Women Scotland: Scot Gov not yet paid legal costs owed after Supreme Cour...
by Katrine Bussey
24 Dec 2025 at 9:32am
A campaign group which won a landmark Supreme Court fight against the Scottish Government fears ministers are ?trying to run us out of cash? ahead of a second high-profile legal action.


John Swinney thanks emergency service workers on shift over Christmas
by Sarah Ward
24 Dec 2025 at 12:01am
First Minister John Swinney has paid tribute to emergency service workers who will be on shift during Christmas


Ex-SNP Chief Peter Murrell expected in court again ahead of Holyrood election
by hannah.brown@newsquest.co.uk | Hannah Brown
24 Dec 2025 at 5:47pm
The former chief executive of the SNP is expected to appear in court for a second hearing on embezzlement allegations ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections in May, according to a recent report.


Sandie Peggie judgment against NHS Fife corrected again amid AI speculation
by rebecca.mccurdy@newsquest.co.uk | Rebecca McCurdy
23 Dec 2025 at 6:09pm
The Sandie Peggie employment tribunal judgment against NHS Fife and Dr Beth Upton has been amended for a second time, containing 11 more amendments.


John Swinney warns Scots only to go to A&E if they have a 'genuine emergency'
by Katrine Bussey
23 Dec 2025 at 6:58am
First Minister John Swinney has warned Scots only to go to accident and emergency if they have a ?genuine emergency? ? warning people that services are expected to be ?exceptionally busy? over the festive period.


Scottish Government won't publish office working data - but pledges future 'c...
by rebecca.mccurdy@newsquest.co.uk | Rebecca McCurdy
23 Dec 2025 at 5:30am
The Scottish Government has refused to release data on how often its hybrid working policy for civil servants is met - but said a future publication with "context" is planned.

The Scotsman

The Scotsman Politics


Revealed: Scottish Labour MPs have spent thousands on external media spin doc...
27 Dec 2025 at 6:00am

Scottish MPs have spent thousands in public money on external spin doctors since the general election.

Scottish Labour says the analysis shows the SNP cannot be trusted with taxpayers? money.

The pilot is said to be working well.

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

Justice secretary's grooming gang comments probed for code breach
23 Dec 2025 at 5:54pm
Angela Constance has been accused of misrepresenting Prof Alexis Jay's position on public inquiries into child sexual abuse and exploitation.

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

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...

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 ...

STV Politics News

Latest Politics News | STV News

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.

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.

Daily Record

Daily Record - Politics

Anas Sarwar blasts 'no energy' John Swinney as he predicts 'bitter' Holyrood ...
27 Dec 2025 at 8:15am
EXCLUSIVE: The Scottish Labour leader said the election in May is the most "significant" in the country's history.

Anas Sarwar reveals the last time he cried as he opens up on private family m...
27 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
The Scottish Labour leader was asked on the Planet Holyrood podcast about the last time he was tearful.

SNP Government blasted over 67 years' of delays to NHS and transport projects
27 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
The figures shows the delays faced by patients and passengers to top projects.

Knife thugs face jail under 'zero tolerance' justice plans by Scottish Labour...
27 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
EXCLUSIVE: Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said prison, rather than a "cuddly approach", was the best punishment for blade yobs.

High streets across Scotland locked in 'death spiral' as hundreds of small re...
26 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
Many town centres are struggling as shoppers increasingly choose to visit retail parks or buy items online.

Over 20,000 Scots died waiting for NHS care during Neil Gray's time as health...
26 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
The figures have been condemned by the Scottish Conservatives.

SNP Government criticised over zero convictions for drink spiking
24 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
The statistic has fuelled calls for a specific offence to be created.

Over £1.6 billion 'lost to NHS' over SNP Government failure to end delayed di...
24 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
The figures come in spite of a promise in 2015 to end the pratice.

Angela Constance facing investigation into claims she misled Holyrood on groo...
23 Dec 2025 at 2:14pm
The dramatic development was announced by the Government two days before Christmas.

SNP MSP sends Keir Starmer P45 in row over how many Scots are losing North Se...
23 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
Rachel Reeves has firmly denied as many as 1,000 jobs were being lost across Scotland's offshore energy sector each month - a figure regularly repeated by Nationalists.

The National

The National | Politics

King and Prince William in 'advanced talks' to visit US in new year
27 Dec 2025 at 9:18am

The King and the Prince of Wales could visit the US in 2026 as negotiations over a UK trade deal with the country continue, it has been reported

Booming tourism spending shows 'Scotland is one of the world's great destinat...
27 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

TOURISM spending in Scotland has boomed over the last two years, demonstrating how the country is ?one of the world?s great destinations?, the SNP have said.

Labour set for 'one hell of a battering' in Scottish election, expert says
27 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

KEIR Starmer's party is set for a "battering" at the Scottish elections next year, a political expert has warned.

Maggie Chapman: 2026 must be year we halt the rollback of trans rights
27 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

FOR many people, the festive period is a time when families get together and old friends reunite. It is meant to be a joyful time of rest and togetherness as one year ends and another begins.

'Useless' Michael Shanks has visited Aberdeen just ONCE for GB Energy
27 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

Michael Shanks has made just one trip to Aberdeen relating to GB Energy, The National can reveal

The big finance questions facing Holyrood in 2026
27 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

THE UK Budget has offered some respite for Scotland?s Finance Secretary as she drafts her spending plans but it has far from solved Scotland?s public finance headache.

A deep dive into polling in 2025 ? and what it told us about Scotland
27 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

THE past is a foreign country, as the saying goes, and at least as far as Scottish opinion poll results are concerned, the independence movement has every reason to be thankful that we don?t live in that strange land anymore.

Could Scottish independence actually benefit England's NHS?
27 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

WOULD Scottish independence improve healthcare in England? It?s an interesting question to think about.

Donald Trump has never outgrown childish behaviour
26 Dec 2025 at 6:30pm

WHEN we were kids many of us would look through toy shop windows and ?bagsie? toys that we wanted. Trump is like that six-year-old wean we all were.

Asylum protests make me so ashamed of Scotland, says kirk moderator
26 Dec 2025 at 1:59pm

THE moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has condemned anti-immigration protests outside an asylum hotel, saying the scenes left her ?so ashamed of Scotland?

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

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 …

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 …

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'

Foreign medics NOT shunning NHS Scotland because of anti-migrant rhetoric fro...
27 Dec 2025 at 10:07am
Professor John Robertson OBA The Guardian above has another of its ‘UK’ pieces with not a word on Scotland in it. There is, of course, no peer-reviewed research on this topic but, the MSM often tell us that they just report what is happening out there. So, comparing media reporting on this issue in Scotland and England’s media will give us a reasonable comparison. Given the background independe...

Flu cases decline steeply in Scotland more than two weeks ahead of England af...
27 Dec 2025 at 9:03am
Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland on 24 December 2025: The number of laboratory-confirmed flu cases in Scotland has dropped by more than a third, new figures show. Public Health Scotland (PHS) data, external shows there were 1,297 confirmed cases in the week to 21 December – down from 1,994 in the previous week. Provisional figures also suggest there were 679 flu-related hospital a...

30% fare hikes in only two years, declining service performance, a ballooning...
27 Dec 2025 at 9:01am
Professor John Robertson OBA In the Times Colonist, on December 15th 2025: To increase funding and ward off fare hikes ?well in excess of 30%? in two years, B.C. Ferries proposes forming a ?sustainable partnership? with all levels of government ? federal, provincial, and local. Yet this partnership maintains the same governance model that enabled the Fast Ferries scandal in the 1990s and cost t...

Reposted as opposition parties post lies ? SNP Government initiatives leading...
27 Dec 2025 at 9:01am

Reposted as the Herald tries to magnify a serious problem with selective stat...
27 Dec 2025 at 8:58am

Leading US academic confirms 100% higher risk for those living 2km from nucle...
26 Dec 2025 at 11:46am
Professor John Robertson OBA From Maine Public, two days ago: A new study from Harvard?s T.H. Chan School of Public Health shows that living near a nuclear power plant significantly increases a person?s risk of cancer. The study was published this month in Environmental Health. CAI?s Jennette Barnes has this interview with senior author Petros Koutrakis, professor of environmental sciences at H...

?No area or community is immune to countty lines drug supply? from England to...
26 Dec 2025 at 11:29am
Professor John Robertson OBA In the P&J but not in the MSM and certainly not on BBC Scotland North-East, today: Detective Sergeant Peter Sloan of Merseyside Police?s Project Medusa added: ?No area or community is immune to county lines drug supply, which is why intelligence?led operations like this are essential to disrupt involved in the distribution of harmful drugs. ?Today?s action, delivere...

Reposted specially for Jackie Baillie at this time
26 Dec 2025 at 10:33am

Nearly THREE times as many emergency patients per capita wait 12 hours or mor...
26 Dec 2025 at 10:29am
Reposted as BBC Scotland focus on 12 hour waits in Scotland

Arrest and seizures from a joint operation between Merseyside Police?s Projec...
24 Dec 2025 at 11:34am
Professor John Robertson OBA From Merseyside Police yesterday: Three people have been arrested today, Tuesday 23 December, following two warrants executed to tackle suspected county lines drug supply operating between Prescot and Peterhead, Scotland. The arrests were made during a joint operation between Merseyside Police?s Project Medusa and Police Scotland, targeting addresses in Prescot and ...

Scotland and Independence

"scotland independence -guardian" - Google News

Could Scottish independence actually benefit England's NHS? - TheNational.scot
27 Dec 2025 at 5:06am
Could Scottish independence actually benefit England's NHS?  TheNational.scot

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SNP

"SNP" - Google News

SNP projects run 67 years late and £1.3bn over budget, including Glen Sannox,...
27 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
SNP projects run 67 years late and £1.3bn over budget, including Glen Sannox, A9 dualling, HMP Glasgow  The Scotsman

SNP causing 'chaos' for islanders with 5000 sailings cancelled due to clapped...
26 Dec 2025 at 11:59pm
SNP causing 'chaos' for islanders with 5000 sailings cancelled due to clapped-out ferries  Daily Mail

SNP warns Scots face being 'punished again' by Labour pension age rise - The ...
27 Dec 2025 at 5:05am
SNP warns Scots face being 'punished again' by Labour pension age rise  The Herald

SNP Government blasted over 67 years' of delays to NHS and transport projects...
27 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
SNP Government blasted over 67 years' of delays to NHS and transport projects  Daily Record

Stephen Flynn: Reform can learn from the SNP - The Spectator Australia
24 Dec 2025 at 9:39am
Stephen Flynn: Reform can learn from the SNP  The Spectator Australia

Stephen Flynn hopes Reform MPs are learning from SNP as he fails to deny Fara...
27 Dec 2025 at 9:34am
Stephen Flynn hopes Reform MPs are learning from SNP as he fails to deny Farage friendship  Scottish Daily Express

Price of cooking Christmas dinner soars by 55 per cent, SNP say - TheNational...
25 Dec 2025 at 5:05am
Price of cooking Christmas dinner soars by 55 per cent, SNP say  TheNational.scot

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

?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

Shared SNP effects across breeds increase the genomic prediction accuracy for...
26 Aug 2025 at 8:00am
Shared SNP effects across breeds increase the genomic prediction accuracy for numerically small breeds  Nature

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

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

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

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

Up for Grabs: In 2026, One Date Will be Crucial for UK Politics - Policy Maga...
21 Dec 2025 at 3:06pm
Up for Grabs: In 2026, One Date Will be Crucial for UK Politics  Policy Magazine

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