The Herald

The Herald | Politics


'Off our streets': Anti-migrant groups clash with anti-racists in Aberdeen
14 Dec 2025 at 6:12pm
One video posted to X shows demonstrators stamping on a sign entitled ?Misconceptions about asylum seekers in Aberdeen?.


Golden goodbye payments for MSPs to cost taxpayers £2.5 million
14 Dec 2025 at 12:19pm
Golden goodbye payments from MSPs quitting Holyrood, including Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf, will cost taxpayers around £2.5 million.


'We need to move on': SNP minister backs Constance over grooming gangs row
14 Dec 2025 at 11:20am
Jenny Gilruth has said MSPs should 'move on' over a row that Justice Secretary Angela Constance misled Parliament on grooming gangs.


Former Herald political editor only Scot among 25 new peers in House of Lords
14 Dec 2025 at 9:43am
A former Herald political editor is the only Scot among 25 new Labour peers who will sit in the House of Lords.


How the Sandie Peggie tribunal judgment sent the NHS Fife case into chaos
14 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
Sandie Peggie vs NHS Fife has rumbled on for a long time and there is no sign of a conclusion. The 312-page judgment sent it into more chaos.


'Detrimental impact': Leaked files show bids to recruit interim HES leader b...
14 Dec 2025 at 5:04am
Angus Robertson's top civil servant blocked moves to recruit an interim leader for Historic Environment Scotland meaning the troubled agency was rudderless for five months, leaked emails show.


Trump is trying to rig the geopolitical game at Ukraine and Europe?s cost
14 Dec 2025 at 6:15am
As talks to secure peace reach a crucial stage, some maintain that Washington is only interested in appeasement of the Kremlin, writes Foreign Editor David Pratt


The ugliest buildings in Scotland? No way. We love them
14 Dec 2025 at 6:35am
Some might say these buildings are among the ugliest in Scotland. But here?s a chance to give them another look, from a different angle, and maybe think again.


Scottish spymaster at heart of Stakeknife scandal living in luxury in south o...
14 Dec 2025 at 6:15am
Our Writer at Large Neil Mackay unmasked IRA leader Freddie Scappaticci as the spy Stakeknife in 2003. As the ?final report? into Stakeknife?s crimes is published, Mackay turns the spotlight on Gordon Kerr, the military intelligence chief whose team ran Scappaticci


'My friend and I used to hike in the Highlands - I fear they'll die in prison'
13 Dec 2025 at 8:59am
A close friend of one of the prisoners currently on hunger strike after being arrested for an alleged Palestine Action protest fears they will die in prison.


Scots college spending £130k flying staff around the world branded 'inappropr...
13 Dec 2025 at 6:30am
A Scots college spending over £100k on international travel for staff has been branded 'totally inappropriate'


?Risk to life?: Letters reveal SNP infighting as rough sleepers face Glasgow ...
13 Dec 2025 at 5:00am
A bitter row has erupted between the SNP Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council over funding for emergency homelessness centres. Letters reveal accusations of life-threatening risk.


Greens call for end to blanket ban on trans people using single sex spaces
13 Dec 2025 at 4:59am
SNP ministers are being called on to bring in policies to help trans people including lifting blanket bans in place on the use of single sex spaces following the ruling in the Sandie Peggie employment tribunal.


Financial abuse of women ?getting worse? as new helpline launches in Scotland
13 Dec 2025 at 5:00am
Financially Included warns economic abuse of women in Scotland is worsening as the charity launches a new helpline to support those leaving abusive situations.

The Scotsman

The Scotsman Politics


Equalities chief says Sandie Peggie ruling shows it is 'very important' to ha...
14 Dec 2025 at 11:39am

The Equality and Human Rights Commission chair also said it is important trans people are not left without any facilities they can use.

A Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) report estimated that outsourcing is draining between £2bn and £3bn every year from Scotland?s public services.

SNP ministers have been told to realign income tax thresholds with the rest of the UK.

Medical professionals warn more needs to be done to help health and social care system cope

Did the justice secretary make a general comment without context, or did she mislead parliament?

Wings over Scotland

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 …

Ain?t Got Time To Bleed
3 Dec 2025 at 8:12pm
It is our solemn duty to inform you we’ve received another legal threat, readers. Should we cease and desist? Let’s see. The article in question is this one, and this is everything it said about Mr McNeil: Only one “statement” is attributed to him – the words “The authorities will be there so we need …

Ginger beer and fruit and nuts
3 Dec 2025 at 1:44pm
We miss the days when this was parody, not “progressive” ideology. ? But we are where we are. And hey, it’s great news that their adult roles are still open to all.

Craig Murray

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

Judicial Malfeasance and Palestine Action
26 Nov 2025 at 2:56am

The Scottish judicial review of the proscription of Palestine Action – funded so far by readers of this blog – has been simply shelved by delay tactics that plainly break the Scottish legal system’s own rules. Our case was ruled competent for us to serve the petition on the UK government. They replied in the …

Judicial Malfeasance and Palestine Action

BBC Scotland

Education Secretary rejects Constance investigation calls
14 Dec 2025 at 1:33pm
The justice secretary is facing a no confidence vote after being accused by opposition MSPs of misleading parliament

Scotland's energy - election common ground or battleground?
14 Dec 2025 at 8:14am
Choices over oil, gas, nuclear and the transition to renewables are to set to feature highly in the debate and battle for votes.

Reform wins first by-election in Scotland
12 Dec 2025 at 4:37pm
David McLennan has been elected as a councillor in West Lothian, taking the seat from Scottish Labour.

No need for Covid measures during flu surge, says care home chief
13 Dec 2025 at 2:26pm
Donald Macaskill, the chief executive of Scottish Care, told BBC Scotland a measured approach was needed.

The nuclear power station on the front line of an election battle
12 Dec 2025 at 6:04am
Scotland's last operational plant, at Torness in East Lothian, is scheduled to cease operating in 2030.

Swinney stands by Constance in grooming gangs row
11 Dec 2025 at 6:30pm
The justice secretary is facing calls to resign after being accused of misleading the Scottish Parliament.

Not proven verdict to be scrapped in new trials from 1 January
11 Dec 2025 at 5:28pm
The historic change to Scotland's legal system will not apply to trials that are already under way.

Police apologise to Tory MSP over 'hate incident'
11 Dec 2025 at 12:45pm
Murdo Fraser had threatened legal action after Police Scotland recorded one of his social media posts.

Biotech jobs boost for Grangemouth site
11 Dec 2025 at 11:27am
Up to 460 roles are expected to be created at the site of the former oil refinery and across Scotland.

'Prisoner release is only a short-term solution'
10 Dec 2025 at 8:33am
Overcrowding problems at Barlinnie Prison's are not likely to disappear due to erly release and the building of new prisons.

Union warns 'inaction' could sabotage shipyard's survival
10 Dec 2025 at 3:33pm
The biggest union at Ferguson Marine warns time is running out to help the yard recover from the ferries controversy.

Pupils needing additional support hits new high of 43%
9 Dec 2025 at 2:02pm
Nearly 300,000 children in Scotland's schools are now listed as needing extra support in the classroom.

Scot Goes Pop

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...

Eurovision and Israel: No More Hiding Places For The BBC
9 Dec 2025 at 8:09am
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...

Nigel Farage's rant about the native languages of Glasgow school pupils revea...
6 Dec 2025 at 7:52am
Today's video commentary below is in two parts.  Firstly, I look at how Nigel Farage's complaint that almost one-third of Glasgow school pupils do not speak English as a native language marks out R...

If Rachel Reeves' rejection of an independence referendum "carries little wei...
4 Dec 2025 at 8:41am
Stephen Flynn has said that Rachel Reeves' rejection of an independence referendum in the event of an SNP overall majority "carries little weight", but if it really doesn't matter what the UK gover...

"Utterly dominant": SNP soar to almost 40% support in latest Scottish subsamp...
3 Dec 2025 at 5:52pm
*  *  *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....

Scot Goes Pop: The Final Fundraiser (plus an update about the video blogging ...
1 Dec 2025 at 6:37am
Click here to go straight to the fundraiser page.Scot Goes Pop's annual fundraiser for 2025 ended up getting much, much closer to its target figure than I ever thought was possible, so a million th...

STV Politics News

Latest Politics News | STV News

Angela Constance summoned to give evidence at committee after no confidence m...
12 Dec 2025 at 5:48pm
Angela Constance has been accused of 'misrepresenting' the views of a leading child abuse expert.

Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf sign motion in solidarity with Palestine Act...
12 Dec 2025 at 5:02pm
Seven prisoners across the UK are on hunger strike.

Scottish Tories request probe into justice secretary Angela Constance
12 Dec 2025 at 12:52pm
Angela Constance has been accused of 'misrepresenting' the views of a leading child abuse expert.

No evidence Scottish child payment really encourages worklessness, study finds
11 Dec 2025 at 6:24pm
The research found deprivation and food insecurity would be up to 9% higher without the benefit unique to Scotland.

Calls for Scottish justice secretary to go over grooming gangs row
11 Dec 2025 at 12:07pm
Anas Sarwar has accused Angela Constance of 'misleading' the Scottish Parliament.

John Swinney to face FMQs as poll shows Reform surging behind SNP
11 Dec 2025 at 11:52am
Polling suggests Reform UK are gaining ground while Scottish Labour?s support has fallen.

Police Scotland apologises to Tory MSP Murdo Fraser over social media post ac...
11 Dec 2025 at 10:30am
A non-crime hate incident was recorded against Murdo Fraser in 2023.

Reform surges behind SNP as Labour support falls, poll shows
10 Dec 2025 at 12:06pm
Ipsos Scotland Political Pulse survey gives John Swinney's party a 17-point lead over Reform UK ahead of next year's Scottish Parliament election.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces PMQs amid calls to ?modernise? ECHR to tack...
10 Dec 2025 at 11:53am
European ministers, including the deputy prime minister, are due to meet in Strasbourg, France on Wednesday.

Former SNP Aberdeenshire councillor defects to Nigel Farage?s Reform UK 
10 Dec 2025 at 10:29am
John Cox previously represented the SNP until 2017.

Ministers burying their heads in sand over ballooning benefits bill, say Tories
10 Dec 2025 at 7:05am
The Tories will lead a debate at Holyrood on Wednesday urging MSPs to tackle the ?crisis? in Scotland?s welfare system.

Burnham on Labour leadership: ?If the call came I?m not going to turn away?
9 Dec 2025 at 4:49pm
In an interview with ITV News, the Mayor of Greater Manchester hinted at a leadership bid after revealing in the Autumn that MPs were asking him to run.

Young people to lose benefits if they turn down work, says minister
9 Dec 2025 at 2:46pm
A jobs guarantee scheme will be launched in central and east Scotland.

Early release of prisoners ?cold comfort? to victims of crime, says justice s...
9 Dec 2025 at 11:10am
The justice secretary said up to 84 criminals will be released early on Tuesday amid attempts to crack down on the growing prison population.

Daily Record

Daily Record - Politics

'Orwellian' live facial recognition cameras 'should not be waved through in S...
14 Dec 2025 at 4:30am
Scots police chiefs went on a fact-finding mission to London last month to learn how the controversial AI-based tech is deployed by the Met.

Nigel Farage hails Reform?s ?fantastic? first ever election win in Scotland
12 Dec 2025 at 3:08pm
Reform emerged victorious in a West Lothian by-election in a breakthrough moment for the party.

Reform UK's first by-election win in Scotland - 10 things you need to know now
12 Dec 2025 at 1:09pm
Nigel Farage is toasting electoral victory in Scotland for the first time.

Reform UK wins first ever by-election in Scotland as Labour pushed into third
12 Dec 2025 at 12:24pm
Nigel Farage's party previously relied upon Tory defectors for its elected representatives.

Sandie Peggie tribunal ruling shows 'incompetence beyond belief', says former...
12 Dec 2025 at 11:59am
EXCLUSIVE: Alex Neil said if he was health secretary he would have ensured the NHS Fife board was sacked for its role in the Sandie Peggie case.

Angela Constance 'credible and competent' insists Kate Forbes amid calls for ...
12 Dec 2025 at 10:47am
The Deputy First Minister defended the Justice Secretary, who has overseen the early release of hundreds of criminals from jail.

Sandie Peggie vows to 'fight on' as nurse confirms she will appeal NHS Fife t...
11 Dec 2025 at 3:34pm
The nurse told a press conference she would "certainly not be giving up this legal fight any time soon".

Sandie Peggie judgement 'made up quote' as tribunal forced to issue correction
11 Dec 2025 at 1:33pm
One MSP said "it's extremely concerning that the Sandie Peggie judgment included a quote that appears to have been completely fabricated".

John Swinney 'defending the indefensible' as First Minister ignores calls to ...
11 Dec 2025 at 12:35pm
Angela Constance will face a motion of no confidence after being accused of misleading the Scottish Parliament.

Sandie Peggie tribunal ruling 'unusual and surprising' claims former UK equal...
11 Dec 2025 at 9:19am
Baroness Falkner said "If you decide that you're providing a single-sex facility, then you cannot allow any biological males into that facility"

The National

The National | Politics

Nato chief was irresponsible to conjure the spectre of war with Russia
14 Dec 2025 at 6:30pm

THE recent comments by Nato General Secretary Mark Rutte which raised the spectre of war between Russia and Nato were in my view very reckless and deeply disappointing.

I stand by my claim the average British voter is lacking intelligence
14 Dec 2025 at 6:30pm

I WAS recently taken to task in these pages for questioning the stupidity of the average voter. This week saw the publication of the World Inequality Report, which reveals that just 0.001% of the world?s population ? fewer than 60,000 people ? hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity.

'Orwellian' facial recognition should not be introduced without Holyrood sign...
14 Dec 2025 at 3:37pm

'Orwellian' facial recognition cameras should not be rolled out in Scotland without Holyrood approval, a civil liberties group has warned

BBC finally responds to criticism of major error during Paisley Question Time
14 Dec 2025 at 1:14pm

The BBC has addressed a major error made during an episode of Question Time filmed in Paisley

Douglas Ross responds to claim he is 'abusing chair position' for political gain
14 Dec 2025 at 12:06pm

Douglas Ross has responded to claims that he was 'abusing his position' as a Holyrood committee convener by taking a pop at SNP MSPs

John Swinney issues statement as at least 12 killed in Bondi Beach shooting
14 Dec 2025 at 11:44am

John Swinney has issued a statement following a terrorist incident at a beach in Australia

New equalities watchdog chair responds to Sandie Peggie ruling
14 Dec 2025 at 10:56am

The new chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has responded to the Sandie Peggie ruling

Palestine protesters to target Scottish League Cup final over Barclays Hampde...
14 Dec 2025 at 10:08am

A pro-Palestine protest is set to take place outside the Premier Sports Cup Final on Sunday

Nigel Farage urged to 'come clean' about Reform UK's unidentified megadonors
14 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

NIGEL Farage has been urged to ?come clean? about several of Reform UK's largest donors ? who are yet to be identified ...

Sandie Peggie judgment 'doesn't necessarily contradict Supreme Court ruling'
14 Dec 2025 at 5:00am

SOCIAL media has been awash with speculation as to the implications of the landmark Sandie Peggie v Fife Health Board ruling this week ...

Holyrood Magazine

Holyrood Website

ScotRail launches new AI announcer
12 Dec 2025 at 2:24pm
ScotRail has?launched a refreshed artificial intelligence (AI) service for onboard announcements

Reform wins first byelection victory in Scotland
12 Dec 2025 at 12:36pm
David McLennan described the victory as a ?vote of faith" in the party

Biotech jobs boost for Grangemouth in ?8.5m fund
11 Dec 2025 at 4:09pm
The Scottish Government has announced funding of ?8.5m to support the creation of up to 460 new jobs at Grangemouth

UK Government partners with Google on AI deal?
11 Dec 2025 at 3:30pm
The UK Government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Google to secure priority access for UK scientists to cutting edge artificial intelligence tools.

Edinburgh University scientists use AI to refine prostate cancer care
11 Dec 2025 at 3:29pm
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have used artificial intelligence to identify negative side effects of radiotherapy in patients who have prostate cancer

John Swinney defends Angela Constance amid accusations she misled parliament
11 Dec 2025 at 1:30pm
Scottish Labour's Anas Sarwar has lodged a motion of no confidence in the justice secretary following a row over Professor Alexis Jay grooming gang comments

Scottish Government cladding levy could harm housing emergency, MSPs say
11 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
Measures to raise improvement funds could hamper development, a committee fears

SNP in lead as Reform gains ground and Labour sees sharp dip, according to poll
11 Dec 2025 at 1:00am
Research?by Ipsos Scotland for STV News has suggested that the SNP will command 35 per cent of the constituency vote

Angela Constance faces calls to resign over Alexis Jay grooming inquiry row
10 Dec 2025 at 6:26pm
John Swinney warned 'he's going to lose his justice secretary'

Australia bans social media for under 16s
10 Dec 2025 at 3:46pm
Australia has enacted a world-first ban on social media usage for those under the age of 16

Guardian - Scottish Politics

Scottish politics | The Guardian

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...

Starmer stands by McSweeney and says he has been ?assured no briefings agains...
13 Nov 2025 at 6:06pm
This blog has now closed, you can read more on this story herePA Media has more on what the monthly performance figures from NHS England show. PA says:The data shows 180,329 people in England had been waiting more than a year to start routine hospital treatment at the end of September, down from ...

Wee Ginger Dug

Wee Ginger Dug

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 …

Starmer?s Labour enables fascism
17 Nov 2025 at 6:58pm
When the race baiting far right criminal Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and the hard right Reform UK are praising Labour’s policies, you know that something has gone profoundly wrong in a party which purports to be on the centre-left. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a set of measures which are aimed at making the lives of …

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'

Not one one report of a flooded home ? I wonder why? Surely not Scottish Gove...
14 Dec 2025 at 12:37pm
Professor John Robertson OBA STV News, almost exactly 24 hours earlier, as I write: Scots homes ‘likely to be flooded’ as amber weather warning for ‘very heavy rain’ issued – The alert comes into effect from midnight on Sunday and remains in place until 11.59pm. The same hopeful claims were everywhere in Scotland’s media with the same optimism, on their part, we see when such NHS waiting times ...

Campus shootings ? how Scotland?s campuses, safest in the UK, could not be re...
14 Dec 2025 at 10:45am
Professor John Robertson OBA Yesterday’s tragic killings at Brown University in the USA are only the latest in a sequence of 43 such incidents. Ironically, in July this year Police Scotland answered a Freedom of Information request from the US Department of Education on crime data for Scotland’s Higher education campuses, in a surprisingly unhelpful way: I refer to your recent request for crime...

Domestic abuse shockingly far more common in England & Wales than in Scotland
14 Dec 2025 at 10:18am
Professor John Robertson OBA There were 30 227 cases of reported domestic abuse in Scotland in 2024-2025.1 All things being equal, you might expect the figure for England & Wales to be around 11 times greater, reflecting a population around 11 times greater – 330 000? In England & Wales in 2024-2025: The police flagged 797,530 offences as domestic abuse-related in YE June 2025, including 623,43...

UK Labour Government to copy SNP policy on specialist rape and sexual offence...
14 Dec 2025 at 9:21am
Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Politics today: All police forces to get specialist sexual offence teams, Mahmood pledges – Specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams will be introduced to every police force in England and Wales by 2029, the government has pledged. It is part of a long-delayed plan aimed at halving violence against women and girls within a decade. In Scotland:...

It may be a different battle for the SNP in the West and South of Scotland in...
13 Dec 2025 at 9:51pm
Professor John Robertson OBA While Scotland-wide polls have Reform UK in second place pushing Labour down into third place and a major loss of list MPSs, this may conceal regional variations and exaggerate their threat in some parts. Only Paris-based, Ipsos, publish regional breakdowns with consistent scientific sampling that can be reasonably compared over time, though limited slightly by a We...

Will we win independence by our own hands or will events happen to us that ma...
13 Dec 2025 at 9:45pm
Important - I offer this as a starter for comment. I'm not, as you may know, an expert in this geopolitical field in any way. Professor John Robertson OBA Fifty years ago, I had to write an essay about the extent to which Karl Marx believed that individuals or powerful forces determined historical outcomes. The above quote, I thought, was a good starting point. I got a low B pass. He seems to b...

Marine economy sees major growth including massive 2 024% increase in turnove...
12 Dec 2025 at 11:27pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From Scotland’s Marine Economic Statistics 2023 published yesterday, the more positive extracts which may well be selectively ignored by MSM. Scotland?s marine economy includes activities dependent on the marine environment. They provide an important source of income and employment across Scotland. Some key points are: In 2023, the marine economy generated £5.6 bill...

US paediatrician repeats warning of the deadly dangers our children face livi...
12 Dec 2025 at 11:24pm
Professor John Robertson OBA In the Salt Lake Tribune, two days ago, we see a local paediatrician warning his community of the dangers nuclear waste storage poses for children, in particular: This represents just another piece of evidence on top of the pile we already have, to expose Scottish Labour’s complacency: UK Labour?s electricity-demanding creature Ed Milliband has clearly seen this: Ro...

?National value destruction? ? a ?masterclass? in causing uncertainty, specul...
12 Dec 2025 at 11:22pm
By stewartb ?Devastating? WoodMac damns governments approach to North Sea?: this was the headline published December 11 by the respected energy news website, Energy Voice.  It comes from its reporting of a new assessment of successive UK governments? approach to the offshore oil & gas assets present on the UK Continental Shelf – assets of course mostly present offshore Scotland. The critique of...

Scotland gets 20 000 new enterprises in last 5 years and more than 110 000 ne...
12 Dec 2025 at 11:21pm
Professor John Robertson OBA From Industry statistics published today, we see significant, 13%, growth in the number of enterprises operating in Scotland, with the majority smaller and owned in Scotland. From the first SNP Government in 2007/2008 to this year, we also see more than 100 000 more in employment, including major growth in life sciences (43%). This evidence contrasts markedly with m...

Scotland and Independence

"scotland independence -guardian" - Google News

Scotland's energy - election common ground or battleground? - BBC
14 Dec 2025 at 8:14am
Scotland's energy - election common ground or battleground?  BBC

SNP remain ahead but Reform support in Scotland rises, while Labour support s...
10 Dec 2025 at 11:00am
SNP remain ahead but Reform support in Scotland rises, while Labour support slumps  Ipsos

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 3:23pm
Scottish independence could 'reduce energy bills by more than a third', First Minister John Swinney says  Sky News

Independence takes lead and Labour support plummets in new Scottish poll - Th...
10 Dec 2025 at 3:50pm
Independence takes lead and Labour support plummets in new Scottish poll  TheNational.scot

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

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  ????? ??????????

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

Nicola Sturgeon insists independence will happen within 10 years as she regre...
14 Dec 2025 at 10:40am
Nicola Sturgeon insists independence will happen within 10 years as she regrets not being honest on currency  Scottish Daily Express

Scottish political snapshot, November 2025 - YouGov
17 Nov 2025 at 8:00am
Scottish political snapshot, November 2025  YouGov

SNP

"SNP" - Google News

SNP remain ahead but Reform support in Scotland rises, while Labour support s...
10 Dec 2025 at 11:00am
SNP remain ahead but Reform support in Scotland rises, while Labour support slumps  Ipsos

News - Tories demand SNP stop secrecy around future farming investment scheme...
14 Dec 2025 at 3:06pm
News - Tories demand SNP stop secrecy around future farming investment scheme  West Coast Today

?It?s Scotland?s energy?: SNP to focus on renewables in Holyrood election - T...
8 Dec 2025 at 7:25pm
?It?s Scotland?s energy?: SNP to focus on renewables in Holyrood election  The Guardian

After the Sandie Peggie debacle, the SNP must get off the fence - The Times
14 Dec 2025 at 6:00pm
After the Sandie Peggie debacle, the SNP must get off the fence  The Times

Exclusive: SNP urged to cut tax for talented overseas workers to 'attract ski...
14 Dec 2025 at 6:00am
Exclusive: SNP urged to cut tax for talented overseas workers to 'attract skills and investment'  The Scotsman

Holyrood View - A difficult time for the SNP in Angus and nationally - AngusW...
14 Dec 2025 at 3:00pm
Holyrood View - A difficult time for the SNP in Angus and nationally  AngusWorld

Scotland's energy - election common ground or battleground? - BBC
14 Dec 2025 at 8:14am
Scotland's energy - election common ground or battleground?  BBC

Ipsos Polling; Labour Collapse, Greens Surge, SNP Hold - Bella Caledonia
11 Dec 2025 at 10:03am
Ipsos Polling; Labour Collapse, Greens Surge, SNP Hold  Bella Caledonia

'Shameful' SNP vote to reject attempts to ban biological men from female toil...
14 Dec 2025 at 3:45pm
'Shameful' SNP vote to reject attempts to ban biological men from female toilets  Scottish Daily Express

Holyrood 2026: SNP retains top spot as Reform surges in poll - The Herald
10 Dec 2025 at 2:41pm
Holyrood 2026: SNP retains top spot as Reform surges in poll  The Herald

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 could 'reduce energy bills by more than a third', First...
8 Dec 2025 at 3:23pm
Scottish independence could 'reduce energy bills by more than a third', First Minister John Swinney says  Sky News

Independence takes lead and Labour support plummets in new Scottish poll - Th...
10 Dec 2025 at 3:50pm
Independence takes lead and Labour support plummets in new Scottish poll  TheNational.scot

Why Alberta?s push for independence pales in comparison to Scotland?s in 2014...
27 May 2025 at 8:00am
Why Alberta?s push for independence pales in comparison to Scotland?s in 2014  The Conversation

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

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

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

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

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

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