The Herald

The Herald | Politics


Scotland?s £1.7bn tax take brings in just £616m as growth stalls
13 Nov 2025 at 12:01am
Scots are paying record levels of income tax ? but thanks to weaker wage and employment growth, Holyrood is seeing less than half the expected benefit.


'Urgent clarity' call as Scotland left out while Labour gifts £500m to Wales
12 Nov 2025 at 4:52pm
The Scottish Government insists it needs ?urgent clarity? from Westminster over whether ministers at Holyrood will receive additional cash after a funding boost of more than £500 million was given to Wales.


Analysis: Supreme Court ruling shows why our coverage was 'absolutely justified'
12 Nov 2025 at 4:18pm
Today's Supreme Court judgment shows why The Herald was absolutely justified in covering concerns around the rules over admissibility of evidence in sexual offence trials.


Humza Yousaf urges Palestine Action de-proscription in Holyrood
12 Nov 2025 at 4:04pm
Speaking at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday afternoon, Yousaf asked the government what action it had taken ?to safeguard the right to peaceful protest?.


Scottish councillor to be hauled before standards watchdog over 'disrespectfu...
12 Nov 2025 at 3:29pm
The complainant alleged that the post was ?disrespectful, discourteous and public criticism of a council officer?.


Police Scotland to record biological sex of all suspects, says Chief Constable
12 Nov 2025 at 2:56pm
Chief Constable Jo Farrell tells MSPs Police Scotland will now record the biological sex of suspects in all crimes and offences.


Donald Trump 'knew about' victims, uncovered Epstein emails suggest
12 Nov 2025 at 2:13pm
The emails are among 23,000 documents released to the House Oversight Committee by Epstein?s estate.


Supreme Court issues landmark judgment on Scotland's rape shield laws
12 Nov 2025 at 10:37am
Supreme Court rules on key Scottish rape trials cases and say changes are required to how evidence is handled in sexual offence proceedings.


Report slams plans to shut top Glasgow sports centre months before Commonweal...
12 Nov 2025 at 5:01am
Report warns closing Glasgow School of Sport would hurt pupils? futures, damage elite sport and widen inequality ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.


Screen Scotland gave £240k to Tom Daley series criticised for Fair Isle mistakes
12 Nov 2025 at 9:59am
Tom Daley?s Channel 4 show Game of Wool was awarded £240,000 by Screen Scotland to promote Scottish culture ? but locals in Shetland say it got Fair Isle knitting wrong, ignored expert advice, and perpetuated basic errors.


Wes Streeting hits out at No 10 source ?nonsense? and denies plot to oust Sta...
12 Nov 2025 at 8:17am
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has dismissed claims he is plotting against Sir Keir Starmer, branding No 10 briefings ?Westminster bubble nonsense?.


Regeneration in Scotland will always start with people, not policy papers
12 Nov 2025 at 11:06am
Mark Armstrong of Collective Communities CIC, explains how half way through its first year, the organisation is proving regeneration starts with entrepreneurs turning ambition into community-led transformation


Highland MP flags 'four times cheaper' cost of heating Westminster office
12 Nov 2025 at 3:02pm
Highland MP Angus MacDonald has challenged the Prime Minister to end the "unfair cost imbalance" between gas and electricity bills which he said was leaving rural customers paying a "disproportionate share for cleaner energy" due to environmental tariffs.


Major Scottish housebuilder blames 'policies in Scotland' as it scales back work
11 Nov 2025 at 5:11pm
Housebuilders say Scottish Government policies are driving them out of the market. A proposed £3,000 levy per home could be the last straw, say developers.

The Scotsman

The Scotsman Politics


Scottish economy 'stuck in doom loop' as low growth weakens tax impact
13 Nov 2025 at 12:01am

The Conservatives accused the SNP of ?choking earnings and growth?

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said John Swinney?s government had ?failed?

The crafts enthusiast has come under fire over ?misrepresentations? in his TV show

Police Scotland chief has admitted there have been ?mixed messages? on gender ID in the past.

The Scottish Conservatives have dismissed them as ?pretend embassies?

There are repeated rumours of a potential leadership challenge - but where does that leave Scottish Labour?

Scottish Labour figures were in dismay when the story about No10 briefing against Mr Streeting broke on Tuesday evening.

Social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville is to lobby the UK government on lifting the two-child benefit cap

Wings over Scotland

Grift Away
8 Nov 2025 at 2:31pm
Oh good, another plan. Just three and a half years to wait. Should we, what’s the phrase, “Save The Date”? Rhetorical question, obviously. If you’re in a hurry, folks, just scroll down to the video and start there, because Believe In Scotland’s latest wheeze to get hold of your folding money and stash it in …

Rise Of The Machine
7 Nov 2025 at 11:49am
It’s Wings’ 14th birthday today, and to be entirely honest with you, readers, like a lot of teenagers we’re having a bit of an existential crisis. It’s quite difficult to see any point in being a Scottish political journalist for the next five years, because it’s just going to be one depressing Groundhog Day after …

How To Create Racists
29 Oct 2025 at 2:36pm
This really is an extraordinary headline, for multiple reasons. Because what actually IS “the rise of Reform”? ? The only thing “the rise of Reform” can possibly mean here is “more and more people choosing to vote for, or express their support for, a particular lawful political party in a democracy”. Why are we supposed …

Great news, everyone!
27 Oct 2025 at 11:04am
We?re important! Something to look forward to there, then.

The Music That Nobody Likes
24 Oct 2025 at 12:42pm
Perhaps the key graphic from last night’s by-election in Caerphilly is this one (green means Plaid Cymru in the context of Wales): In the end, Plaid won pretty comfortably in what had been predicted to be a very tight contest between them and Reform, with a majority of almost 4,000. But Plaid aren’t going to …

The Icarus Folly
22 Oct 2025 at 4:27pm
Last month, when half a football team of armed police ambushed and arrested comedy writer Graham Linehan at Heathrow Airport for a couple of tweets, we said this: Today, even more swiftly than we thought, this happened: Rarely can a hand have been overplayed so badly. Fans of free speech owe a huge vote of …

Courage Calls To None
17 Oct 2025 at 1:24pm
We should point out right at the start that a reader donated £12 back in the summer specifically to send us to Nicola Sturgeon’s book event in Bath last night. We assume it was someone we’d upset in some way. We arrived bang on 6.30, expecting to be among the first on the scene, but …

Your enemy?s mistakes
16 Oct 2025 at 5:03pm
So on the surface level this is just flat-out hilarious. Firstly because, as we showed you yesterday, the “significant proportion of Scotland’s population” which appears to have been won back to the SNP since John Swinney became its leader is… 1%. That’s all their vote has actually increased by as Scottish Labour have haemorrhaged support …

Come On Baby, Let?s Do The Twist
16 Oct 2025 at 11:34am
All of the words you’re about to read below were written by the same person in the last few days. It’s completely verbatim and none of it is taken in any way out of context. It means what it sounds like it means. But even if you’ve got a forehead the size of the “eggheads” …

A Case Study In Delusion
14 Oct 2025 at 1:19pm
Kevin McKenna has a piece in today’s Herald asking the question that is now the core issue for the Scottish independence movement. The short version of the answer is usually attributed to Mark Twain: “It is far easier to fool someone than to convince them that they’ve been fooled”. But that does nothing to explain …

Craig Murray

The Four Mentors of King Charles
6 Nov 2025 at 3:40pm

As Godfather to Prince William, heir to the British throne, Prince Charles chose his close friend and adviser Laurens van der Post. A paedophile. Van der Post raped a 14 year old girl who had been given into his care for the sea voyage from South Africa to London. He then installed her in a …

The Four Mentors of King Charles

UK Government Opposes Application for Scottish Judicial Review of Palestine A...
30 Oct 2025 at 5:27pm

The UK government – in the undistinguished shape of Baroness Smith of Cluny, Labour party hack, youngest daughter of John Smith and Advocate-General for Scotland – has responded to the court in our request for a Scottish judicial review of the proscription of Palestine Action. The Government asks that the judicial review be denied on …

UK Government Opposes Application for Scottish Judicial Review of Palestine Action Terrorist Proscription

Urgent ? We Need a Federal Your Party
29 Oct 2025 at 2:34pm

The draft Your Party constitution is for a highly centralised, London-based party which echoes the Labour Party. It “devolves” – they literally use the word – power from the centre to non-autonomous entities in Scotland and Wales. We need a Federal party – a completely different approach – where authority lies with the members, and …

Urgent – We Need a Federal Your Party

I Have Joined Your Party
27 Oct 2025 at 6:55pm

I am taking the plunge into Your Party. My worries remain about its centralist tendencies and lack of democracy, but I will work against those from within. Your Party is not a unionist party. It does not yet have a policy on Scottish Independence. I shall of course be striving for it actively to support …

I Have Joined Your Party

A Quick Intellectual Canter
20 Oct 2025 at 2:35pm

This is more video of me than anybody would ever want to see, but here are three interviews I did over the weekend. The first covers the legal action against the proscription of Palestine Action, Starmer’s summary courts for peaceful protestors charged with “terrorism”, UK and US efforts to legalise the Israeli occupation of Gaza …

A Quick Intellectual Canter

36 Minute Trials and No Jury ? Starmer?s Fascist Mass Courts
17 Oct 2025 at 9:55am

Those charged with terrorism for supporting Palestine Action will have no jury in trials limited to 36 minutes each, with prison sentences up to six months. These are the plans for Starmer Courts for mass trials of anti-Genocide protestors. The plans are devised by Justice Michael Snow. He is the epitome of judicial prejudice. When …

36 Minute Trials and No Jury – Starmer’s Fascist Mass Courts

BBC Scotland

Police chief says force will always record rapists as men
12 Nov 2025 at 4:28pm
Police Scotland has clarified its policy on how rapes and attempted rapes are registered on its system.

Why Scotland's teachers want 90 minutes back
12 Nov 2025 at 6:28am
Scotland's teachers are preparing to vote on industrial action over workload and time spent in front of pupils.

Early release of prisoners will cause victims anxiety, admits minister
11 Nov 2025 at 5:08pm
The emergency scheme which will see nearly 1,000 inmates freed from Scotland's jails is set to get under way.

Minimum age in assisted dying bill raised to 18
11 Nov 2025 at 2:12pm
MSPs on Holyrood's health committee have backed an amendment to raise the lower threshold from 16.

Breastfeeding rates in Scotland at record high
11 Nov 2025 at 3:02pm
Breastfeeding rates in Scotland are at the highest level since official records began, Public Health Scotland (PHS) data shows.

Sarwar refuses to comment on UK tax hike speculation
10 Nov 2025 at 1:03pm
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has fuelled speculation that she could announce an increase in the Autumn Budget.

SNP take over running of Stirling Council
10 Nov 2025 at 6:08pm
An agreement has also been reached that sees the first Scottish Green join the administration.

Finance secretary may have to 'revisit' no tax rise pledge
9 Nov 2025 at 1:54pm
Shona Robison says the chancellor's Budget decisions later this month could put unforeseen pressure on Scotland's finances.

Alex Salmond died with debts of more than £340,000
7 Nov 2025 at 7:29pm
Insolvency firm Begbies Traynor has named a trustee in sequestration to handle the former first minister's estate.

How Scottish parties will try to maximise election votes in six months
7 Nov 2025 at 6:30am
Opinion polls point to a fifth SNP victory - but a lot could change in six months with parties working flat out for votes.

Whip restored to suspended Labour MP Leishman
7 Nov 2025 at 10:23pm
Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman is returning to the Labour benches after a four-month suspension.

Scottish government reveals plan to reach net zero targets by 2045
6 Nov 2025 at 5:07pm
The route map includes targets to decarbonise building heat systems and phase out new petrol and diesel cars.

Scot Goes Pop

Another week, another majestic SNP lead in YouGov's Scottish subsample
12 Nov 2025 at 2:46am
* .* .*With less than two months of the year left to go, the 2025 Scot Goes Pop fundraiser is still short of its target figure.  If you'd like to help keep the lights on during the several months i...

The Alba Party angrily denies allegations it has illegally nominated by-elect...
10 Nov 2025 at 9:57pm
As you may have seen on The National's website, the Alba Party is belatedly now a McEleny-free zone.  A whole six months after his expulsion from the party, Chris McEleny has been forcibly removed ...

Why the Believe in Scotland plan to win independence could be a GAME-CHANGER
10 Nov 2025 at 7:57am
When I first heard in vague terms what was in the new Believe in Scotland plan to win independence, I was sceptical, and I expected to be even more sceptical once I had read it in full - but I was ...

Are Labour quite sure there are no downsides to going all in on being the par...
9 Nov 2025 at 10:29am
 

A response to Alba man Jim Cassidy's rather cowardly personal attack
8 Nov 2025 at 12:22pm
This is a blogpost I've been meaning to write for a little while, and as my previous post contained yet more allegations about sleaze in the Alba Party, this may be as good a moment as any to do it...

Alba Sleaze Update: Party insider makes explosive allegation that every singl...
7 Nov 2025 at 6:29pm
In my earlier post about the Buckhaven, Methil and Wemyss Villages by-election, I suggested that the fact that Alba were even able to put forward a candidate at all must mean that Chris McEleny has...

SNP stroll to big landslide win in Fife by-election
7 Nov 2025 at 3:33am
It's the middle of the night as I post this, but I'll just briefly give you the by-election result, because it's a second impressive win for the SNP in as many weeks.  I'll also try to make a video...

Stuart Campbell, the restraining order, and the "visibly distressed horse": h...
6 Nov 2025 at 9:07pm
Below you'll find today's *three* tweets about me (heaven only knows how many it is this week so far) from the man who famously "doesn't stalk me" and "barely even mentions me".  Yup, you've guesse...

STV Politics News

Latest Politics News | STV News

Clarity on Government?s stance on Rosebank ?nowhere to be seen?, say Greens
12 Nov 2025 at 6:01pm
The party forced a vote on the issue on Wednesday.

Legislation to strip free bus passes from anti-social youths coming next month
12 Nov 2025 at 5:59pm
Connectivity minister Jim Fairlie confirmed secondary legislation will be laid at Holyrood in December to allow the move.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer ?didn?t authorise attacks on Cabinet members? ami...
12 Nov 2025 at 3:23pm
Starmer said any attack on any member of his Cabinet is 'absolutely unacceptable'.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer to face PMQs amid rumours of leadership challenge
12 Nov 2025 at 11:47am
PMQs will be broadcast from the House of Commons at midday on Wednesday.

Government to reconsider decision to deny Waspi women compensation
11 Nov 2025 at 5:37pm
The decision was made despite a recommendation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman the women should be paid up to £2,950 each.

Angela Constance accused of ?misleading? MSPs after questions on trans prisoners
11 Nov 2025 at 4:01pm
The justice secretary was asked why ministers were defending their policy following a challenge by campaign group For Women Scotland.

Direct ferry trade route between Scotland and Europe could reopen, says minister
11 Nov 2025 at 1:39pm
The Scottish Government has unveiled proposes to reintroduce the route between Rosyth and Dunkirk.

SNP takes control of running Stirling Council
11 Nov 2025 at 12:49pm
The party has pledged to make good on its election promises of tackling anti-social behaviour, better maintaining public spaces and cleaning the city?s streets.  

Record number of Scottish businesses paying real living wage, Swinney says
10 Nov 2025 at 4:33pm
Swinney said the new record means that Scotland has 'proportionately around five times as many real Living Wage employers' compared to the rest of the UK.

Gibb position on BBC board ?untenable?, says Swinney
10 Nov 2025 at 2:31pm
The comments come amid a bias row at the broadcaster which has seen two of its top bosses resign.

Donald Trump threatens legal action against BBC over Panorama speech edit
10 Nov 2025 at 1:57pm
The BBC has said it will ?respond directly in due course?.

Greens to force vote at Holyrood on Rosebank oil development
10 Nov 2025 at 12:00pm
MSPs will have their say in a symbolic vote on the project on Wednesday.

Sarwar pledges new era of regional economic growth if Labour elected
10 Nov 2025 at 6:38am
Anas Sarwar?s claims came as he launched the Muscatelli Report.

Shona Robison may ?potentially revisit? Scottish taxes in response to UK Budget
9 Nov 2025 at 12:34pm
The Finance Secretary said the Scottish Government had a ?very limited? set of levers to respond.

Daily Record

Daily Record - Politics

Glasgow 'grooming gang' victim urges John Swinney to launch child exploitatio...
12 Nov 2025 at 10:00pm
EXCLUSIVE: The young woman has contacted the First Minister directly about her experience.

Hampden to host six matches at EURO 2028 as Scotland in line for £270m econom...
12 Nov 2025 at 8:28pm
The match schedule for the eagerly-awaited tournament has been released.

John Swinney to meet with family of Sheku Bayoh after public inquiry 'collapses'
12 Nov 2025 at 2:03pm
Sheku Bayoh died after being restrained by police in Kirkcaldy in May 2015.

Police Scotland will record the biological gender of sex offenders
12 Nov 2025 at 1:43pm
Jo Farrell said the national constabulary had ensured biological sex was recorded in cases involving rape and sexual offences since 2018.

John Swinney says UK Government 'riven with internal dissent' as Downing Stre...
12 Nov 2025 at 1:12pm
A senior Labour source in Scotland described the row as an "entirely self-inflicted wound".

Wes Streeting accuses Downing Street aides of 'kneecapping' him over leadersh...
12 Nov 2025 at 9:10am
The Health Secretary pushed back hard on claims he would challenge Keir Starmer for the leadership.

Scots tycoons back 'temporary' income tax rise by Labour Government
12 Nov 2025 at 4:30am
Willie Haughey and Tom Hunter offered a measured assessment on speculation Chancellor Rachel Reeves is ready to raise tax.

Glasgow hospitality businesses paying for own street cleaning as city centre ...
12 Nov 2025 at 4:30am
EXCLUSIVE: One senior hospitality figure said they were "shocked" at the decline of the area around Glasgow Central station.

Waspi women could get compensation after u-turn by Labour Government
11 Nov 2025 at 5:21pm
The rethink was announced in the Commons by Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden

Scots prisoners freed early from Barlinnie shout 'liberation' as they describ...
11 Nov 2025 at 3:00pm
Hundreds of inmates will be released early from prisons across Scotland due to serious overcrowding issues.

The National

The National | Politics

Scottish Government investing £73 million into co-hosting Euro 2028
12 Nov 2025 at 8:28pm

The European Championships in 2028 will bring ?very significant? social and economic benefits to Scotland, the First Minister has said

?I can?t take any more of this?: Andrew tells Epstein in newly released emails
12 Nov 2025 at 7:39pm

ANDREW Mountbatten-Windsor told paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell ?I can?t take any more of this?

Public health concerns over toxic lead pollution increase from Stirling factory
12 Nov 2025 at 6:00pm

AN INCREASE in toxic lead pollution from a chipboard factory near Stirling has led to public health concerns ...

Ailing Keir Starmer's resignation is now a matter of when ? not if
12 Nov 2025 at 4:45pm

FOR a team that managed to deliver a landslide General Election win just 18 months ago, Keir Starmer?s top people are astonishingly bad at politics ...

BBC host 'sorry' after letting Labour lord launch 'shameful' attack on Jeremy...
12 Nov 2025 at 3:30pm

VICTORIA Derbyshire has apologised after she failed to challenge a Labour lord when he branded the party leadership under Jeremy Corbyn as "racist, lunatic politicians".

Anas Sarwar silent amid Keir Starmer leadership chaos
12 Nov 2025 at 3:25pm

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has refused to say whether he backs Keir Starmer as Prime Minister amid speculation he may be ousted

Donald Trump 'knew about the girls', Jeffrey Epstein said in 2019 email
12 Nov 2025 at 2:22pm

Donald Trump 'knew about the girls', convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein said in a 2019 email, it has been revealed

UK Government 'gaslighting' Waspi women amid claim 2007 survey is 'new evidence'
12 Nov 2025 at 2:11pm

WASPI women have accused the UK Government of ?gaslighting? them after ministers? claimed a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) survey from 2007 was ?new evidence? in the case.

'Betrayal': Lawyers split with Scottish 'decolonisation' groups in explosive ...
12 Nov 2025 at 1:50pm

LAWYERS for the campaigners hoping to have Scotland ?decolonised? by the United Nations have blasted their clients? ?denial of political reality? as they announced they had been dropped.

Former prime minister Liz Truss backs Twitter/X as BBC replacement
12 Nov 2025 at 1:46pm

LIZ Truss has backed the use of Twitter/X as a replacement news outlet for the BBC

Holyrood Magazine

Holyrood Website

Rape perpetrators will be recorded as male, says chief constable
12 Nov 2025 at 4:00pm
Jo Farrell?set out?the force?s stance during an evidence session in front of the?petitions?committee this morning

Does Anas Sarwar back Keir Starmer, SNP asks
12 Nov 2025 at 3:50pm
Rumours of a plot to oust the prime minister have been reported

Cyberattacks 'costing the UK economy ?14.7 billion' a year?
12 Nov 2025 at 3:29pm
New research published by the UK Government suggests that the average cost of a significant cyberattack for businesses in the UK could be as high as ?195,000

Scottish Public Service Awards 2025 shortlist announced
12 Nov 2025 at 2:56pm
Organisations involved in suicide prevention efforts, raising awareness of sextortion, and social care have all been shortlisted in this year's Scottish Public Service Awards (SPSAs)

UK Government launches new cybersecurity bill
12 Nov 2025 at 10:39am
The bill is intended to strengthen national security and protect growth by boosting cyber protections for the services that people and businesses rely on every day

Derek Harris: ?Space is only hard if you don't have experience?
12 Nov 2025 at 7:00am
When you think of space flight, what do you imagine? For Derek Harris, business operations manager at Skyrora, the answer is Scotland.

Female prisoners ?at serious risk? due to trans policy, MSP warns
11 Nov 2025 at 4:43pm
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the government was ?carrying out assessments across legislation, guidance and policies?

SNP national secretary announced as Hamilton candidate for 2026 election
11 Nov 2025 at 4:35pm
Alex Kerr worked for late MSP Christina McKelvie

Scottish biometrics commissioner launches new strategic plan
11 Nov 2025 at 6:00am
The Scottish biometrics commissioner, Dr Brian Plastow, has launched a new four-year plan to review the use of biometrics by Police Scotland

Lib Dems launch petition to extend ferry compensation
11 Nov 2025 at 12:40am
The Lib Dems argue that many islands and coastal mainland communities are excluded from the Scottish Government?s compensation scheme

Guardian - Scottish Politics

Scottish politics | The Guardian

The Guardian view on Scottish land reform: vast estates remain feudal in scal...
9 Nov 2025 at 5:25pm
Half of the country?s privately owned countryside is held by just 421 owners. New legislation suggests democrats still fear powerful interestsNo other European country has such a narrow base of proprietorship as Scotland. Half of all privately owned rural land is held by 421 people or entities. T...

Nicola Sturgeon: I understand why people doubt my ignorance of alleged SNP em...
7 Nov 2025 at 3:20pm
?Trust me, I had no idea? about potential wrongdoing in Scottish National party, says former first ministerNicola Sturgeon on leadership, scandal and trolling the trolls ? podcastNicola Sturgeon has said she fully understands why many people find it hard to believe she had no idea about alleged e...

Nicola Sturgeon on leadership, scandal and trolling the trolls ? podcast
7 Nov 2025 at 5:00am
In a special, bonus episode of Politics Weekly, Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey sit down with Scotland?s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon for a frank conversation about her time in office and the future of nationalist politics.Nothing is off the table: her leadership, Covid, the gender row tha...

Lammy says he was not ?equipped with the details? when facing questions on mi...
6 Nov 2025 at 5:22pm
This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereDavid Lammy, the deputy PM and justice secretary, has welcomed the fact that Billy Smith is back in custody, but described the spike in release mistakes as ?unacceptable?.According to PA Media, Lammy said:William Smith is back in c...

Met police issue statement with more information about missing Algerian priso...
5 Nov 2025 at 6:18pm
This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereDavid Lammy starts by saying the PM is in Brazil.He says the thoughts of all MPs are still with the victims of the appalling attacks in Huntingdon and Peterborough, where, he says, he was at school for seven years. Continue reading...

Reeves says she should have checked rental licence had been obtained as letti...
30 Oct 2025 at 6:50pm
No 10 releases redacted emails between Reeves? husband and letting agentRachel Reeves? rental error: standards adviser looking at new informationRobert Peston, ITV?s political editor, says he thinks it is a mistake for the Conservatives to be saying Rachel Reeves should have to resign over the re...

MPs vote down Farage?s proposal for UK to leave ECHR ? as it happened
29 Oct 2025 at 5:20pm
This blog is now closed, you can read more of our UK political coverage hereMark Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary and former national security adviser, goes next. He is now a peer, and a member of the committee.He says the deputy national security adviser, Matthew Collins, thought there was ...

Cruise control: could a £5 ?entry? fee help balance Orkney?s needs with touri...
26 Oct 2025 at 7:00am
With tourists outnumbering locals by 20:1, islanders say levy is needed to help protect neolithic sites and maintain public servicesArtisan jewellery, gift and whisky shops crowd the main street of Kirkwall on Orkney. The town even has a new sushi shop, offering bento boxes and matcha cheesecake....

Scotland demands £24.5m from Westminster for Trump and Vance visits
22 Oct 2025 at 10:53am
Treasury says trips were private while Scottish ministers point out US president met Keir Starmer and it had to stump up for extra policingThe UK government needs to ?step up? and reimburse the £24.5m cost of Donald Trump and JD Vance?s recent visits to Scotland, Holyrood?s public finance ministe...

Badenoch accuses Labour of prioritising economic ties with China over nationa...
13 Oct 2025 at 6:22pm
Minister calls Badenoch?s claims about Chinese spy trial ?baseless smears?. This live blog is closedAt the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning the PM?s spokesperson said it was ?entirely false? to suggest the government influenced the collapse of the China spying case because of concerns B...

Wee Ginger Dug

Wee Ginger Dug

No, independence supporters? compaints about BBC bias are nothing like Trump
12 Nov 2025 at 3:01pm
There is certainly no love lost between supporters of Scottish independence and the BBC. It is however egregious I’m-not-a-nationalist-I’m-British bollocks to suggest, as former Labour party hack Carlos Alba writes in Wednesday’s Herald newspaper, that Yes supporters are now on the side of Donald Trump as he threatens the Corporation with a billion dollar lawsuit …

Believe in Scotland?s path to independence, the routemap we need
10 Nov 2025 at 7:25pm
I have previously blogged about my view that the UK is entering a terminal phase crisis which it is unlikely to survive in its current form. The pro-independence campaign group Believe in Scotland is of a similar opinion and believes that this crisis provides Scotland and Wales with a unique opportunity to seize independence and …

Labour?s doomed attempt to paint the SNP as a threat to national security
6 Nov 2025 at 3:34pm
The oil is running out, all the banks will leave, you won’t have a pension, you can’t use the pound, the EU won’t let you back in, and now we have – the SNP are a threat to national security. This wasn’t an off the cuff remark from a harried Labour minister being put under …

The need for iGERS
4 Nov 2025 at 5:13pm
The pro-independence campaign group Believe in Scotland has proposed a replacement for the discredited GERS (Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland) figures which are published every year to the delight of British nationalists up and down the land. These statistics, which as Professor of Accountancy Practice Richard Murphy regularly points out, are based on unreliable and …

Migrant hysteria, the lie driving the rise of the far right
31 Oct 2025 at 6:30pm
The far right is on the rise, and it’s on the rise due to an artificial panic manufactured by rich and powerful interests in order to distract public attention from the greed and avarice of the wealthiest in society, a tiny segment which has hoarded ever greater wealth over the past few decades even as …

Rising support for independence and the end of the so-called Union
27 Oct 2025 at 7:58pm
There have been some mixed messages recently from opinion polling about the SNP’s chances of winning a majority at next year’s Holyrood election. Over the weekend The National published a report of an analysis of recent polling which suggested that the SNP could win a majority in its own right. This contrasts with other polling …

The lessons of Caerffili for Holyrood 2026
24 Oct 2025 at 3:04pm
Some great news from Wales today. Plaid Cymru has smashed over 100 years of Labour domination and swept its way to victory in the Caerffili Senedd by election, taking 47% of votes cast. Although pollsters and bookies had fancied Reform UK to take the seat, in the end, Plaid left Reform in the dust, far …

Starmer needs to learn that Holyrood won?t be pushed around
22 Oct 2025 at 4:25pm
Scotland’s colonial governor, Wee Dougie Alexander, Labour’s answer to the toxic oil slick that is Michael Gove, has said that Westminster would “take an SNP majority at Holyrood seriously” after being pressed by SNP MP Stephen Gethins to respond to Keir Starmer’s recent comment that “if there’s an SNP majority in Holyood, it’s got to …

The short sighted stupidity of Reform UK?s climate denialism
20 Oct 2025 at 3:23pm
A number of recent opinion polls have found that the hard right Anglo-British nationalists of Reform UK are on course to win the next Westminster general election. That alarming prospect is still four years off and it’s entirely possible that Farage’s latest political vehicle will implode before then just as all his other political parties …

England?s identity crisis is Scotland?s opportunity
17 Oct 2025 at 6:34pm
Scotland has an England problem. The largest country in this so-called union is currently in the grip of a strange national psychosis, and has fallen prey to the venomous snake oil salesmen of the English nationalist far right, who offer simplistic and hate filled nostrums for all that ails England, the housing crisis, the cost …

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'

This is a dark, deeply cynical campaign to undermine the SNP based on not one...
12 Nov 2025 at 7:22pm
Professor John Robertson OBA For more than a year now the ‘Scottish’ media have been obsessing over the risk of rape of women by biological males identifying as woman, especially but not exclusively in women’s prisons. They have made much, everything at times, of one case where a biological man, then identifying as a man, was convicted of rape and subsequently identified as a woman with a view ...

A strange kind of non-story that makes you think that the timing of this is a...
12 Nov 2025 at 4:07pm
By Liz S This story was covered in the BBC website on the 11 October 2025. ?Government to rethink rejection of Waspi compensation? It?s a strange kind of non story that automatically did make you think that the timing of this is a tad too convenient what with the Scottish & Welsh elections coming up next year?.. Also with reports that Keir Starmer is currently ?fighting attempts to replace him?...

Why are only the right-wing media making an argument against 300 plus asylum ...
12 Nov 2025 at 2:17pm
Professor John Robertson OBA The news that the 309 young male asylum seekers arriving in Inverness are going to lead to veterans three families being booted out of Cameron Barracks in Inverness is only being covered by the right-wing media. I share the view that these families should absolutely be able to stay but there are other, bigger, reasons too. From BBC Highlands and Islands, 29 Octobe...

Why has J K Rowling never commented on the Darlington Trans Tribunal?
12 Nov 2025 at 12:29pm
Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Alasdair Macdonald and to Liz S for giving me this idea. Has J K Rowling commented on the Darlington NHS trans tribunal? No, J.K. Rowling has not commented on the Darlington NHS trans tribunal as of November 12, 2025.The tribunal involves seven nurses from Darlington Memorial Hospital (County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust) challenging their em...

BBC News Tees loses interest in trans doctor story in one day while BBC Scotl...
12 Nov 2025 at 12:03pm
By Liz S This story is now no longer on the main England page on the BBC website. It is also now the third article on the local news page for the area of Tees?.yesterday it was the second article on that page. Still nothing about it on the main UK page or UK politics page. The front pages of today?s English editions of newspapers on what was the ?closing submissions in this Tribunal case of the...

Rape!!! Glasgow Herald works only to scare women with irresponsible, uninform...
12 Nov 2025 at 11:39am
Professor John Robertson OBA In the Herald, this morning, the above. Two things. One, can it be called just ‘rape’, at this stage unless of course your aim is only to shock as opposed to inform. Second, would a bit of context be useful for readers? This kind of thing? On 25 June 2025, I wrote: The media in Scotland are headlining the increase in recorded cases of rape and attempted rape in Scot...

Reposted as Herald fails to offer context and fails to understand that the su...
12 Nov 2025 at 9:55am

The Darlington ?trans tribunal? is focused on the Nurses and the Trust
12 Nov 2025 at 9:47am
By Liz S BBC website article added on today 11 October. On main England page, it is now the third story, and local news page for Tees, now the second story?.article only added on today 11 October ! It is on the BBC Home page , added today as an article, and already it is the ninth article but it is not on either the BBC UK main page nor is it on the UK Politics page??. The story ? ?Nurses penal...

BBC Scotland fail to find any prisoners ?on the run? and THIRTY times* more a...
12 Nov 2025 at 9:27am
*Three times per capita but it's still 91 of them against only 3 in similar areas Professor John Robertson OBA Yesterday, in the Guardian, the above and: The justice secretary has revealed that 91 prisoners have been released by mistake in England and Wales since April, of whom as many four remain at large. David Lammy gave details in a Commons statement of three mistakenly released prisoners t...

Reposted as Labour panic leads them to try, with vague unconvincing promises,...
12 Nov 2025 at 8:42am

Scotland and Independence

"scotland independence -guardian" - Google News

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

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

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

Scotland casts fresh eye on independence vote as UK's political landscape shi...
24 Oct 2025 at 8:00am
Scotland casts fresh eye on independence vote as UK's political landscape shifts  Courthouse News

Scottish Your Party branch backs independence and federal structure, says mem...
11 Nov 2025 at 3:00pm
Scottish Your Party branch backs independence and federal structure, says member  TheNational.scot

Nigel Farage: Former independence supporter could lead Reform in Scotland - T...
9 Nov 2025 at 8:20pm
Nigel Farage: Former independence supporter could lead Reform in Scotland  The Telegraph

Scottish independence would be a 'win' for Putin, claims UK minister - Anadol...
22 Oct 2025 at 8:00am
Scottish independence would be a 'win' for Putin, claims UK minister  Anadolu Ajans?

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

Forget a new currency. Here's why an independent Scotland must use pound ster...
10 Nov 2025 at 5:07am
Forget a new currency. Here's why an independent Scotland must use pound sterling  TheNational.scot

SNP

"SNP" - Google News

SNP take over running of Stirling Council - Yahoo News New Zealand
10 Nov 2025 at 5:49pm
SNP take over running of Stirling Council  Yahoo News New Zealand

SNP take over running of Stirling Council - BBC
10 Nov 2025 at 6:08pm
SNP take over running of Stirling Council  BBC

Swinney has ?bottled it? on nuclear, Starmer says as he urges SNP to end ban ...
13 Nov 2025 at 12:01am
Swinney has ?bottled it? on nuclear, Starmer says as he urges SNP to end ban  The Independent

SNP government accused of ?squandering? £1bn of taxpayers? money - The Times
13 Nov 2025 at 12:01am
SNP government accused of ?squandering? £1bn of taxpayers? money  The Times

Nicola Sturgeon: I understand why people doubt my ignorance of alleged SNP em...
7 Nov 2025 at 7:51pm
Nicola Sturgeon: I understand why people doubt my ignorance of alleged SNP embezzlement  The Guardian

SNP has bottled it on nuclear, says Sir Keir Starmer, as Wales chosen for new...
13 Nov 2025 at 12:01am
SNP has bottled it on nuclear, says Sir Keir Starmer, as Wales chosen for new site  The Scotsman

SNP oust Scottish Labour to seize control of Stirling Council - TheNational.scot
10 Nov 2025 at 5:15pm
SNP oust Scottish Labour to seize control of Stirling Council  TheNational.scot

SNP takes control of Stirling Council after deal with Greens and Independent ...
10 Nov 2025 at 6:08pm
SNP takes control of Stirling Council after deal with Greens and Independent  The Herald

SNP takes control of Stirling Council administration - The Courier
10 Nov 2025 at 4:24pm
SNP takes control of Stirling Council administration  The Courier

SNP seize control of Stirling Council as opponents savage power-sharing deal ...
12 Nov 2025 at 10:39am
SNP seize control of Stirling Council as opponents savage power-sharing deal  Daily Record

Referendum (Google News)

"Scotland referendum -guardian -telegraph" - Google 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

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

Scotland casts fresh eye on independence vote as UK's political landscape shi...
24 Oct 2025 at 8:00am
Scotland casts fresh eye on independence vote as UK's political landscape shifts  Courthouse News

Forget a new currency. Here's why an independent Scotland must use pound ster...
10 Nov 2025 at 5:07am
Forget a new currency. Here's why an independent Scotland must use pound sterling  TheNational.scot

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

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

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

SNP majority only way to secure second referendum - Swinney - BBC
28 Jul 2025 at 8:00am
SNP majority only way to secure second referendum - Swinney  BBC

One Cause, Many Voices: Scotland?s Divided Independence Movement Strategy - A...
4 Sep 2025 at 8:00am
One Cause, Many Voices: Scotland?s Divided Independence Movement Strategy  Australian Institute of International Affairs