The Herald

The Herald | Politics


Prisoner 951: A harrowing account of love triumphing over tyranny
23 Nov 2025 at 10:05pm
Alison Rowat reviews a searing dramatisation detailing Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's imprisonment in Iran under false charges.


Chancellor 'to end two child benefit cap in the Budget' this week
23 Nov 2025 at 10:24am
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to end the two-child benefit cap in her Budget this week, spending £3 billion on scrapping the policy, it is being reported.


Neil Gray criticised over 'shameful' data on NHS 'corridor care'
23 Nov 2025 at 5:30am
Neil Gray has been accused of refusing to publish data on corridor care, with medics warning people were being treated in hallways on a daily basis.


Scotland?s energy future could hinge on Wednesday?s Budget
23 Nov 2025 at 5:00am
Labour faces a pivotal Budget as North Sea leaders warn the Energy Profits Levy is driving jobs, investment and skills overseas.


Political tug-of-war erupts as Mossmorran?s future hangs in the balance
23 Nov 2025 at 4:11pm
The Secretary of State for Scotland has said Mossmorran workers ?deserve better? than the deputy first minister?s ?proposed approach? for the site.


McAllan refuses to pause asylum housing policy despite council chief's pleas
23 Nov 2025 at 6:36pm
Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan has refused to pause a policy on housing asylum seekers despite pleas from Glasgow city council.


Sarwar promises community crime prevention officer in all 355 Scottish counci...
22 Nov 2025 at 3:23pm
Anas Sarwar vows a community and crime prevention officer for every ward as Labour outlines major policing reforms to free frontline officers.


Scottish Labour to create new emergency service for mental health patients
22 Nov 2025 at 12:40pm
A Scottish Labour government would create a new emergency service to ensure people in mental health crisis get urgent and specialist care, Anas Sarwar has said


For Women Scotland condemn transgender prison policy in award win
22 Nov 2025 at 6:00am
For Women Scotland used an award speech at The Herald's Politician of the Year Award to condemn the Scottish Government's policy on transgender prisoners.


Lord Robertson pays tribute to the press as he receives Lifetime Achievement ...
22 Nov 2025 at 5:01am
Lord Robertson of Port Ellen paid tribute to the Scottish press as he was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at The Herald's Scottish Politician of the Year Awards 2025, held in association with ScottishPower.


MSPs demand answers from Robertson over evidence after bombshell email leak
22 Nov 2025 at 5:01am
MSPs are demanding to know why they were not told of key evidence when Angus Robertson appeared before them to answer questions on Historic Enivronment Scotland.


Would Donald Trump use the full might of the US military to remain in power?
23 Nov 2025 at 6:15am
As America?s militarisation under the president grows, so too does concern over where the military would stand if presented with 'illegal orders', writes Foreign Editor David Pratt


'Demise of the Kirk has had negative effect on Scotland. Its values were good...
22 Nov 2025 at 6:30am
'The Church of Scotland has not always in the past been kind to people like me who are Roman Catholics,' says historian Sir Tom Devine but he believes its demise has robbed the nation of a set of values with which to lead a "decent way of life"


IN PICTURES: The Herald's Scottish Politician of the Year Awards 2025
21 Nov 2025 at 12:00pm
A recap in pictures of The Herald's Scottish Politician of the Year Awards 2025, held in association with ScottishPower.

The Scotsman

The Scotsman Politics


Rachel Reeves to pledge millions more Grangemouth funding in Budget
24 Nov 2025 at 12:01am

The Chancellor will promise the money as part of the former oil refinery site?s transition into a green industrial hub.

The Chancellor has also been warned to make ?hard choices? and avoid ?death by a thousand taxes? by one of Britain?s biggest business leaders ahead of Wednesday?s announcement.

The STUC has invited the UK Home Office, Highland Council, the local MP and MSPs, NHS Highland and Police Scotland to a meeting in a bid to ?counter the false narratives permeated by the far right.?

Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan complained her Government had been ?calling for meetings? ahead of the Budget - despite cancelling one on Thursday.

The East Lothian MP said ?workers deserve better? than the SNP?s approach, with the governments arranging rival summits

The Scottish Labour leader said Chancellor Rachel Reeves must bring forward measures which reduce energy costs for consumers and businesses on Wednesday.

The Understanding Scotland Economy Tracker showed that 73 per cent of Scots expect the country?s financial situation to deteriorate in the next year.

Alex Cole-Hamilton blasted the ?woeful? standard of debate in the Scottish Parliament

Social media comments about this festival would have you believe no one wants this - so why is it sold out?

Scots want a UK Budget that stabilises lives, writes Susan Murray

Wings over Scotland

Searching And Looking
22 Nov 2025 at 9:44pm
Disgraced ex-policeman and notorious vexatious serial complainant Lynsay Watson is having quite the meltdown on the groomer-and-paedophile haven Bluesky tonight. Let’s listen in. The trigger is that Watson has been asked to attend a voluntary police interview in connection with allegations of harassment against him – something that’s happened before, and which he’s managed to …

Reach For The Stars (And Stripes)
19 Nov 2025 at 8:49am
To be honest, we’re mainly putting these here so you don’t have to keep looking at that picture of Alan Cumming. But they also show what you can achieve, whether in football or politics, if you actually attack rather than being content to endlessly shuttle it all sideways and backwards until you get beaten without …

Over The Hill And Down The Slope
14 Nov 2025 at 1:15pm
We’ve just been leaked the SNP’s first poster roughs for Holyrood 2026. One more push, everyone!

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 …

Craig Murray

The Beat of the War Drums
20 Nov 2025 at 6:34am

In fascist lockstep, the entire British media, broadcast and print, corporate and state, is leading with a Ministry of Defence press release about a “Russian spy ship” inside “British waters”. No British media appears to have been able to speak to anybody who knows the first thing about the Law of the Sea. Here are …

The Beat of the War Drums

UN Reform and Scottish Independence
14 Nov 2025 at 11:06am

Scottish Independence is an extremely attractive prospect to states at the United Nations, and for reasons that you might not expect. Every state knows that the current UN structure is outdated and indefensible, with five states – US, China, Russia, UK and France – having a permanent seat and a total veto on the Security …

UN Reform and Scottish Independence

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

BBC Scotland

UK and Scottish ministers to hold rival Mossmorran summits
23 Nov 2025 at 4:17pm
The Scottish and UK governments have invited each other to meetings amid confusion over efforts to support the chemical plant.

Call for stronger safeguards in cosmetic treatments law
23 Nov 2025 at 12:40pm
A bill that aims to tighten restrictions on beauty treatments is being scrutinised in the Scottish Parliament.

Scotland cannot rely on migrants to fill social care jobs - Sarwar
22 Nov 2025 at 5:17pm
Anas Sarwar said the UK's "broken immigration system" needed to be fixed, and better wages were needed to attract Scottish workers.

Immigration changes will 'profoundly impact' Scottish care workers
21 Nov 2025 at 2:28pm
The UK government is proposing that workers on post-Brexit health and social care visas wait 15 years before permanent settlement.

Sturgeon excluded ministers from Covid decisions, inquiry says
20 Nov 2025 at 6:32pm
An inquiry criticises the former first minister for making decisions within a small group of ministers and advisers in response to the pandemic.

'This area is really struggling - Mossmorran closure is bad news'
21 Nov 2025 at 6:20am
The closure of the petrochemical plant could hit the already struggling town of Cowdenbeath.

Being a mum is harder than being deputy first minister, says Kate Forbes
21 Nov 2025 at 6:20am
The politician once tipped to be Scotland's leader talks about why she is walking away.

UK government will not change law for more legal drug rooms
20 Nov 2025 at 2:48pm
A committee urged the government to change the legal framework for drug consumption facilities but this was refused.

Plans for flexible four-day week in class for Scottish teachers
20 Nov 2025 at 12:54pm
Two teaching unions are holding strike ballots over how long teachers should spend in the classroom.

Starmer vows support for Mossmorran workers
19 Nov 2025 at 4:10pm
Hundreds of staff have been told their jobs are at risk as ExxonMobil prepares to close part of the site.

Ministers seek major changes to prostitution bill
19 Nov 2025 at 1:13pm
A bill to outlaw paying for sex looks likely to run out of time after ministers voiced concerns.

Scottish government drops heat pumps bill for second time
18 Nov 2025 at 5:08pm
The bill, aimed at driving the move from fossil fuel heating systems, has been delayed until next year.

Scot Goes Pop

"War is not a Hollywood movie. Living, breathing people are the ones who mus...
23 Nov 2025 at 6:23pm
Iuliia Mendel on Twitter: "Every subsequent deal for Ukraine will only be worse ? because we are losing. We are losing people, territory, and the economy.The EU (which by the way has paid Russia mo...

My response to Chris McEleny's allegation that I defamed him in reference to ...
22 Nov 2025 at 4:10am
I received an unsolicited email out of the blue a few hours ago from the Alba Party's disgraced former General Secretary, Chris McEleny, who was sacked and then expelled from the party due to his "...

BREAKING: Stew ducks the debate - it turns out he's NOT a Charlie Kirk type a...
21 Nov 2025 at 4:12pm
After issuing my video debate challenge to controversial blogger Stuart "Stew" Campbell, I said this: "Please do let me know your thrilling excuses for ducking / ignoring this debate challenge at y...

A challenge to Stew: you claim to be a debate-loving Charlie Kirk type, so it...
21 Nov 2025 at 4:16am
Stew on Twitter: "Ultimately this Bindel-Webberley thing is like when I foolishly tried to engage in a debate with James Kelly. Just like him, Webberley doesn't really want to engage and is incapab...

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh: the ego has landed
20 Nov 2025 at 10:07pm
If the history books even bother telling the story of how the Alba Party died, their verdict will probably be a paradoxical one: that the party failed because it was fundamentally un-Salmondite in ...

18th November 2025: WHAT A NIGHT to be Scottish, as the SNP rack up yet ANOTH...
19 Nov 2025 at 6:19am
As you may have seen, The National actually contacted YouGov and asked them for a reaction to my video from Monday, in which I pointed out that they seemed to have suppressed an independence poll i...

Support for independence SURGED in "secret YouGov poll in September" - so why...
17 Nov 2025 at 5:07pm
* .* .*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...

There is a YES MAJORITY in the average of all Scottish independence polls con...
17 Nov 2025 at 5:52am
* .* .*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...

STV Politics News

Latest Politics News | STV News

?Scotland must not be left an afterthought?, Finance Secretary warns ahead of...
23 Nov 2025 at 3:13pm
Robison says Holyrood is 'not happy' after the UK Government failed to hold a meeting with them before the Budget.

Scotland?s Finance Secretary lays out demands ahead of Budget
23 Nov 2025 at 11:18am
Shona Robison urges UK Government to deliver more funding for Scotland?s public services, infrastructure, and cost-of-living support.

Sarwar outlines Scottish Labour plans for mental health emergency service
22 Nov 2025 at 11:57am
The party leader declared Scotland?s mental health services are in 'crisis' and accused the SNP of 'neglect'.

Scottish sport organisations warn they are ?running on empty?
21 Nov 2025 at 4:41pm
Leaders from various sports are calling for urgent reassurances from John Swinney.

Charity ball in Glasgow to honour life of late SNP MSP Christina McKelvie
21 Nov 2025 at 10:51am
The Christina McKelvie Ball is to take place on April 4, 2026 at Hilton Glasgow.

Swinney named as Scotland?s Politician of the Year at awards ceremony
21 Nov 2025 at 8:06am
The SNP leader picked up the top honour, which he had won back in 2009.

Tax the banks to offer £300 energy bill cuts, Reeves urged
21 Nov 2025 at 6:37am
The SNP compared its proposals to the Energy Bills Support Scheme, which provided £400 payments under the last Tory government.

Nicola Sturgeon says ?the buck stopped with me? during coronavirus pandemic a...
20 Nov 2025 at 6:24pm
The former first minister spoke out on Thursday following the publication of the UK Covid inquiry report.

I regret the suffering Covid inflicted, says John Swinney ahead of inquiry re...
20 Nov 2025 at 2:25pm
The First Minister was speaking ahead of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry publishing its report into how governments across the country responded to the virus.

John Swinney at FMQs as hundreds of jobs set to go at Mossmorran plastics pla...
20 Nov 2025 at 11:58am
The First Minister will take questions from MSPs at Holyrood.

Mossmorran ExxonMobil plant ?currently losing £1m a week?, Prime Minister Kei...
19 Nov 2025 at 1:48pm
ExxonMobil announced that it is planning to close its plant in Fife, putting more than 400 jobs at risk.

Keir Starmer faces PMQs after announcing ?sweeping? asylum reforms
19 Nov 2025 at 11:14am
The UK home secretary introduced plans to completely overhaul the UK's asylum and returns policy on Monday.

Russian spy ship on edge of Scotland as defence secretary tells Putin ?we are...
19 Nov 2025 at 10:40am
Defence secretary John Healey directed a message to Putin, stating 'we are ready'.

Swinney warns Starmer and Reeves of ?risks? if Budget fails to end austerity
19 Nov 2025 at 7:06am
Scottish First Minister John Swinney said the ending of austerity was what people are ?desperately seeking?.

Daily Record

Daily Record - Politics

SNP and Labour governments in bitter row over Mossmorran job losses
23 Nov 2025 at 2:47pm
The Labour Government has accused the SNP administration of pushing ahead with their own tasforce, rather than pursuing a "Team Scotland" approach.

Anas Sarwar praises 'brave' Shabana Mahmood over immigration and asylum crack...
23 Nov 2025 at 11:07am
The Scottish Labour leader said action is needed to fix the "broken" immigration system.

SNP-linked whisky distillery in court battle with Alex Salmond's former helic...
23 Nov 2025 at 4:30am
Kate Forbes and Ian Blackford are investors in community-owned GlenWyvis Distillery, which now faces legal and financial worries.

Kate Forbes to hold summit as Scots chemical plant closure puts hundreds of j...
23 Nov 2025 at 4:30am
American energy giant ExxonMobil announced on Tuesday its intention to walk away from the Fife Ethylene Plant in Mossmorran after 40 years.

Labour 'washing their hands' of Scots industrial base while backing other UK ...
23 Nov 2025 at 4:30am
Leading businesswoman Marie Macklin has criticised the lack of action from the UK Government after the announcement that the Mossmorran plant would partially close.

'Obscene' pay of uni fatcat bosses targeted in new proposals before MSPs
23 Nov 2025 at 4:30am
Greens co-leader Ross Greer has tabled amendments to a Scottish Government Bill to curb the earnings of top execs at universities and colleges.

Rachel Reeves to give EV buyers' grant £1.3bn boost in Budget amid pay-per-mi...
22 Nov 2025 at 10:45pm
The Chancellor seems set to boost the scheme that knocks up to £3,750 off the price of an electric vehicle.

Sarwar vows 'big, bold and meaningful change' on the way if Labour wins at Ho...
22 Nov 2025 at 5:50pm
Anas Sarwar outlined the "new ideas, new energy and new solutions" that Labour offers while speaking at a Scottish Labour police conference in Edinburgh today.

Anas Sarwar vows new emergency mental health service if Scottish Labour win e...
22 Nov 2025 at 12:13pm
New Labour plan would put trained professionals, not police, first on mental health emergencies.

Assisted dying terrifies me and MSPs must think again about supporting it
22 Nov 2025 at 4:30am
Writing for the Record, Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy explains why assisted dying proposals leave her terrified

The National

The National | Politics

Scotland?s responses to the Covid pandemic were severely constrained
23 Nov 2025 at 7:05pm

THE publication of the latest Covid Inquiry report has reopened difficult conversations about Scotland?s pandemic response. That scrutiny is necessary. Mistakes were made here, as they were across the UK.

Demise of Mossmorran and Grangemouth should not come as a surprise
23 Nov 2025 at 6:47pm

ON November 22, Kate Forbes?s comments on Mossmorran and indirectly Grangemouth were par for the course. The necessary levers to intervene are held by Westminster. If only we were independent. Starkly missing was how a Scottish Government would intervene and what they would seek to achieve.

'Serious questions' after Swinney told not to raise human rights issues with ...
23 Nov 2025 at 4:43pm

There are 'serious questions' about the Scottish Government?s commitment to promoting human rights after it emerged that officials warned John Swinney against raising US abuses with Donald Trump

5 key points from Cop30 after final deal agreed despite walk-out threats
23 Nov 2025 at 4:05pm

COP30 climate talks in Brazil ended with a compromise that some have criticised as weak, while others called it progress.

Plans lodged for crack down on 'obscene' pay of university principals
23 Nov 2025 at 4:51pm

Propsals have been lodged to crack down on the 'obscene' pay inequality across Scotland's universities and colleges

Labour show 'complete lack of understanding on devolution' in Budget blunder
23 Nov 2025 at 2:55pm

THE Labour Government has been accused of having "a complete lack of understanding about devolution" after making a blunder while defending the UK Budget.

Calls for clarity on who wrote Ukraine-Russia peace plan ahead of crunch summit
23 Nov 2025 at 2:39pm

THE Polish prime minister has said it would be ?good to know? who wrote the plan to end the war in Ukraine, after conflicting reports about who authored it.

Palestine Action ban may wrongly criminalise people, Home Office official warns
23 Nov 2025 at 1:56pm

The proscription of Palestine Action as a terror group may lead to people being wrongly criminalised, a Home Office official has warned

Anas Sarwar defends UK immigration plans that will 'devastate' Scotland's car...
23 Nov 2025 at 11:54am

ANAS Sarwar has been slammed for defending the UK Government?s hostile immigration plans that will ?devastate? Scotland?s care sector.

Labour 'inability' to tackle high energy bills 'can't go on', says Housing Se...
23 Nov 2025 at 11:27am

The UK Government?s ?unwillingness? to tackle rising energy bills ?can?t go on?, Scotland?s Housing Secretary has said

Holyrood Magazine

Holyrood Website

Tories narrowly beat Reform in council by-election
21 Nov 2025 at 3:53pm
This is the closest Reform has come to winning an election in Scotland so far

UK Government launches new AI growth plan
21 Nov 2025 at 12:20pm
The UK Government has launched a new plan intended to boost the growth of the artificial intelligence sector

UK armed forces test drone-destroying laser weapon ?
21 Nov 2025 at 10:34am
The UK armed forces have successfully tested a laser weapons system capable of destroying drones travelling at up to 400 miles per hour

Christina McKelvie Ball announced in memory of late MSP
21 Nov 2025 at 10:29am
The event will raise funds for cancer charities

UK Covid-19 Inquiry: Scottish Government response was 'too little, too late'
21 Nov 2025 at 7:07am
Official probe criticises all UK governments for lack of preparation

Nicola Sturgeon accepts 'mistakes and misjudgements' made during Covid pandemic
20 Nov 2025 at 5:31pm
Deputy first minister Kates Forbes earlier said ministers were ?committed to learning from the past?

Nicola Sturgeon's response to Covid Inquiry report in full
20 Nov 2025 at 5:30pm
Nicola Sturgeon's full response to the Covid Inquiry's?report

First Minister grilled over missing Mossmorran transition plan
20 Nov 2025 at 1:16pm
Conservatives and Greens pile on pressure over future for ExxonMobil workforce

Edinburgh University researchers develop software to make AI 10 times faster
20 Nov 2025 at 12:47pm
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have developed a software system that could allow artificial intelligence systems to operate 10 times faster

Angela Constance not present to answer question on grooming gangs
20 Nov 2025 at 12:00pm
Constance said during a debate in September that the child protection expert did not support further?inquiries?into child sexual abuse

Guardian - Scottish Politics

Scottish politics | The Guardian

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 ...

Scotland plans to issue £1.5bn of its own bonds ? ?kilts? rather than gilts
13 Nov 2025 at 12:48pm
Announcement by first minister John Swinney comes after Moody?s and S&P give country same credit rating as UKThe Scottish first minister John Swinney has said Edinburgh is on track to issue its own government bonds, nicknamed ?kilts?, after the country was given the same credit rating as the UK.T...

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 ...

Wee Ginger Dug

Wee Ginger Dug

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 …

Just get your boots off our necks, Westminster
14 Nov 2025 at 3:23pm
In an interview with The National newspaper, the actor Alan Cumming, who currently hosts the US version of the popular show The Traitors and who is outspoken in his support for Scottish independence, demanded “Get just get your boots off our necks, Westminster.” He made the powerful call for Scottish self-determination in connection with the …

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 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'

As Labour Junior Minister accuses NHS Scotland of ?airbrushing? performance f...
23 Nov 2025 at 7:48pm
Professor John Robertson OBA Michael Shanks MP, now a junior minister for energy has been caught accusing NHS Scotland of presenting statistics in the same way as Labour Wales and Now Labour England do. I doubt he’ll ever feel obliged to apologise. It reminded me of his Rutherglen election campaign in July 2024 where Jackie Baillie accused me of unethical campaigning against him when I dug up a...

?Navy?s secret nuclear pollution hush-up? of tritium that ?smashes into your...
23 Nov 2025 at 12:27pm
Professor John Robertson OBA To add to the detail in the above National/Ferret report on the shocking attempt at a cover-up, the awful scale of WHAT they were trying to cover up. From the Daily Montanan, and covered widely across US media, in September 2025: From the CND, in September 2024: Radioactive air emissions have been increasing year-on-year at Coulport one of Britain?s nuclear submarin...

Falling trend in Scotland with 40% fewer women killed by men in last five ?le...
23 Nov 2025 at 12:05pm
Professor John Robertson OBA According to Homicide in Scotland 2024-25 and its 4 predecessor reports, there were 67 female victims of murder in the last 5 yrs, 40% down on the previous five up to 2019/2020.1 41% (27) were killed by partners or ex-partners, with the remainder primarily by other male relatives or acquaintances. I see no sign of the 39, above. The trend in the last 5 years has bee...

?Whoever saves a single soul, saves an entire world? Scotland?s stricter pand...
23 Nov 2025 at 10:34am
Professor John Robertson OBA I have the above, not from reading scriptures of any religion, though the notion is in more than one, I remember it, I think, from the film ‘Schindler’s List.’ It came into my head after asking the question, in the light of the current and historical attacks on Nicola Sturgeon over her school closedowns and strict face mask-wearing edicts: How many children of schoo...

SNP leader did not just win approval, she delivered more than a thousand fewe...
23 Nov 2025 at 10:05am
Professor John Robertson OBA A regular media mantra is that FM Nicola Sturgeon got higher approval than PM Boris Johnson but that outcomes in terms of Covid-related deaths were very similar. BBC Scotland and the Scottish press feasted greedily on that last point. In an attempt to quickly gather the research on approval ratings, I asked Grok AI: Is there research evidence comparing the performan...

Labour?s price freeze being trumpeted merely keeps rail travellers paying far...
23 Nov 2025 at 9:07am
Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Business today: Rail fares in England next year are to be frozen for the first time in 30 years, the government has announced. The freeze until March 2027 will apply to regulated fares, which includes season tickets and off-peak returns. Scotland only gets a mention to remind us that the freeze only applies in England but there’s no mention that the Scottis...

Scottish teachers have enjoyed by far the best pupil/teacher ratio and conseq...
22 Nov 2025 at 7:21pm
stewartb No less an authority(!) than the UK government on November 13 published this: ?Reporting year 2025: Education and training statistics for the UK.? Among the statistics given for the four constituent nations are pupil:teacher ratios for publicly-funded primary and secondary schools.  See https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-and-training-statistic...

The devolved nations governments were not responsible for delays and mistakes...
22 Nov 2025 at 2:59pm
Professor John Robertson OBA Under pressure to have a bit of time off, I’ve relied on AI for this. If you see any flaws in the report, please let me know. Is there evidence of Dominic Cummings trying to limit the influence of devolved nations at Covid Cobra meetings? Evidence from the UK COVID-19 InquiryYes, there is direct evidence from Dominic Cummings’ testimony to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry (M...

How dare SNP ministers responsible for already giving us the best pay and con...
22 Nov 2025 at 2:23pm
Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald and the Scotsman and Scottish Labour just love the EIS. I was in education for nearly 4 decades. I never did a proper survey but it seemed like there was a lot of moaning going on. I’ve worked in chemical works, a power station, a psychiatric hospital laundry, sawmills and a parks department. It was often difficult – too cold, too hot, smelly, disgusting,...

As with Google and now AI, did Victorians suspect that encyclopaedias would l...
22 Nov 2025 at 9:15am
Professor John Robertson OBA Watching BBC ‘s ‘Have I Got News for You’, last night, there was panel unanimity that, as Ian Hislop put it – ‘AI is strawndnry unreliable.‘ Readers will know that I’ve begun to use it more as a short-cut to finding evidence but that I do worry about the absence of media studies in the core curriculum in schools, to prepare younger, less-experienced, less sceptical ...

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

Scottish political snapshot, November 2025 - YouGov
17 Nov 2025 at 11:03am
Scottish political snapshot, November 2025  YouGov

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

Our Scottish independence convention is one week away. Here's what to expect ...
1 Nov 2025 at 7:00am
Our Scottish independence convention is one week away. Here's what to expect  TheNational.scot

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

Scottish independence paper sets out defence and NATO plans - UK Defence Journal
4 Nov 2025 at 8:00am
Scottish independence paper sets out defence and NATO plans  UK Defence Journal

Believe in Scotland smashes initial fundraiser target as more than £80k raise...
19 Nov 2025 at 5:08am
Believe in Scotland smashes initial fundraiser target as more than £80k raised  TheNational.scot

SNP

"SNP" - Google News

Douglas Alexander blasts SNP Government for 'weaponising' Mossmorran closure ...
23 Nov 2025 at 3:11pm
Douglas Alexander blasts SNP Government for 'weaponising' Mossmorran closure  The Scotsman

Anas Sarwar insists Reform 'can't beat' the SNP as he issues direct plea to G...
23 Nov 2025 at 8:50pm
Anas Sarwar insists Reform 'can't beat' the SNP as he issues direct plea to GB News viewers  GB News

The SNP have crossed the line on abortion - The Spectator
18 Nov 2025 at 3:53pm
The SNP have crossed the line on abortion  The Spectator

SNP and Labour governments in bitter row over Mossmorran job losses - Daily R...
23 Nov 2025 at 2:52pm
SNP and Labour governments in bitter row over Mossmorran job losses  Daily Record

Nicola Sturgeon: I understand why people doubt my ignorance of alleged SNP em...
7 Nov 2025 at 8:00am
Nicola Sturgeon: I understand why people doubt my ignorance of alleged SNP embezzlement  The Guardian

Mairi McAllan 'arrogantly doubles down' on SNP rule guaranteeing migrants a h...
23 Nov 2025 at 12:51pm
Mairi McAllan 'arrogantly doubles down' on SNP rule guaranteeing migrants a home  Scottish Daily Express

The SNP plan for sex-selective abortion - The Critic
18 Nov 2025 at 10:38am
The SNP plan for sex-selective abortion  The Critic

Plaid Cymru and SNP leaders discuss forming 'progressive alliance' - BBC
30 Oct 2025 at 7:00am
Plaid Cymru and SNP leaders discuss forming 'progressive alliance'  BBC

UK government funding for Scotland's fishing industry is an 'insult', says SN...
18 Nov 2025 at 3:32pm
UK government funding for Scotland's fishing industry is an 'insult', says SNP minister Mairi Gougeon  Sky News

'SNP U-turns on heat pumps and burning logs leave Scots householders out in t...
23 Nov 2025 at 7:06am
'SNP U-turns on heat pumps and burning logs leave Scots householders out in the cold'  The Herald

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

Scottish political snapshot, November 2025 - YouGov
17 Nov 2025 at 11:03am
Scottish political snapshot, November 2025  YouGov

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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