The Herald

The Herald | Politics


131 former Grangemouth refinery workers secure new jobs after closure
by Rachel Keenan
5 Oct 2026 at 6:29pm
Grangemouth refinery closure: 131 of 272 redundant Petroineos workers have found jobs through a skills scheme, Economy Secretary Stephen Flynn confirms.


The SNP's no compulsory redundancy policy doesn't mean no compulsory redundan...
by andrew.learmonth@newsquest.co.uk | Andrew Learmonth
5 Oct 2026 at 5:26pm
Ivan McKee's Holyrood committee remarks prompted a press office complaint ? but with a £4.7bn deficit, a missed workforce target and the IFS urging ministers to consider compulsory job cuts, the SNP's long-standing pledge deserves far more scrutiny.


Wings Over Scotland raises £30k for SNP indyref fund court challenge
by hannah.brown@newsquest.co.uk | Hannah Brown
5 Oct 2026 at 4:29pm
Wings Over Scotland has raised more than £30,000 to pursue a judicial review over how police and prosecutors handled the SNP referendum fund investigation.


Scottish Labour leader urges Swinney to publish long-delayed energy strategy
by Craig Paton
5 Oct 2026 at 3:55pm
Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra urges John Swinney to publish the delayed energy strategy, with plans for North Sea oil and gas, renewables and nuclear.


Swinney stands by claim Scots will 'lose our pensions' because of triple lock...
by andrew.learmonth@newsquest.co.uk | Andrew Learmonth
5 Oct 2026 at 3:41pm
John Swinney has stood by his claim that Scots face their losing pension after Labour scrapped the earnings element of the triple lock.


Glasgow Council fire and rehire threat lifted as all three unions to ballot s...
by andrew.learmonth@newsquest.co.uk | Andrew Learmonth
5 Oct 2026 at 2:55pm
All three unions at Glasgow City Council will ballot non-teaching staff on a new pay and grading deal after Unison ended its holdout, lifting the threat of mass fire-and-rehire dismissals that had loomed over more than 23,000 employees.


Campaign urges ScotRail to drop controversial tender bid
by gaby.mckay@newsquest.co.uk | Gabriel McKay
5 Oct 2026 at 1:50pm
A petition has been launched urging ScotRail to remove a Spanish company which operates in the Occupied Palestinian Territories from the tender process for new trains


Only half of health boards to get in-depth Scotland maternity review visits
by hannah.brown@newsquest.co.uk | Hannah Brown
5 Oct 2026 at 9:45am
Only around half of Scotland?s health boards will receive intensive site visits as part of the country?s independent maternity review, newly published plans reveal.


Report: Swinney?s poverty rhetoric ?increasingly disconnected? from action
by Craig Meighan
5 Oct 2026 at 8:50am
A stark warning Scotland could miss its child poverty target by miles


?I?m left with £100 a month?: Young mums question if working in Scotland is w...
by hannah.brown@newsquest.co.uk | Hannah Brown
5 Oct 2026 at 5:00am
Young mothers in Scotland say childcare costs, inflexible jobs and low pay can leave them questioning whether working is financially worthwhile.


Labour pressed over lack of Scottish Child Payment assessment
by hannah.brown@newsquest.co.uk | Hannah Brown
5 Oct 2026 at 5:00am
The SNP has challenged Labour after ministers confirmed no comparative assessment of child poverty trends has been carried out since the Scottish Child Payment was introduced.


Young people most vulnerable to scams, watchdog report finds
by Kathleen Nutt
5 Oct 2026 at 12:05am
Young people are most at risk of scams, according to a new report by the watchdog Consumer Scotland.


Labour demands Holyrood update as Glasgow fire-and-rehire threat 'back on the...
by Kathleen Nutt
5 Oct 2026 at 12:05am
Scottish Labour is demanding a ministerial statement over a plan by SNP-run Glasgow City Council to fire and rehire thousands of workers amid an ongoing pay dispute.


Conservatives vow to overturn SNP's nuclear 'ban' and bring new reactors to S...
by Lucinda Cameron
4 Oct 2026 at 10:00pm
Conservatives to propose new nuclear energy in Scotland as Andrew Bowie attacks the SNP ban, citing jobs and energy security. Torness extended to 2030.

The Scotsman

The Scotsman Politics


The simple reasons why criminals are so likely to reoffend on release from pr...
5 Oct 2026 at 4:45pm
If we don?t ?aid and abet? prison inmates when they are freed, particularly if this happens unexpectedly early, they may soon revert to a life of crime


Over 1,000 objections to Scottish AI data centre in just 48 hours
5 Oct 2026 at 4:45pm

The planning application, which would create the largest data centre campus in the world, has been branded ?reckless?.

Harriet Cross warned that a UK Government decision to block the fossil fuel projects could drive energy firms out of the country.

Findings expected to be published in July 2027

Conservatives vow to change the law to override SNP ban on new nuclear

Shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie will announce today that a Tory Government would bring in a law to ensure ?no part of Great Britain misses out on plans for new nuclear renewal.?

Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie has written to John Swinney urging him to open a public consultation on the issue.

Political efforts to tackle this need radical change

Wings over Scotland

There May Be Justice
5 Oct 2026 at 12:40pm
In a little under three days, Phase 1 complete. Wings readers: still the best. But what now? A couple of people have asked about the “stretch target” on the website. That was something CrowdJustice asked for and the reason it’s so high is that that figure was our lawyers’ estimate of the total cost of …

The Love Of Big Brother
3 Oct 2026 at 1:24pm
We were trying to work out what this reminded us of. And the answer was in the same place it usually is. It all checks out. The SNP spend their time grooming your children and trying to make basic parenting a crime. They endorse “gender-affirming care” that sterilises them and will stop them ever having …

In The Eyes Of The Law
1 Oct 2026 at 2:15pm
Our fundraiser to bring a judicial review of Police Scotland’s decision not to charge anyone with embezzlement in the case of the SNP’s missing £700,000 indyref fund is now live, and can be reached by clicking on this image, or here. The target of £30,000 represents the cost of the initial application (with contingency for …

Whatever Can Have Happened?
30 Sep 2026 at 1:50pm
Yesterday afternoon John Swinney announced an independent review into the dual roles of Scotland’s main law officers, the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General, which have been a subject of great controversy since the Scottish Parliament was re-convened in 1999. Wings welcomes this development unequivocally, albeit we’re slightly concerned that the former judge leading the …

The Turning Point
28 Sep 2026 at 1:10pm
We don’t have much to say about this graph that it doesn’t say for itself. The arrest of Peter Murrell on 5 April 2023, just a couple of weeks after his wife had realised the game was up and walked away before the cops came round and put a big blue tent up on their …

Cowering From Destiny
24 Sep 2026 at 11:29am
Alert readers will recall that last year the SNP convened a summit in Glasgow for the sole purpose of uniting the nation in preventing Nigel Farage becoming Prime Minister. The party also regularly tells us that to actually achieve independence, support would have to build to an overwhelming consensus into the 60-65% range, rather than …

His Majesty?s Loyal Sabre
21 Sep 2026 at 1:50pm
Funny how people change, isn’t it? That sounds a lot to us like “Bombs Not Bairns”. We watched the first episode of “The Wargame” at 2am this morning (it’s toe-curlingly bad, shot like a soft-focus corporate promo with three-second cuts, constant dramatic music and the politicians delivering wooden press-conference soundbites rather than any sense of …

A Thousand Islands In The Sea
16 Sep 2026 at 1:22pm
We’re getting so much correspondence from Police Scotland at the moment that we’re starting to feel like their guiltily-neglected penpal. This one, though, is slightly more involved than their usual two-paragraph brushoff. Don’t get too excited, though – it amounts to the same thing. This is self-evident gibberish. Nobody was prosecuted, let alone convicted, over …

Fear And Favour
15 Sep 2026 at 1:10pm
This is what it looks like, if you’ve ever wondered. It’s basically the police’s own version of a seven-hour “no comment” interview. Let’s take a moment to remind ourselves of that letter of 20 August, because it was a pretty significant and serious piece of professional correspondence to have been so casually tossed away in …

Like Responsible Citizens Do
14 Sep 2026 at 12:13pm
Given the refusal of Police Scotland to meaningfully answer our questions, we’ve been left with no alternative but to report Nicola Sturgeon for the crime of reset. We’re sure the matter will be handled with the exact same professional diligence and complete and fearless impartiality that it would be for any other accused person. The …

Craig Murray

Fatuous False Flags
2 Oct 2026 at 10:16am

Rather than abandoning the plainly nuts Fairford narrative, Burnham and his government are doubling down on the claim it is an Iranian terror plot. It remains quite possible the men were indeed fuel thieves, simply stealing fuel from farms. They appear to have been equipped for fuel theft and all they were carrying was petrol. …

Fatuous False Flags

Losing My Religion
29 Sep 2026 at 12:07pm

I have lost faith both in Western social democracy, and in the institutions of international law. As both have been fundamental to the work of my life, this is rather a blow as I approach 70. A number of deeply shocking things have happened this past three years, not as extraneous events, but as conscious …

Losing My Religion

Palestine Action Judicial Review
23 Sep 2026 at 4:51pm

On Friday we have our appeal against the suspension of the Palestine Action judicial review in Scotland. Our legal crowdfunder has been closed down by the card processors following Trump’s designation of Palestine Action as a global terrorist organisation. https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/scottish-challenge-to-proscription/dashboard/ If you can, please come to the Court of Session in Edinburgh for 10am. If …

Palestine Action Judicial Review

Four Days in Ekaterinburg
21 Sep 2026 at 1:26pm

I was surprised a few weeks ago to get an invitation from Yana Lantratova, Russian Federal Commissioner for Human Rights, to deliver a speech on human rights to the International Youth Festival in Ekaterinburg. It is approaching 20 years since I was last in Russia, and I tend to avoid invitations from governments. But on …

Four Days in Ekaterinburg

Dishonesty and Deceit
7 Sep 2026 at 7:31pm

UPDATE We got an expedited date to “reclaim” (appeal) against the suspension of the case, on 25 September. We shall also be reclaiming against the decision not to send the case straight to the Inner House. All parties seemed to agree there may just be time, if our appeal is successful, to finish the Scottish …

Dishonesty and Deceit

Nonsense Drones and Novichok
3 Sep 2026 at 2:14pm

Europe urgently needs to re-establish access to Russian oil and gas. Gas prices are high – as all UK energy consumers know – and German gas storage is at a record low for September. Gulf production is degraded, supplies are cut off and its long-term strategic stability undermined. German manufacturing already suffered a 9.5% production …

Nonsense Drones and Novichok

BBC Scotland

Glasgow City Council and Unison reach agreement in pay and grading row
5 Oct 2026 at 4:23pm
The local authority says this means it will not consider dismissing and rehiring its staff.

Radical change needed to cut Scottish child poverty, says charity
5 Oct 2026 at 6:35am
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation says Scotland is on course to miss legally-binding poverty targets "by a wide margin".

Scottish Tory leader Findlay says SNP's indy 'obsession' is dangerously irres...
4 Oct 2026 at 2:10pm
Russell Findlay tells the Conservative Party's UK conference that breaking up the United Kingdom would be "a gift to our enemies".

Grangemouth firm took £1m of public money months before closure announcement
2 Oct 2026 at 4:59pm
Syngenta says it will pay back the Scottish Enterprise funding in full if operations cease at its Grangemouth site.

No more cereal at the end of the aisle? New rules in Scotland's supermarkets
2 Oct 2026 at 11:47am
Restrictions are being put on products with high sugar, fat and salt content, but the meal deal lives on.

PM warned Rosebank oil field could breach West Bank sanctions
1 Oct 2026 at 7:38pm
Campaigners and Green Party leader Zack Polanski raise concerns about Rosebank's ties to an Israeli firm.

Asylum hotel's contract to be cancelled this year, says MP
1 Oct 2026 at 5:18pm
The Cladhan in Falkirk was the site of demonstrations last summer involving pro and anti-immigration group.

Doctors say radical plan to merge Scotland's health boards should be scrapped
1 Oct 2026 at 3:08pm
BMA Scotland says there is no evidence that reducing the number of health boards from 14 to two will improve patient care.

Bullying claims a 'work of fiction', Labour MSP Monica Lennon says
1 Oct 2026 at 4:11pm
The Glasgow politician has described allegations about her as a "media hit job" and "vexatious".

Moray councillor continues to carry out council duties after moving to Egypt
1 Oct 2026 at 11:37am
Independent councillor Neil McLennan has held a seat in the Buckie and Findochty ward since May 2022.

Glasgow City Council begins fresh pay talks with union and Gilruth
1 Oct 2026 at 12:39pm
On Wednesday a council statement said talks had broken down and suggested Unison members could face being sent letters over fire and rehire.

More than half of Scotland's universities spend more than they earn - report
1 Oct 2026 at 9:43am
The situation could get worse if expected income from international students does not arrive, a new report says.

Scot Goes Pop

Watch out for ORCS! Rory Stewart thrillingly brings back "The Middleland", by...
4 Oct 2026 at 3:29pm
An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.*  *  *If you'd like to help Scot Goes Pop to continue, please check out my Ko-Fi pa...

Burnham's TIME-BENDING hypocrisy: "It's fine for us to consider overturning t...
1 Oct 2026 at 1:35am
An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.*  *  *If you'd like to help Scot Goes Pop to continue, please check out my Ko-Fi pa...

Burnham uses the loss of his father as an excuse for stripping Scotland of it...
29 Sep 2026 at 7:00pm
An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.*  *  *If you'd like to help Scot Goes Pop to continue, please check out my Ko-Fi pa...

Is Robin McAlpine hallucinating, or is he trying to gaslight us?
26 Sep 2026 at 2:06am
An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.*  *  *If you'd like to help Scot Goes Pop to continue, please check out my Ko-Fi pa...

YouGov MRP mega-poll shows SNP on course to hold the BALANCE OF POWER at West...
24 Sep 2026 at 2:58pm
An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.*  *  *If you'd like to help Scot Goes Pop to continue, please check out my Ko-Fi pa...

HUGE milestone for Scottish independence as TENTH Norstat poll in a row shows...
22 Sep 2026 at 8:29pm
An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.*  *  *If you'd like to help Scot Goes Pop to continue, please check out my Ko-Fi pa...

WHO KNEW that the Brit Nats would be SO triggered by the mere idea of a total...
21 Sep 2026 at 2:16pm
An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.*  *  *If you'd like to help Scot Goes Pop to continue, please check out my Ko-Fi pa...

Labour slump to THIRD PLACE in Scottish subsample as Burnham's YouGov horror ...
16 Sep 2026 at 1:53pm
An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.*  *  *If you'd like to help Scot Goes Pop to continue, please check out my Ko-Fi pa...

STV Politics News

Latest Politics News | STV News

Swinney?s poverty rhetoric ?increasingly disconnected? from action, report warns
5 Oct 2026 at 12:07pm
In a highly critical report, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation warns the Government is on course to miss its legally-binding child poverty targets

Swinney announces £1m funding boost to help get low-income parents into work
5 Oct 2026 at 11:11am
The initiative will help parents on low incomes with travel costs linked to jobs, interviews and training

Minister announces 250 NHS placements to help tackle poverty
5 Oct 2026 at 8:03am
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the NHS will offer a ?real route out of poverty?.

SNP independence talk ?dangerously irresponsible? in volatile world, says Rus...
4 Oct 2026 at 7:27pm
The Scottish Conservative leader spoke at the Tory party conference in Birmingham on Sunday

Kemi Badenoch says she won?t let FMs of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland ...
4 Oct 2026 at 5:31pm
The Conservative leader made the comments during the first day of her party's conference in Birmingham

Kemi Badenoch says the Union is ?not safe? in Labour?s hands
2 Oct 2026 at 4:38pm
The Conservative leader believes Labour has taken Scotland closer to having more independence referendums

Serious concerns over Scottish Government plans to move social care under NHS...
2 Oct 2026 at 10:08am
Swinney stated in Holyrood that the NHS should be given greater control over social care to help free up hospital beds

Monica Lennon says ?hit job? bullying allegations have left her ?distressed?
1 Oct 2026 at 5:22pm
The Labour MSP has denied accusations she has bullied four former Labour staff members.

Swinney faces FMQs following Burnham speech and fire-and-rehire row
1 Oct 2026 at 2:01pm
The First Minister will take questions from opposition MSPs at Holyrood from 2pm

Flynn says failure of Alexander Dennis furlough scheme ?deeply disappointing?
30 Sep 2026 at 7:31pm
Economy Secretary Stephen Flynn said it was not possible to pay out £4m of cash from a furlough scheme set up by the Scottish Government.

Swinney to consider more powers for police to curb masked youths on e-bikes
30 Sep 2026 at 4:29pm
The First Minister was told communities are ?crying out for action? to tackle youths who ride the vehicles with their faces hidden

Anas Sarwar says Andy Burnham?s Swinney comments weren?t an attack at Labour ...
30 Sep 2026 at 11:58am
The former Scottish Labour leader also admitted he had failed in his bid to become First Minister, but has a new focus now

Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell?s legal aid withdrawn
30 Sep 2026 at 10:46am
The Scottish Legal Aid Board confirmed it has withdrawn funding for Murrell, who was sentenced for embezzlement in June

?Absolutely not? a link between Lord Advocate review and Murrell case ? minister
30 Sep 2026 at 8:47am
The independent review will be led by Lord Boyd

Daily Record

Daily Record - Politics

Fire and rehire dropped at Glasgow City Council as Unison agrees to ballot me...
5 Oct 2026 at 3:20pm
Glasgow City Council bosses and Unison have been at loggerheads after local authority chiefs threatened to adopt Tory-style fire and rehire tactics if a deal could not be reached.

Wings Over Scotland smashes fundraising target for judicial review of Operati...
5 Oct 2026 at 2:30pm
Wings Over Scotland managed to raise more than £30,000 via an online crowdfunder in just three days.

'I have nothing to explain' John Swinney rejects accusations he misled Holyro...
5 Oct 2026 at 1:05pm
The First Minister has faced calls to "correct the record" and told he was "peddling misinformation" after suggesting older people will lose out as a result of Andy Burnham's plan to scrap the trip...

Scotland must 'recommit' to eradicating child poverty, John Swinney told
5 Oct 2026 at 12:43pm
EXCLUSIVE: The new leader of Scottish Labour is pushing for the establishment of a cross-party group with the aim of cutting child poverty in half by 2030.

'Absolutely shocking' number of Scots children living in poverty as SNP on co...
5 Oct 2026 at 4:30am
A leading anti-poverty charity has warned that SNP plans to slash health boards and centralise local government could "distract" politicians from "the glaring need to improve the lives of children ...

Half of Scots wild swimming hotspots breached pollution standards in 2026
4 Oct 2026 at 4:30am
Bathing locations like Portobello beach in Edinburgh and Lower Largo in Fife were found to have unsafe levels of 'faecal bacteria' such as E.coli.

Ex-FM Jack McConnell accuses SNP of ignoring 20 years of warnings on 'botched...
4 Oct 2026 at 4:30am
His Labour administration devised the Curriculum for Excellence which McConnell says the SNP then turned into a 'wishy washy mash'.

Crisis-hit Glasgow City Council shells out £55m in sick pay to staff in just ...
3 Oct 2026 at 4:30am
Labour warned the huge bill was "another warning sign that something is seriously wrong with the way the SNP administration is managing Glasgow?s workforce".

Andy Burnham urged to take control of troubled Scots steelworks and save jobs
2 Oct 2026 at 10:44am
The Dalzell plate mill in Motherwell has lain idle for more than six years with staff furloughed or employed on a care and maintenance basis.

'Desperate' John Swinney 'misrepresenting' Andy Burnham over pensions triple ...
1 Oct 2026 at 4:26pm
The Prime Minister used a landmark speech in Liverpool this week to announce he would modify the device used to calculate the annual increase to the state pension.

The National

The National | Politics

John Swinney should not be focusing on whether the UK rejoins the EU
5 Oct 2026 at 8:53pm

HAS John Swinney forgotten about fighting for Scotland?s right to choose its own future, as recently voted for in the Scottish Parliament? Now, once again, he is begging for the Westminster English parliament to vote to rejoin the European Union. Why? Because it is the best thing for Scotland, as he continues to remind us.

Labour MPs report Green party to police over 'Zionism is racism' policy
5 Oct 2026 at 6:06pm

MORE than a dozen Labour MPs have reported the Green Party to Sussex Police and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) over its "Zionism is racism" policy

Does the UK media have a fear of addressing Welsh constitutional change?
5 Oct 2026 at 5:46pm

QUESTIONS about armies and Russia put to the Welsh First Minister reflect the media's 'fear' of constitutional change, an expert has said

Tory plan to cut Scotland's powers poses a question Andrew Bowie cannot dodge
5 Oct 2026 at 5:44pm

THE Tories are finished tip-toeing around the edges, it seems ...

Fury as London could step in to set Stormont budget amid deadlock
5 Oct 2026 at 5:41pm

A STORMONT budget being set in London would be a ?profound failure? by both the Executive and the UK Government, Opposition leader Matthew O?Toole has said ...

Tories will cut Scottish Government's planning powers, senior Conservative pl...
5 Oct 2026 at 4:14pm

A TORY-RUN UK administration would cut the Scottish Government's powers over planning ...

Scottish mum calls for change after addiction devastates three generations of...
5 Oct 2026 at 9:30am

A SCOTTISH mother has spoken out about the devastation of losing her son to addiction in a bid to get more support for families

What happens next? Judges hear new bid to block Drumcree march
5 Oct 2026 at 3:26pm

NORTHERN Ireland?s Parades Commission failed to ?properly weigh? what police told it about the potential for disorder if the Drumcree parade was given the go-ahead, Court of Appeal judges have been told

Majority of UK voters see AI as a 'force for bad', major poll reveals
5 Oct 2026 at 3:25pm

THE majority of people across the UK view artificial intelligence (AI) as a force for bad, according to a major new poll ...

Unison agrees to take new Glasgow council pay deal to members after negotiations
5 Oct 2026 at 3:09pm

Union leaders have agreed to take a new pay deal from Glasgow City Council to their members later this month, following intensive negotiations involving the council and Scottish Government

Holyrood Magazine

Holyrood Website

John Swinney: 'I've nothing to explain to parliament' over pension comments
5 Oct 2026 at 4:09pm
John Swinney has been called on to "correct the record" and accused of "peddling misinformation" over his reaction to the comments made about the scrapping of the triple lock

Charity warns of ?increasing disconnect? over Scottish Government poverty action
5 Oct 2026 at 8:16am
JRF calls for 'radical action' for children

John Swinney accused of ?misrepresenting? Andy Burnham?s plans on pensions
1 Oct 2026 at 6:00pm
The first minister said pensions were 'under attack' as a result of the decision to scrap the triple lock

John Swinney: Jagtar Singh Johal release is a ?significant step?
1 Oct 2026 at 5:33pm
Death penalty threat remains despite bail, family warns

Monica Lennon says bullying claims are 'a work of fiction'
1 Oct 2026 at 1:05pm
Lennon is reported to have been accused of bullying by a number of former members of staff

?Slow pace? warning over Scottish Government offshore wind supply chain progr...
1 Oct 2026 at 8:00am
Stephen Gethins defends scheme's performance as watchdog report is published

Scottish Green MSP calls for rejection of data centre at former nuclear plant
30 Sep 2026 at 3:22pm
Plans lodged for south of Scotland facility

Scottish biometrics commissioner renews live facial recognition call
30 Sep 2026 at 12:47pm
Legislate now, Brian Plastow urges ministers

Ex-Arnold Clark boss calls for action over cyber attacks
30 Sep 2026 at 11:49am
Scottish Parliament event hears of 'significant' harm

Scottish Government announces review of law officers
29 Sep 2026 at 5:03pm
First Minister John Swinney informed the Scottish Parliament that the review will be chaired by Lord Boyd of Duncansby

Guardian - Scottish Politics

Scottish politics | The Guardian

UK politics live: Pat McFadden tells Labour activists they should not defend ...
27 Sep 2026 at 6:11pm
Work and pensions secretary says the current system is flawed because it consigns too many people to a life on benefits when they would be better off working?I can deliver?: Burnham pledges radical change on eve of Labour conferenceKuenssberg puts it to Burnham that, according to the Health Found...

New powerful synthetic opioids behind sharp rise in Scottish drug deaths
23 Sep 2026 at 2:12pm
Eleven per cent increase in fatalities last year partly down to presence of nitazenes in Scotland?s illicit drug marketNew forms of a powerful synthetic opioid have contributed to a sharp rise in Scottish drug deaths, with the latest data showing an 11% increase in fatalities last yearAnnual figu...

Scottish Labour?s new leader backs Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gasfields
19 Sep 2026 at 1:52pm
Michael Marra supports development of the North Sea sites, calling for a ?more rational? approach to energy policyScottish Labour?s new leader Michael Marra has backed the development of the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gasfields in the North Sea in one of his first acts after being elected, call...

Planning permission for new Scottish AI datacentres suspended for up to a year
16 Sep 2026 at 7:28pm
MSPs vote for strict environmental impact assessments and will delay decisions until national strategy is developedHolyrood has voted to pause planning applications for all new AI datacentres for up to a year until the Scottish government has developed a national strategy.On Wednesday, MSPs backe...

UK politics: Farage hints that Reform?s £72m donations may not be legal under...
14 Sep 2026 at 6:04pm
In an interview about the donations, he said they are compliant with the law ?today?Andy Burnham has cancelled engagements today and tomorrow following the death of his father Roy, who was suffering from Alzheimer?s, the Press Association reports.Burnham has spoken about his father?s illness whic...

Westminster?s time is coming to an end, say first ministers of UK?s Celtic na...
14 Sep 2026 at 2:21pm
Leaders in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland discuss independence and call for constitutional change at summitWestminster?s time is coming to an end, the first ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have said at a summit aimed at putting the UK?s Celtic nations on the path to indepe...

UK politics: Andy Burnham pressed on borrowing costs and spending at first PM...
2 Sep 2026 at 5:36pm
Burnham faced questions from Kemi Badenoch and other MPs amid speculation over budgetIn the news release to mark the first anniversary of his election as the Green party?s leader, Zack Polanski highlighted what he described as 10 achievements during his first year in charge. For the record, this ...

Swinney sticks with pledge to cap prices on basic foods in Scotland
1 Sep 2026 at 5:52pm
First minister sets out his government?s agenda and defends policy described by industry groups as a ?potty gimmick?John Swinney insisted on Tuesday he still planned to introduce a legally binding price cap on bread, milk and other essential food items in Scotland despite fierce opposition from f...

Tuesday briefing: Scotland has promised on violence against women ? can it de...
1 Sep 2026 at 6:46am
In today?s newsletter: First minister John Swinney has pledged to put an end to violence against women and girls. But can he turn ambitious laws into real change?Good morning. Violence against women and girls, in all its myriad forms ? physical and mental, blatant and insidious ? is a global chal...

Channel 5 drama to examine how Nicola Sturgeon?s estranged husband stole SNP ...
26 Aug 2026 at 2:00pm
To Nicola, Love Peter will focus on couple?s relationship during 12-year period of embezzlement and fallout of caseChannel 5 is reuniting with the producers of Power: the Downfall of Huw Edwards for a drama about how Nicola Sturgeon?s estranged husband embezzled £400,000 from the Scottish Nationa...

Wee Ginger Dug

Wee Ginger Dug

Labour?s gone from jam tomorrow to maybe jam eventually
5 Oct 2026 at 9:43am
One of the key promises of the Labour party in Scotland during the 2024 Westminster general election campaign was that a vote for Labour was a vote to save the jobs of the workers at the Grangemouth refinery which at that time was threatened with closure. As we all know, the refinery closed despite Labour’s …

Burnham pensions off two Better Together arguments
2 Oct 2026 at 12:41pm
One of the ways in which the Better Together campaign won the referendum in 2014 was to successfully scaremonger Scotland’s pensioners into believing that their state pensions would not be safe in an independent Scotland and that Scotland’s pensioners needed Westminster to guarantee their meagre state pensions. There were even disgraceful reports of Better Together …

Hysterical history revisited
1 Oct 2026 at 1:09pm
This is a revised version of a piece first published on this blog way back in April 2014, but I’ve republished it as it has become relevant again. Former Tory MP and erstwhile Conservative leadership candidate Rory Stewart’s unionist propaganda thinly disguised as a BBC history documentary, broadcast back in March and April 2014 during …

Burnham?s crude emotional manipulation reveals the poverty of Westminster?s case
30 Sep 2026 at 3:50pm
The only living politician mentioned by Andy Burnham during his jam tomorrow speech to the Labour party conference was John Swinney, and that was only in order to take a nasty, underhanded and emotionally manipulative dig at the First Minister in which Burnham linked the ‘hurt’ he’d felt at John Swinney calling him the last …

Hopey change and changey hope: Burnham?s conference speech
29 Sep 2026 at 3:35pm
Andy Burnham has given his first speech to the Labour party conference as Prime Minister. The speech was a whole lot of jam tomorrow, hopey change and changey hope. The only real difference from Starmer is the mood music, the substance remains much the same. Good vibes but little in the way of a concrete …

The threat to Scotland from the British far right remains urgent
28 Sep 2026 at 6:14pm
I’m still struggling to walk following the recent fall and have developed a massive bruise on my left leg. Due to the pain I’m not sleeping well, but things are definitely going in the right direction. It’s the Labour party conference this week. Delegates are basking in the relief that comes from having rid themselves …

What happened to the old consensus on an indyref trigger?
25 Sep 2026 at 6:57pm
I was supposed to have been going to Lochgilphead today to do an event for Aye Fyne, but here I am at home nursing a very painful ankle and hirpling gingerly about the house – but only when I have to – I’m trying to keep off my foot as much as possible. There has …

Illiberal and undemocratic, the Lib Dem and Labour approach to indyref2
23 Sep 2026 at 1:22pm
I don’t normally mention the Lib Dems in a blog piece, for much the same reason that I don’t mention the Monster Raving Loony Party, because they’re irrelevant, although unlike the Monster Raving Loony Party they are also insufferably self-important and talking about them only encourages them. However Tuesday’s vote in Holyrood on the inalienable …

The settled will of the people of Scotland is for a second indyref
22 Sep 2026 at 1:51pm
As far as wanting another independence referendum is concerned, Scotland is definitely in settled will of the people territory. A new poll carried out by Norstat for the campaign group Believe in Scotland has found that 55.6% of Scots want another referendum within the next ten years while a further 12.6% believe there should be …

Err a Marra oan ra barra
20 Sep 2026 at 12:12am
I’m typing this in bed. Yesterday I had a nasty fall. Due to the stroke in 2020, I have very poor sensation and no spatial awareness in the left side of my body. This means I only know where my left foot is if I am looking at it. Yesterday when navigating some steps in …

The Courier

[CaRP] Can't open remote newsfeed [403].
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

BBC Scotland News team revealed as ignorantly using a statistically invalid c...
5 Oct 2026 at 4:25pm
From BBC Scotland today: In 2017, MSPs passed a law requiring ministers to hit four targets, external, including pushing the share of children in relative poverty below 10% by 2030. But the JRF’s Poverty in Scotland report, external found the figure remained stubbornly high, averaging 21% from 2022 to 2025. The UK average is 28% Why is it wrong to compare the percentage of children in poverty i...

BUY ONE ATTACK ON SCOTLAND, GET ONE FREE
5 Oct 2026 at 4:24pm
By Mark E. Saunders of ?The Scottish Minuteman? https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 Here we go again! Apparently, the evil nasty Scottish Government Ministers are about to ?hammer hard-up Scots? because certain multi-buy offers are being banned. However, as usual when these ?SNP BAD? stories hit on our screens, a quick Google search explains what is actually happening. Price...

After years of Conservative and Labour government, child poverty will entrap ...
5 Oct 2026 at 4:21pm
From the Joseph Rowntree Trust in 2025: Projected child poverty rates by January 2029: Nation Then-current rate used Projected by Jan 2029 Scotland 23.7% 21.8% England 30.8% 31.5% Wales 32.3% 34.4% Northern Ireland 25.5% 26.2% These are shocking gaps. The English and Welsh figures are 44% and 58% greater respectively. Also, remember, even the crude gaps of around 10% and 14% with England and wi...

As the media in Scotland wallow in the mire just how impressive is the Scotti...
5 Oct 2026 at 4:20pm
It has attracted strong praise from respected poverty experts, with some describing it as exceptional even by European standards. These are among the strongest attributable statements: Figure Quote and context Professor Danny Dorling, University of Oxford The David Hume Institute reported in August 2023 that he described the payment as creating ?the biggest fall in child poverty anywhere in Eur...

English drug dealers help flood Scotland with heroin and cocaine
5 Oct 2026 at 4:17pm
The above was in the Daily Record yesterday. Where are UK drug dealers ‘Thickboar‘ and ‘Octo-hand’ from? They are cousins from Merseyside, in the Liverpool area in England. Stephen Earle (EncroChat handle ?Octo-hand?) is reported as being from Huyton (one later report says Crosby). His cousin Terence Earle (?ThickBoar?) operated with him from Merseyside. They trafficked heroin and cocaine betwe...

Russell Findlay has a ?dangerously irresponsible? obsession with the UK State
5 Oct 2026 at 4:16pm
By Liz S Tory HQ Puppet , the irrelevant Russell Findlay, has been mouthing of again on his favourite subject, Scottish independence. The BBC (of course) have an article where it states: ?Scottish Tory leader Findlay says SNP?s indy ?obsession? is dangerously irresponsible?. Well one could say that Russell Findlay, as a Tory, has an obsession with the UK State and that is, for Scotland , a posi...

?Horrifying? scale of child-on-child sexual abuse in schools cannot be confid...
5 Oct 2026 at 9:18am
In the Guardian today: Lawyers and campaigners have condemned the ?horrifying? scale of child-on-child sexual abuse in schools after a Guardian investigation revealed thousands of sexual offences against under-13s, including multiple rapes, are reported to police every year. Close to five sexual crimes against children aged 12 and younger were recorded on average by police every day in primary ...

With Glasgow Central at 1 458th in the table, the safest railway stations are...
5 Oct 2026 at 8:20am
The Guardian today has: ?The violence is off the scale?: staff and passengers at risk as assaults on trains in Great Britain soar to record high – Cases of abuse, spitting, head-butting and sexual harassment, have spiked as transport police numbers have dwindled. I can find no directly comparable figures for rail travel in Scotland but in February 2025, I found this: With Glasgow Central at 1 4...

Scotland?s predicted child poverty will perhaps be ?missing a legally binding...
5 Oct 2026 at 7:43am
and the Scottish Government’s on course to miss legally binding targets to cut poverty ‘by a wide margin.’ That’s come from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s annual report. Child Poverty is not headlining on any of the other BBC News websites. Only James Cook is on it. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has not reported separately on child poverty this year in any of the other UK nations despite it ...

A colonial instrument visually subordinating Scotland
4 Oct 2026 at 5:13pm
From rtpscott today, in Talking-up Scotland: Speaking about papers there is a picture of the UK in the Sunday (Yoon) Paper today which is more or less brushing Scotland out. The GMB‘s Rhea Wolfson or the Sunday Post‘s Derek Healey are by no means obvious candidates for the accusation of being anti-Scotland, so I have to think they did not see the graphic before it ‘went to press.’ I have to thi...

Scotland and Independence

"scotland independence -guardian" - Google News

Scotland has right to decide constitutional future, new Scottish Labour leade...
22 Sep 2026 at 8:00am
Scotland has right to decide constitutional future, new Scottish Labour leader says  BBC

Scottish independence referendum not on the table, minister insists after Bur...
4 Oct 2026 at 9:15am
Scottish independence referendum not on the table, minister insists after Burnham?s Brexit pledge  The Independent

Leaders of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland unite for self-determination - A...
14 Sep 2026 at 8:00am
Leaders of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland unite for self-determination  Al Jazeera

Scottish independence - Politics.co.uk
4 Oct 2026 at 5:36pm
Scottish independence  Politics.co.uk

PM Andy Burnham says second Scottish independence referendum remains 'off lim...
10 Sep 2026 at 8:00am
PM Andy Burnham says second Scottish independence referendum remains 'off limits'  BBC

Labour minister says 'I wouldn't link' Scottish independence with Brexit redo...
5 Oct 2026 at 1:22am
Labour minister says 'I wouldn't link' Scottish independence with Brexit redo  The National Scot

Scots Tory leader to decry independence and FM?s summit with Sinn Fein - Lond...
5 Oct 2026 at 2:14am
Scots Tory leader to decry independence and FM?s summit with Sinn Fein  London Evening Standard

'Andy Burnham could blow Scottish indy out of the water - if he does this one...
2 Oct 2026 at 5:05pm
'Andy Burnham could blow Scottish indy out of the water - if he does this one thing'  heraldscotland.com

Reform MSPs walk out of parliament in protest against independence debate - BBC
22 Sep 2026 at 8:00am
Reform MSPs walk out of parliament in protest against independence debate  BBC

Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland to demand UK allow independence referendum ...
13 Sep 2026 at 8:00am
Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland to demand UK allow independence referendum  The Jerusalem Post

SNP

"SNP" - Google News

Wings Over Scotland raises £30k for court challenge over SNP referendum fund ...
5 Oct 2026 at 8:56pm
Wings Over Scotland raises £30k for court challenge over SNP referendum fund  The National Scot

The Scottish Government's no redundancy policy doesn't mean no redundancies -...
5 Oct 2026 at 8:36pm
The Scottish Government's no redundancy policy doesn't mean no redundancies  heraldscotland.com

Tories vow to change law to override SNP on new nuclear power - The Scotsman
5 Oct 2026 at 6:10pm
Tories vow to change law to override SNP on new nuclear power  The Scotsman

SNP wants a debate on new powers to tax alcohol, tobacco and vaping - The Times
5 Oct 2026 at 2:52pm
SNP wants a debate on new powers to tax alcohol, tobacco and vaping  The Times

From reactive to proactive care: The I-SNP difference - McKnight's Long-Term ...
5 Oct 2026 at 6:00pm
From reactive to proactive care: The I-SNP difference  McKnight's Long-Term Care News

Scottish Tory leader Findlay says SNP's indy 'obsession' is dangerously irres...
4 Oct 2026 at 11:11am
Scottish Tory leader Findlay says SNP's indy 'obsession' is dangerously irresponsible  BBC

Ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell's legal aid withdrawn after embezzlement...
30 Sep 2026 at 11:30am
Ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell's legal aid withdrawn after embezzlement conviction  Sky News

?Unfair parcel delivery charges must be tackled?, a Highland MSP has demanded...
5 Oct 2026 at 2:46pm
?Unfair parcel delivery charges must be tackled?, a Highland MSP has demanded  Ross-shire Journal

SNP leader says Fife 'deserves better' than Tory councillor living 200 miles ...
5 Oct 2026 at 5:18pm
SNP leader says Fife 'deserves better' than Tory councillor living 200 miles away  Dunfermline Press

Wings Over Scotland raises £30k for SNP indyref fund court challenge - herald...
5 Oct 2026 at 8:59pm
Wings Over Scotland raises £30k for SNP indyref fund court challenge  heraldscotland.com

Referendum (Google News)

"Scotland referendum -guardian -telegraph" - Google News

Wings Over Scotland raises £30k for SNP indyref fund court challenge - herald...
5 Oct 2026 at 8:59pm
Wings Over Scotland raises £30k for SNP indyref fund court challenge  heraldscotland.com

Leaders of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland unite for self-determination - A...
14 Sep 2026 at 8:00am
Leaders of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland unite for self-determination  Al Jazeera

John Swinney aiming for independence referendum by 2031 - BBC
14 Sep 2026 at 8:00am
John Swinney aiming for independence referendum by 2031  BBC

Wings Over Scotland raises £30k for court challenge over SNP referendum fund ...
5 Oct 2026 at 8:56pm
Wings Over Scotland raises £30k for court challenge over SNP referendum fund  The National Scot

Scottish independence referendum not on the table, minister insists after Bur...
4 Oct 2026 at 9:15am
Scottish independence referendum not on the table, minister insists after Burnham?s Brexit pledge  The Independent

Scottish Tory leader Findlay says SNP's indy 'obsession' is dangerously irres...
4 Oct 2026 at 11:11am
Scottish Tory leader Findlay says SNP's indy 'obsession' is dangerously irresponsible  BBC

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland leaders unite behind independence push f...
14 Sep 2026 at 8:18pm
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland leaders unite behind independence push from UK  courthousenews.com

Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish leaders unite in push to leave UK - ABC Ne...
14 Sep 2026 at 8:00am
Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish leaders unite in push to leave UK  ABC News & Headlines ? Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland voice united calls for independence and ...
15 Sep 2026 at 8:00am
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland voice united calls for independence and a return to the EU  eunews.it

Scotland has right to decide constitutional future, new Scottish Labour leade...
22 Sep 2026 at 8:00am
Scotland has right to decide constitutional future, new Scottish Labour leader says  BBC