Scotland

John Swinney said this week the SNP doesn’t have a problem with women. I disagree. Of course, some of the unsung founders of the party were women. Some of the party’s strongest and most famous politicians have been women – from Winnie Ewing, Margo MacDonald and Nicola Sturgeon. Yet under the leadership of Nicola Sturgeon, the rights of women in Scotland became conditional on their acceptance of gender identity theory. While the legislation which sought to enshrine this notion in law was struck down by a Scottish court – which agreed with the Westminster government and feminist campaigners that the bill impinged on the rights of women under the Equality

Southside Central is the kind of ward Scottish Labour needs to be winning. It’s in Glasgow, home to significant pockets of deprivation within the Gorbals and Govanhill, and has a substantial population of Scots of Pakistani heritage. If there is a path to a Labour government after the 2026 Holyrood elections, it runs through communities like Southside Central. But Anas Sarwar’s party has been rejected by the voters of this ward in favour of the SNP’s Mhairi Hunter. North East is another ward Labour ought to be winning. Once again, it’s Glasgow, home to high levels of social-rented housing, and contains Easterhouse, whose multiple deprivations and addiction problems famously shocked

Back to Scotland, where former chief executive of the SNP, Peter Murrell, has appeared in court charged with embezzlement. The ex-husband of Dear Leader Nicola Sturgeon was charged in connection with the ongoing police probe into the party’s funds and finances last April – and this morning appeared in Edinburgh Sheriff Court. And now, it transpires, Sturgeon and ex-treasurer Colin Beattie are no longer under investigation by Police Scotland. It’s the latest set of developments in the Operation Branchform investigation, which has limped on for a staggering four years. Speaking outside her Glasgow home today, Sturgeon told reporters it was ‘a day of mixed emotions’, adding: I am completely in

Another day, another poll that shows Reform could, from a standing start, pick up at least 14 seats at the 2026 Holyrood election. Nigel Farage’s party is attracting supporters from all of Scotland’s main parties – 5 per cent of SNP voters are backing Reform while only six in ten Labour voters would get behind the reds again next year – but the Scottish Tories have the most to lose. As Farage’s lot witness a further surge in support north of the border, the Scottish Tories appear set to lose almost 50 per cent of their seats. In short, Scottish voters are opting to support a group with no parliamentary

Scotland’s troubled nationalised shipyard, Ferguson Marine, has failed in its bid to win a crucial order for seven small electric ferries that will operate on Scotland’s west coast, it was announced yesterday. Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), the state body in charge of ferries procurement, says it intends to award the contract for the new ‘loch class’ vessels to Polish firm Remontowa Shipbuilding. A budget of £175 million has been allocated to the build, which will include harbour and shore power upgrades. Six shipyards were invited to tender for the contract, with five returning responses. ‘Bids were robustly assessed against technical and financial criteria, with a 65 per cent/35 per cent weighting,

The Holyrood exodus continues as more SNP MSPs throw in the towel ahead of the 2026 election. While some of the party’s Westminster politicians gear up to contest the next Scottish parliament election, a number of famous faces are stepping down – including one Michael Matheson, who announced on Sunday that he would not be standing for re-election. How very interesting. The SNP’s former health secretary was forced out of his ministerial job after an unedifying few months, where he was accused of using a parliamentary device on holiday and, incredibly, attempting to make taxpayers pick up the tab. After serving in the Scottish Parliament for over a quarter of

Nicola Sturgeon may be leaving Holyrood next year, but the spectre of Operation Branchform isn’t going away any time soon. It transpires that Scotland’s former first minister is still under investigation by the police over the probe into the SNP’s finances and funding – with the four-year investigation running up costs of over £2 million. And it hasn’t wrapped up yet… The SNP’s former Dear Leader and the party’s ex-treasurer Colin Beattie remain under investigation after their arrests in 2023, as the National reports today. Police Scotland told Mr S last October that their probe had finished, adding that: ‘on 9 August 2024, we presented the findings of the investigation