Scotland

Oh dear. If Scotland’s former Dear Leader thought she could have an interview about her legacy that didn’t touch on the question of putting male rapists in women’s prisons she was sorely mistaken. Nicola Sturgeon has come under fire for a promotional clip ahead of tonight’s ITV interview with the ex-SNP leader. In the clip, the former FM is quizzed on her gender reform bill and the scandal that saw the double rapist Isla Bryson – born Adam Graham – initially housed in a women’s prison. And yet despite the outrage the case provoked, Sturgeon still couldn’t bring herself to call Graham a man in her latest TV interview. Some

Kate Forbes’s announcement on Monday that she would be standing down as an MSP next year caught most people – her political allies, former backers, current colleagues – by surprise. She decided to make her intentions clear a few days prior to her attendance at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, where she was set to be interviewed by the Herald newspaper. But the timing of the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP’s exit news also coincided, incidentally, with Storm Floris hitting the UK. ‘At about 11 a.m., just after making the news, the power went off completely,’ she confessed to Thursday’s audience. The Wi-Fi broke, a mobile phone mast went down, and

Nicola Sturgeon may be stepping down as an MSP next year, but that doesn’t mean she’s done with Scottish politics. Instead it seems like her 32-year-old mini-me, Màiri McAllan, is being primed by the former first minister and her allies to become the party’s future leader. The remarkable similarities between the pair suggest Sturgeon sees a little of herself in McAllan, who also signed up to the SNP at the age of 16, went on to study law at the University of Glasgow, and caught the attention of a first minister before her career took off. Although she remains relatively unknown outside SNP and media circles, Sturgeon’s protégée and former special adviser is racking

While the Supreme Court in April backed the biological definition of a woman, it would appear that in Scotland the ruling hasn’t yet been taken into account. Women’s rights campaigners have taken aim at an Edinburgh Fringe venue – Underbelly Bistro Square – for allowing biological men to use women’s toilets. Dear oh dear… The venue has been accused of breaking the law, after it added a disclaimer below the female bathroom sign – which told attendees to ‘use whichever toilet best fits your identity or expression’. While the men’s toilets featured a similar note, the cubicles themselves were reportedly still labelled ‘gents’. This is despite the Supreme Court ruling

Senior Tories are floating the idea of an electoral pact with Nigel Farage’s Scottish outfit It’s not a good time to be a Scottish Conservative. While the SNP has seen a bounce in the polls – despite the infighting that followed Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation and the Operation Branchform police probe – the Tories and Labour have both suffered from a surge in support for Reform UK north of the border. Scottish Labour is projected to lose Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) but ultimately it is the Tories who look to be hit the hardest. It is the fear of an electoral wipeout next year – and projections that suggest

Tumult, turmoil, chaos: select as appropriate how best to describe the last two years for the Scottish National party. Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation, the infighting that followed and the infamous Operation Branchform police probe caused public trust in the party of government to plummet. Fast forward through the gaffe-a-day leadership of Humza Yousaf and current First Minister John Swinney has managed to regain control somewhat, with the SNP noticing a turnaround in the polls and projected to become the largest party in Holyrood next year.  Yet while it has been suggested that the nationalists could pick up a third of the vote, this is some way off a majority. The worry

Donald Trump touches down in Scotland today on what is ostensibly a private visit to open an 18-hole golf course dedicated to his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born on the Isle of Lewis. The State Visit isn’t until September. But Police Scotland aren’t taking any chances. Trump will be pursued by a ragged coalition of Scottish Green Party activists, Pro-Palestinian groups and trades unionists Around six thousand officers, including many drafted in from across the UK, will be on duty as the US president perambulates around his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and the Menie Estate near Aberdeen, pursued by a ragged coalition of Scottish Green Party activists,

When nurse Sandie Peggie complained about the presence of a trans-identifying man in the women’s changing room at Falkirk’s Victoria Hospital, she was treated as a dangerous bigot. A witch-hunt saw her suspended from the job to which she had devoted thirty years of her life and she faced horrifying allegations of placing patients in danger. Today, Peggie is not only a household name in Scotland, she’s fast becoming a national hero. An industrial tribunal called by the nurse – started in February, paused, then resumed last week – has heard how doctors and management turned on her while rallying round Dr Beth Upton, a man who claims to be

As the 2026 Holyrood election looms, parties are scrambling to get their candidate lists finalised. Today the Scottish Greens have released their regional list names – with some rather interesting selections amid party splits. One of the most significant decisions sees the current MSP for the North East region, Maggie Chapman, demoted on the list as her rival Guy Ingerson secures the top spot. While Chapman is second on the list, party insiders have admitted they are not expecting to elect two MSPs in the area – which would mark the end of the eco-activist’s five-year career in frontline politics. Attempts were made to oust outgoing co-leader Patrick Harvie from

On 18 September 2014, Scotland went to the polls to decide its future in the United Kingdom. While the outcome was decisive – 55 per cent of voters couldn’t bring themselves to back independence – the turnout for the poll, at 85 per cent, was one of the highest recorded in Britain. The significance of the ‘one-off’ vote (plus anxieties on either side of the debate about the outcome coming down to the wire) saw full-throated campaign efforts deliver a swathe of voters to polling stations. A number of these were under 18-years-old, including me – with my birthday falling just six days before the poll. It was the 2012

The trials of Sandie Peggie are a parable of where power lies in a country when lies are power. Peggie is a nurse from Fife, by all accounts a hard-working professional dedicated to her vocation and her patients. Things went awry, however, when she objected to undressing in a changing room in front of Dr Beth Upton, a male medic who identifies as a woman. If that sentence sounds absurd, that’s because it is, but we are supposed to pretend otherwise – especially if we want to be considered good people. Dishonesty is the best policy. Following a complaint from Dr Upton, Peggie was suspended by NHS Fife in January 2024, and she took the health

The Sandie Peggie case against NHS Fife is only getting stranger. The tribunal resumed on Wednesday morning, after first being heard in February after nurse Peggie lodged a complaint of harassment related to a protected belief under the 2010 Equality Act after being suspended for complaining about sharing a changing room with a transgender doctor. Just weeks after the case adjourned, the Supreme Court backed the biological definition of a woman – and just this week Peggie’s lawyer announced NHS Fife had cleared Peggie of all gross misconduct allegations. Now those present have witnessed another baffling twist –the senior diversity officer who gave advice that allowed a transgender medic into

To Scotland, where the nurse at the centre of a trans tribunal against NHS Fife has been cleared of all gross misconduct allegations. On Tuesday night, Sandie Peggie’s lawyer said that the health board had cleared the nurse of four gross misconduct allegations – following Peggie’s suspension in January 2024 after complaining about sharing a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton. Peggie then lodged a complaint of sexual harassment or harassment related to a protected belief under the 2010 Equality Act while earlier this year Dr Upton had made an allegation of bullying and harassment against the nurse. The case regarding single sex spaces was heard for ten