Scotland

Monday

Stewart McDonald

Can the SNP bounce back before 2026?

SNP conferences of late haven’t been what they were in the aftermath of the 2014 referendum. Gone are the days when a carnival atmosphere ensued. That’s for the best. Those times felt like our conference was on loan to an impatient ‘Yes’ movement rather than a conference of the party of government, focused on ensuring good public policy choices and Scottish self-determination.   But absent too from the weekend’s 90th annual conference was the miasma of despair that hung over us as the Sturgeon-Salmond feud gathered pace. Even last year in Aberdeen during Humza Yousaf’s first and last gathering as leader, uncertainty lingered heavily. Now, after the storm of the election and with a leader who commands the confidence of the membership, the air has cleared, and it feels like SNP conference is

Euan McColm

How Creative Scotland was corrupted by gender ideology

Loath as I am to indulge in the national pastime of Scottish exceptionalism, we do pretty well when it comes to producing writers. From the mainstream to the fringes, and across the world, many key literary figures were born, or are based, north of the border. Creative Scotland is over. The organisation has managed to make itself hated by both politicians and artists. It exists only to feed itself and its infantile staff  There are the commercial giants. JK Rowling, whose Harry Potter and (as Robert Galbraith) Cormoran Strike books show her dizzying talent for making the epic deeply personal. Ian Rankin, whose knotty Rebus novels are more a chronicle of the

Steerpike Steerpike

Will the SNP team up with ‘awful’ Alba?

The SNP’s 90th party conference has finally wrapped up in Scotland, after the Nats spent a long weekend discussing their flailing party’s fortunes. Support for the party has been on the decline since the pandemic, with its latest leader John Swinney presiding over a rather disastrous general election result that saw his party left with just nine seats. And now, in a bid to stop the ‘fragmentation’ of the nationalist movement, some in his group have even suggested breaking bread with their rivals… Pete Wishart, the SNP’s longest-serving MP and former Runrig band member, made the rather curious suggestion at the weekend that his group should work with former first

Philip Patrick Philip Patrick

Scottish Nats still haven’t worked out why they lost

Unlike a slightly more high-profile reunion event, the ticketing website for the Scottish referendum tenth anniversary show is not expected to crash. But there will no doubt be much looking back in anger at the IMAX theatre at the Science Centre in Glasgow on 14 February as ‘the stars’ (it says) of the 2014 referendum gather to ‘reflect’ on the defining moment in their lives and ‘outline their hopes for the future’.   In a fine Scottish tradition, they clearly still see themselves as the moral, if not actual, victors of 2014 The headliner (surprise, surprise) is Alex Salmond, who will be in discussion with STV political journalist Bernard Ponsonby. From the flyer,

Sunday

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

This could be the first right-wing Scottish Tory leader in years

The Scottish Conservative leadership election is now Russell Findlay’s to lose. The West Scotland MSP has secured three big endorsements: former Scottish Secretaries Lord Forsyth and David Mundell, and shadow Scottish Secretary John Lamont. It means all five Scottish Tory MPs support his campaign, alongside 12 MSPs, two council leaders and leading party donors Alasdair Locke, Alan Massie and Robert Kilgour. Right-winger Forsyth has an op-ed in today’s Scottish Mail on Sunday hailing Findlay’s ‘courage, competence, conviction and compassion’ and predicting that his leadership would see the Tories shift focus to ‘the real day-to-day concerns of every voter’. Left-winger Mundell believes Findlay has ‘the life experience’ and skills to win back ex-Tories

Friday

Steerpike Steerpike

Police probe senior civil servant over Salmond inquiry

As the SNP conference weekend kicks off, another Scottish story is starting to take shape. It has emerged that detectives north of the border are now investigating allegations that a senior civil servant gave a false statement under oath to an inquiry into sexual misconduct allegations involving Alex Salmond. Edinburgh’s Court of Session was informed today that Police Scotland is now looking into the Scottish government’s head of cabinet, parliament and governance, James Hynd, as part of the investigation entitled Operation Broadcroft. Good heavens… Ex-SNP leader Salmond is taking legal action agains the Scottish government – with the former FM alleging ‘malfeasance’ by civil servants and seeking ‘significant damages’. Salmond claims

Iain Macwhirter

John Swinney is leading the SNP to oblivion

As the SNP gathers for its conference in Edinburgh this weekend, its membership nearly halved from a peak of 125,691, there is a palpable sense of confusion and drift, laced with anxiety for the future. ‘Horsed’ is how the former SNP MP Stewart McDonald describes the SNP’s likely fate at the 2026 Holyrood election unless something serious is done to arrest the party’s electoral decline. But the SNP is without answers and most importantly without a credible leader after last month’s general election disaster. How, after losing 39 of the 48 seats it won in 2019, is John Swinney still in charge? The SNP makes no apologies for overspending McDonald says the First

Thursday

Christopher Akers

Scotland has failed Andy Murray

So much for building upon the legacy of the nation’s greatest ever sportsman. There will be no tennis balls hit at a proposed £20 million sports centre close to Andy Murray’s hometown of Dunblane, after the cancellation of the tennis star’s project this week. More than a decade of wrangling, planning system headaches and complaints about development on green belt land conspired to end the ‘legacy’ project, led by Judy Murray. It’s game, set, and match for the naysayers.  The Park of Keir site was meant to have 12 tennis courts, a six-hole golf course and four-star hotel, along with a museum and restaurant. The idea was to celebrate the

Steerpike Steerpike

Starmer snubs No. 10 Thatcher painting

Well, well, well. It seems Sir Keir Starmer wasn’t exaggerating about his ‘change’ agenda. It now transpires that the new Prime Minister has taken it upon himself to redecorate parts of No. 10 – and has reportedly gone so far as to remove a portrait of Margaret Thatcher from Downing Street. Talk about a Labour takeover… The rather curious report comes after Sir Keir’s biographer Tom Baldwin was interviewed in Scotland, at Glasgow’s Aye Write summer book festival. The Gordon Brown-commissioned picture, funded by an anonymous donation that covered its £100,000 price tag, is the first painting of an ex-PM ever to be requested by No. 10 – yet despite

Wednesday

John Ferry John Ferry

The SNP can only blame itself for its budget mess

Higher-than-expected public sector pay deals, social security reform and the SNP’s freeze on council tax have all contributed to putting pressure on the Scottish government’s budget, according to a new report from Scotland’s fiscal watchdog.  In a statement accompanying its latest fiscal report, the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) seems keen to remind Scots that the Scottish government bears most of the responsibility for the budget challenges it now faces. ‘While UK government policies contribute to the pressures on the Scottish budget, much of the pressure comes from the Scottish government’s own decisions,’ says the SFC. The SFC did not set out to put a spanner in the works of the SNP’s grievance machine but has

Saturday

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

The Scottish Conservatives leadership race is surprisingly interesting

Something interesting is happening in the Scottish Conservative leadership election, and while I appreciate you might be sceptical about the juxtaposition of ‘interesting’ and ‘Scottish Conservative’, there is a certain dynamic at play. Unlike the race for UK Tory leader, the contest is not between left and right, for there isn’t really a right to speak of in the Scottish Tory party. Nor is it a battle between reform and the status quo, for all three candidates are chirping incessantly about ‘change’. The real dynamic is insiders versus outsiders. Russell Findlay is not a central casting Tory I’ve written about this in an essay in the Mail today, but I

Friday

Steerpike Steerpike

Tugendhat’s non-existent Scottish backer

Oh dear. Tory leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat has been rather excited about all the support he’s received from his counterparts north of the border. So far almost a third of the 31 Scottish Conservative MSPs have backed Tugendhat – and in his excitement to announce his latest supporters, the Tory contender’s team accidentally, um, fabricated one. Details, details… Tugendhat’s lot put out a press release this morning celebrating two of his newest endorsements, only it quickly transpired that one of the politicians in question didn’t actually exist. Alexander Brown is not actually a serving MSP – despite multiple references to the unknown politician. Halfway through the press release, however, Tugendhat’s

Steerpike Steerpike

Pro-indy paper clashes with BBC over ‘propaganda’ claims 

The Beeb is no stranger to controversy, and now pro-independence Scottish newspaper the National is on the warpath. The editor of the secessionist journal has taken to Twitter to fume after the BBC’s business editor described her august paper as ‘propaganda’ multiple times on one of the broadcaster’s own podcasts. Talk about saying the quiet part aloud, eh? The podcast in question is the BBC’s Media Show, featuring an interview with BBC Scotland business editor Douglas Fraser. The offending clip first features discussions of the 2014 indyref’s tenth anniversary before considering the impact of the independence debate on newspaper subscriptions. ‘One title,’ Fraser began, ‘with a strong propaganda approach to

Thursday

Steerpike Steerpike

Now more Scottish Tory leadership candidates drop out

Back to Scotland, where the ongoing leadership contest for the next leader is heating up. Nominations for candidates close today, and any potential contender who hasn’t received the backing of 100 members won’t be able to progress to the next round. Frontrunner Russell Findlay hosted his official launch on Monday, and this morning his main rival Murdo Fraser is making his formal bid for the leadership. But in a rather interesting development, a number of MSPs who had initially thrown their hat into the ring have this week dropped out – and jumped ship to Fraser. And then there were three… On Tuesday, ex-Olympian athlete Brian Whittle announced he had

Steerpike Steerpike

Scottish Tory leadership race: runners and riders

While contenders in the UK Tory leadership race ramp up their campaigns, north of the border the Scottish Conservative contest is just about to get started. Nominations for candidates to succeed outgoing leader Douglas Ross close on the 22 August at 12pm. Each leadership hopeful will need 100 party members to back them in order to formally stand before voting takes place next month – with the winner to be announced on 27 September. Initially six candidates declared they would run for the top job, however just before nominations closed, ex-athlete Brian Whittle announced he would, er, no longer run – and has now endorsed Murdo Fraser, alongside two other

Steerpike Steerpike

SNP membership numbers plummet further

Oh dear. It’s not a good time to be an SNP politician, what with the recent electoral wipeout, the party’s muddled stance on the Middle East and party insiders already plotting who their next leader will be. And now it transpires that the party has lost yet more members, leaving its card-carrying supporters at a new low of just over 64,000. Crikey… After the bitter leadership contest that tarnished the reputation of the SNP, membership numbers fell from 125,000 in 2019 to around 72,000 – a staggering drop of 43 per cent. Not that the party was particularly keen to admit it, with then-spin doctor Murray Foote resigning after it

Andy Maciver

Does it matter who wins the Scottish Tory leadership race?

Nominations for candidates wanting to stand in the Scottish Tory leadership contest close today. One candidate has already voluntarily dropped out, and it’s not clear if all of the remaining five will receive the 100 votes they need from the membership to progress to the next stage. Already there has been much drama, with some contenders even suggesting the race be paused after revelations about outgoing leader Douglas Ross came to light. Yet as the Scottish Conservative leadership contest descends into internecine warfare, one could be mistaken for believing that at stake is something of importance, something of value. But the uncomfortable truth is: it doesn’t really matter who runs

Wednesday

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

The SNP is learning there’s no such thing as a free lunch

During his time as Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond was accused by the Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont of fostering a ‘something for nothing’ culture with vote-grabbing policies like free university tuition, free prescriptions and a council tax freeze – expensive gimmicks that took cash away from where it was needed most. Lamont’s analysis was sound and reflected the consensus among Scottish economists but she was pilloried for her speech and her leadership never really recovered. Vindication twelve years after the fact might be cold comfort for Lamont but the SNP government has seemingly come around to her way of thinking. A week ago, it scrapped the devolved version of

Tuesday

Steerpike Steerpike

Now Ross brands Scottish Tory colleagues ‘calculating b**tards’

As the UK Tory leadership contest rumbles on, north of the border the Scottish race is hotting up. Last week saw a rather dramatic few days in which four of six contenders called for the competition to be paused and the party’s deputy leader quit her post after ‘disturbing claims’ about outgoing leader Douglas Ross emerged. It transpired that Ross attempted to shuffle out a prospective parliamentary candidate so that he could be selected to contest a Westminster seat in the 2024 election. The Telegraph report also claimed that the Scottish Tory leader wanted to ditch the top job over a year ago – and instead coronate current leadership candidate

Iain Macwhirter

Drug deaths rise again under the SNP

Scotland’s drug misuse deaths – the worst in Europe – have long been a stain on the Scottish government’s record. Today it just got worse. The latest figures show a shocking 12 per cent increase in drug deaths to 1,172. It dashes hopes that last year’s dip in mortality showed that the problem was easing. It’s all about poverty and deprivation, say politicians quoting the various drug charities who insist drug addiction should be treated as a social disease. But this doesn’t explain why the Scottish death rate is three times that of England’s. Scotland is not three times more deprived. Nor is it down to Westminster cuts, as nationalists