Lucy Hunter Blackburn is a former senior civil servant in the Scottish government and a member of the Murray Blackburn Mackenzie group
51 min listen
On the podcast: Scotland’s new hate crime law; the man who could be France’s next PM; and why do directors meddle with Shakespeare? First up: Scotland is smothering free speech. Scotland is getting a new, modern blasphemy code in the form of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, which takes effect from 1
‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words… make me feel hated just for being me… make me scared to leave my house… make our lives a living hell… cause wounds that never heal. Hate hurts. If you witness a hate crime, report it.’ If you live in Scotland, you may have seen the
Nicola Sturgeon refused to discuss her record after eight years in office when she stepped down last week. There will be ‘plenty of time’ to reflect on that later, she replied soothingly. In the days since, the First Minister’s silence has continued. But not everyone can afford to take a break from the consequences of
There’s an election going on in Scotland. I know because my recycling bin is full of leaflets, my Twitter timeline peppered with advertisements for online hustings and there are ballot papers on my kitchen table offering me a choice of five constituency candidates and nineteen options on the regional list. But I’m not feeling gripped.
