Scotland

Scottish independence is neither inevitable nor a dead duck, but the urge behind it is immutable and needs to be addressed.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have held a meeting with Gordon Brown who has recently launched a renewed campaign to save the Union. William and Kate sat down for talks with the former prime minister and his wife Sarah at the Queen’s official Edinburgh residence during the final day of their royal tour of […]

A senior SNP politician has apologised after claiming that Scotland “hates the UK” after the final vote of the Eurovision song contest saw it come last with nil points. James Newman’s Embers, the track from the British hopeful, was the only contestant to scored zero points from the jury vote and from the public vote. […]

Readers have their say on Scottish independence Thank you very much for Ian Dunt’s article highlighting the unmistakably close parallels between the mendacious arguments of Brexiters and the SNP. It has been obvious for ages that the separatists have been using words and slogans almost identical to those who succeeded in splitting the UK away […]

Many pro-Europeans, north and south of the border, have sympathy with the independence cause. But this is yet another Union they should fight to stay in A referendum on Scottish independence is coming. Boris Johnson pretends it isn’t. He will delay, prevaricate, challenge in court and maybe deny it altogether. But none of these tactics will […]

Boris Johnson’s bid to save the Union by splashing the cash won’t be enough. He will need to do a lot more than that.  The ballots cast by Scotland’s voters hadn’t been fully counted when the high-stakes game of constitutional poker between Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson began. As it became clear – to no […]

Scotland’s newest MP told how she hopes to be a role model for other minorities after being elected to Westminster. New SNP MP Anum Qaisar-Javed also pledged she would “fight for independence” after being elected to represent the constituency of Airdrie and Shotts. The by-election, which took place just a week after the Scottish Parliament […]

Former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson has criticised government proposals that would force voters to provide photo I.D. before casting their ballot. Davidson branded the proposals “total b*****ks” during an appearance on ITV’s Peston show. She said: “In terms of this particular part of the Queen’s speech, I think it’s total b******ks and I think […]

Voters are going to the polls in a by-election to choose a new MP for the Airdrie and Shotts constituency. Polling stations opened Thursday morning in the North Lanarkshire seat in the race to replace incumbent SNP MP Neil Gray. Gray stepped down to contest the same seat in the Scottish Parliament election and became […]

Here’s every Scottish independence supporter’s favourite thing… a list of reasons, from an Englishman, as to why Scotland might want to stay in the Union It was a good election for incumbents. Across the countries of the UK, parties engaged in frenetic, Covid-disrupted campaigns, only for most things to stay the same. Scotland’s parliament, on […]

The Tories privately admit there is a mandate for a second referendum on Scottish independence and that it could take place as early as 2023, a former adviser has said. Ex-communications chief for the Scottish Conservatives Andy Maclver told STV’s Scotland Tonight that it was “perfectly obvious” last week’s election results were a mandate for Indyred2. […]

If Scotland becomes independent during Boris Johnson’s premiership, that will be his lasting legacy, former prime minister Gordon Brown has said. The argument over Scottish independence has intensified in recent days after the SNP’s landslide victory in the Holyrood election, which also produced the largest pro-independence majority in the Parliament in the history of devolution. […]

The SNP and Scottish Greens have hit out at plans for voter identification contained in the Queen’s Speech, while the Scottish secretary says it “delivers for Scotland”. Proposals in the UK government’s legislative programme would require voters to have photo identification in Westminster elections. Of the 33 Bills set out in the Queen’s Speech, 30 […]

Michael Gove has refused to rule out suing Nicola Sturgeon’s government if it tries to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence, in a briefing with journalists. The cabinet minister avoided answering the question when probed twice by reporters. Asked if he would take Sturgeon to court over her proposals to hold a new vote, Gove […]

Gordon Brown is launching a fresh campaign to keep Scotland in the UK in the wake of the SNP’s latest election victory. The former Labour prime minister declared that the think tank he set up, Our Scottish Future, will become a “campaigning movement” to make the “positive, progressive and patriotic case for Scotland in Britain”. […]

A senior government minister has told the SNP it cannot expect a second referendum to be approved after failing to secure a majority in the Scottish Parliament elections. The SNP fell one seat short of an overall majority during the Super Thursday elections, securing 64 seats in Holyrood. However, the final result still means that […]

The SNP has won an emphatic victory in the Holyrood elections, but did not gain an overall majority. Nicola Sturgeon’s party took 64 seats – 62 in constituencies and one on the Highlands and Islands and another in the South Scotland regional list – one shy of a majority but well ahead of the Tories […]

Alex Salmond will not return to the Scottish Parliament after he failed in his bid to pick up a seat on the North East regional list. The former first minster had hoped to boost the Scottish independence cause by returning to frontline politics with his Alba Party. But his party failed to pick up a […]

Nicola Sturgeon has said voters showed that racists and fascists are “not welcome anywhere in Scotland” after two far-right candidates picked up less than 200 votes and one was ejected from the count. Glasgow Southside independent candidate Jayda Fransen confronted the SNP leader and first minister during the campaign on Thursday, accusing her of supporting […]

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has said she wants to hold a referendum on Scottish independence “when the time is right”, as she retained her Glasgow seat. Giving an acceptance speech in Glasgow after she defeated Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar by 19,735 votes to 10,279, the first minister said her party is set for a […]

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is “extremely confident” the party is heading back into power at Holyrood – although she conceded winning an overall majority of MSPs there is a “very, very long shot”. As early results started to come in from Thursday’s Scottish parliament elections, the Scottish first minister downplayed the prospect of winning a […]

The SNP will be the “leading and largest party” in the new Scottish parliament, deputy first minister John Swinney has declared – though he said it was still too early to say if the party would win an overall majority at Holyrood. Swinney, also the education secretary in the Scottish government, comfortably held his Perthshire […]

The Hartlepool by-election will be “really, really challenging” for Labour, the party’s Scottish leader Anas Sarwar has said. Sarwar said both he and Sir Keir Starmer are working to build Labour as a “credible alternative”. He spoke to journalists after attending a drive-in rally in Glasgow with former prime minister Gordon Brown, ahead of polling […]

Pollsters have said that “razor-thin margins” will determine whether Nicola Sturgeon wins an overall majority at Holyrood on Thursday. Research by Opinium found support for the SNP was down slightly in both the constituency and regional list section of the ballot. In the constituency vote, support for the SNP was at 51%, a drop of […]

For those dreading a return to the pitched battles of IndyRef1, the Scottish Labour leader may offer the best hope There are two schools of thought in Scotland about the conduct of the 2014 independence referendum. One is that it was a festival of democracy, a carnival of marches, song, poetry and political awakening. The […]

An independent Scotland would need to confront border issues with the rest of the UK if returning to the European Union, Nicola Sturgeon has said. Concerns have been raised by critics of Scottish independence who say Scotland rejoining the EU would result in a hard border with England. The first minister told BBC Radio 4’s […]

Alba Party leader Alex Salmond has said a “puff of wind” could currently blow Boris Johnson over, and has said he is not even sure if the prime minister will remain in place after the May elections. Johnson has been under fire in recent weeks over a number of issues, including the recent announcement by […]

Among the many complex issues that Scottish independence would throw up would be where to draw a line between English and Scottish waters. Should Scotland vote for independence at some point in the coming years, the issue of where its land border with England should lie will be among the simplest of subjects to resolve. The matter […]

Alex Salmond’s Alba Party is on course to win eight seats at next week’s Holyrood election, according to a new poll. The survey also suggests the Scottish Greens will return 11 MSPs, with the SNP, Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour all losing seats. Polling by Panelbase for the Scot Goes Pop website found 6% of […]

Douglas Ross has said that offensive comments attributed to Boris Johnson are “indefensible” but stopped short of calling for the prime minister’s resignation. Johnson has denied accusations that he said “no more ****ing lockdowns – let the bodies pile high in their thousands” in a furious Downing Street rant. Asked about his boss’ behaviour, Ross said […]

Scotland’s three biggest parties have all experienced sudden jolts in recent weeks. MAURICE SMITH reports on the tectonic plates shifting once again north of the border The three leading women of Scottish politics have discovered, of late, a variation of the old adage that a week is a long time in politics. Several can seem […]