Iain MacWhirter

Closing the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields is a net zero own goal

13 November 2024 5:24 am

Environmental campaigners are hoping to announce at Cop29 that they’ve halted two major oil and gas fields in the North…

What’s John Swinney got against two-spirit Scots?

23 October 2024 3:12 am

You may have thought that the Scottish government had abandoned gender metaphysics after the collapse of the ‘Gender Recognition Reform…

Scottish visas are a terrible idea

17 October 2024 2:23 am

The last thing Labour needs right now, after the last hundred days of scandal and mishap, is a row over…

Alex Salmond was an unstoppable force of nature

13 October 2024 6:15 am

It is hard to believe that I will no longer wake up on Monday mornings to the sound of Alex…

The SNP fraud probe has gone on too long

9 October 2024 5:00 pm

So here’s a thing. Last week a prominent defence lawyer broke ranks and declared that the police investigation into alleged…

It’s a tough time to be Scottish

1 October 2024 10:56 pm

Hard-working Scots could be forgiven for resorting to a stiff drink tonight as they contemplate an extraordinary triple attack on…

How the SNP damaged the independence cause

19 September 2024 1:11 am

If you really want to annoy a Scottish nationalist, tell them the 2014 Scottish independence referendum had a lot in…

Why the SNP keeps failing in its war on child poverty

8 September 2024 4:30 pm

The poor are always with us, Jesus said, and that has never been more true than in Scotland over the…

John Swinney is leading the SNP to oblivion

30 August 2024 11:28 pm

As the SNP gathers for its conference in Edinburgh this weekend, its membership nearly halved from a peak of 125,691,…

Drug deaths rise again under the SNP

20 August 2024 9:22 pm

Scotland’s drug misuse deaths – the worst in Europe – have long been a stain on the Scottish government’s record.…

The Senedd, like Holyrood, has failed its people

17 July 2024 2:51 am

There are disturbing parallels between the meltdown of the Labour administration in Wales and the recent chaos of the SNP…

The game is up for the SNP

5 July 2024 4:46 pm

Every election is historic in its own way, and of course the top line this 2024 general election is Labour’s…

Scottish independence could be the biggest loser on election day

2 July 2024 8:11 pm

As the hours tick down to polling day, Scottish nationalists are beginning to assess the damage this election campaign has…

Scotland’s women face a choice on self-ID in this election

24 June 2024 9:47 pm

Women in Scotland have a difficult choice to make in this election. Those whoomen, that is, who are concerned about…

The Supreme Court’s oil ruling spells trouble for the SNP

21 June 2024 10:51 pm

Judges on the Supreme Court appear to have joined Just Stop Oil. In a landmark ruling, with profound implications for the…

When will the SNP admit its independence dream is over?

19 June 2024 10:47 pm

Line one page one of the SNP manifesto is, as promised, about independence. If the SNP wins a majority of…

In praise of Nigel Farage’s war on banks

18 June 2024 6:13 pm

Why did it take Nigel Farage to suggest clawing back some of the super profits pocketed recently by British banks?…

An audience member had the best line during the Scottish leaders’ debate

12 June 2024 4:15 pm

Scottish Tory leader, Douglas Ross, has said he’ll resign after the 4 July election following criticism of his treatment of…

Douglas Ross has made things even worse for the Tories

10 June 2024 10:51 pm

You thought things couldn’t get worse for the Conservative party in this election? They just did. The Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas…

Nigel Farage will be disappointed by his BBC debate performance

8 June 2024 7:53 am

It had been called the dinner party from hell. A seven-strong convention of the also rans. But only one dinner…

What could explain Douglas Ross’s Westminster U-turn?

7 June 2024 1:55 am

Scottish Tory Leader Douglas Ross has a side hustle as an assistant referee for the Scottish Football Association. Now, Scotland’s…

The Scottish leaders debate won’t have changed voters’ minds

4 June 2024 4:57 pm

When Alex Salmond was leader of the SNP he used to complain bitterly to the broadcasters that it was unfair…

The problem with Kemi Badenoch’s transgender reforms

3 June 2024 9:17 pm

It is five years since Labour’s then equalities spokeswoman, Dawn Butler, told a BBC interviewer that babies aren’t born with a sex. It was…

The Edinburgh Book Festival has bowed to the eco mob

1 June 2024 1:26 am

This week, the Edinburgh Book Festival has joined the Hay Literary Festival in abandoning its sponsorship deal with the investment group Baillie…

John Swinney’s wounds are self-inflicted

29 May 2024 11:42 pm

John Swinney has said that he will make sure the public sees enough of him over the election campaign. But…