Scotland
The gross hypocrisy of the SNP
If there’s one thing the SNP truly excels at, it’s maintaining double standards. The extraordinary case of the Scottish government…
The tragedy of Scotland’s church sell-off
‘We are not a heritage society,’ insisted the Rev David Cameron, Convener of the Assembly Trustees of the Church of…
Salmond’s critics can’t ignore his lasting legacy
When he lost his Gordon seat in the 2017 general election, Alex Salmond told his count and those watching –…
Alex Salmond was an unstoppable force of nature
It is hard to believe that I will no longer wake up on Monday mornings to the sound of Alex…
Is Scottish Labour really back?
Labour’s first conference from government in 14 years might not be taking place against an ideal backdrop, with the Prime…
Imperfections in wood can make for the loveliest carvings
Often beneath the surface of a knobbly lump bulging from the side of a tree ‘a myriad of swirling, almost impossibly beautiful clusters is hiding’, bursting with creative possibility
Margaret Tudor – queen, regent and hapless intermediary
Aged 13, Henry VII’s eldest daughter was dispatched to marry James IV of Scotland. But a precarious truce between the kingdoms soon ended with the Battle of Flodden
Echoes of Tom Brown’s School Days: Rabbits, by Hugo Rifkind, reviewed
When 16-year-old Tommo moves to an elite, brutish boarding school, he longs to fit in and even manages to join the inner circle. But can he ever really become ‘one of them’?
The Scottish Tories need a better election strategy
It is no surprise that the Scottish Conservative manifesto launch was centred on independence. While Scotland’s Tories talk about the…
The good old ways: nature’s best chance of recovery
Traditional agricultural methods still operating in pockets of Europe maintain an enviable balance of ecology and economy and an extraordinary diversity of wildlife
Scotland’s religious collapse
Last week, I had a drink with a Catholic priest friend who works with young people in custody. Inevitably, our…
Alex Salmond: We are not splitting the SNP vote
Is Alex Salmond feasting on the misery of an SNP that, having hit its high watermark, is now having to…
Sunak won’t be much help to the Scottish Tories
The first few days of this general election campaign have been characterised by Rishi Sunak’s dismal campaign management. From wet…
Why are Scottish nationalists so thin-skinned?
Scottish nationalists are not happy. What’s new, I hear you ask. Did they lose another leader? Has Sainsbury’s been selling…
Europe has no answer to its immigration problem
Pulling off the rhetorical trick that Brexit would undermine the Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement, Michel Barnier, the EU negotiator,…
Humza Yousaf quits – sparking SNP leadership contest
Humza Yousaf is stepping down as first minister of Scotland. After feverish speculation over the weekend, Yousaf has announced this…
Who uses Grindr?
Meet market Who uses the gay dating app Grindr? – The site claims 27m users worldwide, 80.5% of whom identify…
We must never lose the treasured Orkneys
Fertile fields and spectacular sea stacks are matched by an extraordinarily rich, dramatic history. No wonder the islands have been so celebrated for centuries
The London Library should leave us in peace
Reading only slightly between the lines of US foreign policy on Israel/Gaza, I detect that its most urgent aim is…
Portrait of the Week: hate crimes, surprise knighthoods and flaming rickshaws
Home The Hate Crime and Public Order Act came into effect in Scotland, making it a crime to communicate or…
Scotland’s Hate Crime Act may have done us all a favour
Scotland’s Hate Crime Act (HCA) has, by common agreement, been an unmitigated disaster. Less than a week old, there are…
An unenviable mission: Clear, by Carys Davies, reviewed
It is 1843, the year of the Great Disruption in the Scottish Church, and an impoverished minister is being paid to clear a lonely North Sea island of any remaining inhabitants
The splendour of Edinburgh’s new Scottish galleries
Claudia Massie on the spectacular new galleries that showcase the best of Scottish art for the first time
