Scotland
Nicola Sturgeon’s last laugh
I was delighted to discover that the University of Bristol has been advising students how to address those who identify…
Sex, trans rights and the Scottish census
It takes some doing to make a census interesting. So congratulations to the National Records of Scotland (NRS). NRS, which administers…
To save the Union, ignore Gordon Brown
As he blasts his way through the remaining support beams of the UK constitution, Gordon Brown is doing more to…
Scotland's 70-page dossier finds no evidence for vaccine passports
Nicola Sturgeon wants to extend vaccine passports in Scotland, and today her government released a 70-page document purporting to show…
Why Boris is losing his fight against Sturgeon
Gavin Barwell has made a good point, albeit inadvertently. Theresa May’s former chief of staff has a book out, imaginatively…
As COP26 looms, Glasgow is facing a waste crisis
With COP26 weeks away, the city is in the middle of a waste crisis
Will Scottish independence really be 'Brexit times ten'?
Scottish civil servants are to start work on a ‘detailed prospectus’ for independence so the Scottish government can hold another…
Amateurish and implausible: BBC1's Vigil reviewed
Tense, claustrophobic, gripping, thrilling, realistic: just some of the adjectives no one is using to describe BBC1’s Sunday night submarine…
Scotland's census sex muddle is bad news for transgender people
What is your sex? It is a simple question and one that we can all surely answer. When it comes…
A narrow escape in Britain’s most treacherous mountain range
Twenty-five years ago, my cousin Jock, a Scottish priest, rang in shock. Two priest friends, David and Norman, had been…
The blind spot in the SNP's 'war on drink'
Scotland’s grim reputation for abnormally high drug fatalities has become embedded in the public consciousness over the past year. The…
David Keenan, literary disruptor in chief
Near to the heart of this wild and labyrinthine novel — on page 516 of 808 — a character in…
Devolution doesn't work in a crisis
One of the worst features of devolution is the tendency of devocrats to insist on doing their own thing in…
Don’t pick a fight with the SNP
Since the Holyrood elections in May, the campaign for Scottish independence has been noticeably quiet. But that is about to…
No, Boris didn't 'snub' Sturgeon
One of the reasons the SNP has dominated Scottish politics for so long is that it is extremely adept at…
Boris could make devolution reform his legacy – if he has the ambition
Today marks two years since Boris Johnson accepted Her Majesty’s invitation to serve as her fourteenth Prime Minister. His tenure…
Joan Eardley deserves to be ranked alongside Bacon and de Kooning
Claudia Massie on the unjustly neglected artist Joan Eardley, who deserves to be ranked alongside Auerbach, Bacon and de Kooning
The life cycle of the limpet teaches universal truths
Adam Nicolson is one of our finest writers of non-fiction. He has range — from place and history to literature…
Who can make the Scottish Lib Dems great again?
Willie Rennie’s resignation — announced, as only he could, via a self-shot video while climbing Benarty Hill in western Fife…
The Nicola Sturgeon effect on house prices
Nicola Sturgeon depresses me and seems to be having the same effect on Scottish house prices. In a housing market…
The strangest landscapes are close to home
This pleasant volume, the author announces in the introduction, is ‘not a nature book, or even a travel book, so…
Nicola Sturgeon isn't serious about IndyRef2
The announcement reeked of desperation. Nicola Sturgeon is‘delighted’ that the SNP National Executive Committee has approved her nomination of retired…
Ever weaker Union: The Tories lack a constitutional theory
No doubt Michael Gove is satisfied with how his latest comments on Scottish independence have gone down. The Chancellor of…
Euros 2021: England are easily the most boring side in the tournament
England 0 Scotland 0 Hungary 1 (Fiola) France 1 (Griezmann) The wonderful Hungarians almost took my mind off England’s lamentable…
Scrapping English votes for English laws could spell trouble
It has been almost 45 years since Tam Dalyell first asked the West Lothian Question. It is a damning indictment…
