At some point, other political parties will clock that Farage's policy announcements are not about anything other than driving British politics in a generally favourable direction *for him*, so that by 2029, the sort of relatively 'unpopular' and extreme policies are the opposite

Brilliant from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com Benefits and social care spending in Scotland is to pensions in the UK - politically difficult, ruinously expensive, and ever-increasing policy decisions which ignore fundamental failures of post-2008 governments and economies. www.ft.com/content/d419...

EXCLUSIVE: The SNP have quietly changed how no-shows and cancellations count towards waiting list targets, artificially reducing the number and length of long waits The change will make it easier to hit election promises and was last night branded "sleekit" www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1533841...

Meaningless whiffle.

Cat, meet pigeons EXCL: Political parties should be subject to freedom of information laws to help unearth their “murky” inner workings, Scotland’s transparency tsar will say. www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1524301...

Unclear what the potential fallout for the Lochaber Smelter deal with GFG Alliance and the Scottish Government is But in terms of a general health check of GFG's assets, it's hardly a ringing endorsement.

Labour and the SNP both circling the same "how do we hold on to power by not annoying more people than we already have" drain Which ultimately leads to total policy paralysis and, therefore, lack of any meaningful progress on any policy issue that does actually matter to voters

The Scottish Government have said their use of social media is under constant review after the anti-Semitic controversy surrounding X's AI chatbot Grok Officials said the gov doesn't use the tool, but refuses to commit to stopping the use of the platform

That's Humza Yousaf and now Anas Sarwar who have *both* had speeches made in the same Holyrood debate after the death of George Floyd in 2020 - in which they both ape Muhammed Ali's "why is everything white" chat on Parkinson - decontextualised and weaponised against them

There are many things you can blame various Scottish Labour individuals for, but introducing sectarianism into Scottish politics is not one of them. www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1484989...

A plea for some regular Scotland-specific polling from a reputable pollster, please

Stephen Gethins appears to be broadcasting live from a 1940s vampire film

My colleague yesterday was horrified at the news I have 247 tabs open on my work laptop Surely I can't be the only tab hoarder out there? I know where everything is!

EXCLUSIVE: StephenFlynn’s allies have drawn up a “hit list” of sitting Nats MSPs they want to replace with ex-SNP MPs, sources claimed. All are women He has been accused of wanting key allies in place for an eventual bid to lead the SNP outright. www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1431534...

Dead cat strategy

We are absolutely desperate for a YouGov or Ipsos to counter some of this, *ahem*, interesting, polling.

Same for Holyrood. FMQs particularly bad for social media clip-offs, rather than actual debate.

"Do I move to London for my career or do I settle for earning less and actually owning a house, and having a potentially better quality of life?" I'm pretty sure every ambitious under-30 in the last decade has asked themselves that at some point, I know I have

Scottish Budget special of CMQs.. in which I describe Scot Gov's 2-child cap bombshell as bollocks, given it's nothing to do with the 25-26 Budget, & @conormatchett.bsky.social and I explain the reality of the supposed income tax break... saving Scots 1.4p a day t.co/xlviUc7sJ7

Few exclusives over the weekend and into today as well; First up: Major update on income tax ahead of the Scottish budget as SNP sources say there is "no appetite" for changing bands www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/politic...

The NICS increase is a killer for Scot Gov coffers - Treasury are doing it on a Barnett Formula basis, but problem is higher public sector spending and higher wages in Scotland means higher tax bill after the increase SNP will cry foul, but it's arguably devolution in action.

EXCLUSIVE: Fat-cat quango bosses are set for an “crassly insensitive” 20 per cent pay rise despite straining public finances, the Scottish Sun can reveal. Those paid the most getting at least a 20% hike from £113,621 to £136,500 www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1371003...