How is Reform UK preparing for the Holyrood election? Leaked materials reveal a party wary of itself, and looking to a perhaps unlikely source for direction www.holyrood.com/news/view,ho...

How is Reform UK preparing for the Holyrood election? Leaked materials reveal a party wary of itself, and looking to a perhaps unlikely source for direction www.holyrood.com/news/view,ho...

Reform won in West Lothian - but beware reading too much into the result 👇

A death is a death and a tragedy is a tragedy, but when we’re dealing with women killed by men we’re talking about a distinct class of offending, writes @kirsteenpaterson.bsky.social www.holyrood.com/comment/view...

Read it, then read it again

Reform UK banks £10m war chest thanks to crypto investor www.holyrood.com/news/view,re...

Hard Partying: Inside Alba's difficult year by @kirsteenpaterson.bsky.social www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

"I certainly have an opinion [on Tony Blair]. Whether you’d wish to be printing it is another thing" From aid cuts to security, Scottish charity chief and ex-UK ambassador Frances Guy has her eye on the bigger picture. She spoke to me for @holyroodmag.bsky.social www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

Frances Guy: Gaza doesn't need a pseudo-colonialist committee led by Trump and Blair www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

The report highlighted the 'personal antipathy' between Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon and said devolved governments were 'too reliant' on Westminster to lead the initial response 👇

Tens of thousands of homes lie empty in Scotland. In the midst of a housing emergency, it's a problem. So how are councils tackling it, who is out in front, and could a law change make it easier to unlock the doors of vacant properties? www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

God save us every one

"It’s batshit crazy. The party has turned into a 1970s tribute act that nobody wants to see" Alex Salmond started Alba to advance Scottish independence. A year after his death & with an election ahead, the party is struggling to move on www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

"It’s batshit crazy. The party has turned into a 1970s tribute act that nobody wants to see." A year after Alex Salmond's death, the Alba Party is struggling to move on www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

"I knew I was going to win anyway, right back at the start": The bookies wrote Davy Russell off. But for Scottish Labour's newest MSP, victory was never in doubt www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

Author Saabira Chaudhuri will be at Aye Write on Sunday to explore how plastics & big business have changed the way we live. It’s big stuff, told through accessible stories - come and join our conversation www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/1/cons...

Politics can be stranger than fiction. No wonder public trust is low, @kirsteenpaterson.bsky.social writes www.holyrood.com/comment/view...

Just a few notes in my copy of The Old Divide, a new history of sectarianism. Looking forward to talking to Chris Bambery in-depth at Aye Write! on Sunday. Tickets here - join in www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/1/the-...

MSP Colin Smyth appears in court charged with voyeurism and possessing indecent images of children www.holyrood.com/news/view,co...

"Make time for yourself and your family... Make time to have a social life and if you have a hobby, hang on to it for dear life... Make the most of it. Make change, make things better" Rhoda Grant MSP on the lessons of a life in politics www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

“I think taxes for the rich should go up, that’s a pretty basic thing.” Novelist Ian Rankin speaks to @kirsteenpaterson.bsky.social www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

Tickets, please: ScotRail's not the Orient Express, but it's chuffing decent, says @kirsteenpaterson.bsky.social www.holyrood.com/comment/view...

Trust in the Scottish Government has plummeted - but according to one expert, it "feels like the SNP don’t have anyone to lose an election to"? So what's going on? www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

The SNP enters its annual conference as the frontrunner for the Holyrood election, but the picture is not straightforward, writes @kirsteenpaterson.bsky.social www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

Women's Aid: How secure is Scotland's domestic abuse safety net? www.holyrood.com/inside-polit... @kirsteenpaterson.bsky.social

When Dawn Brennan was 15, she met “angels” - her local Women's Aid workers. Now that service has collapsed amidst rising national domestic abuse cases. So how secure is the safety net for Scotland's women? www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

"Farage’s party is the most Eurosceptic presence in Holyrood. If those ranks grow, how will it affect our engagement with the EU?" asks @kirsteenpaterson.bsky.social www.holyrood.com/comment/view...

Imagine the risks you could mitigate if you knew what was ahead. Politicians are fond of making predictions. But they don't always come true. Take Brexit, for example... www.holyrood.com/comment/view...

In politics, when someone claims they can predict the future, make sure you have a sachet of salt handy, writes @kirsteenpaterson.bsky.social www.holyrood.com/comment/view...

Alexander Dennis has announced it now intends to continue building buses at its two factories in Falkirk. The firm can access a £4m Government furlough deal if it can secure sufficient new orders.

Council ‘to save millions’ as Scotland’s first PPP schools contract ends www.holyrood.com/news/view,co...

We should not be surprised that there are west Africans in early medieval Britain, the clues were there.

Port Glasgow has been named Scotland's 'most dismal' town in the return of the Carbuncle awards. But what happened to some of the towns previously given that title? www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

"I live in the real world; the real world is full of compromises" - Literary heavyweight Ian Rankin is days away from the Bloody Scotland festival. He says it's time to get real about corporate sponsorship, the arts & divestment www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

This doubly telling because 1) being totally batshit on the internet as a British MP can now give you a 50% uplift on an MP's salary! bit of a worrying incentive! 2) being one of the most shared politicians on X only earns you £40k, meaning most of the blue ticks are debasing themselves for pennies

All I'm saying is can we please confirm the new Scottish Sec asap on this Friday afternoon www.holyrood.com/news/view,ia...

Divestment in the arts? You can never be pure enough for some people, says @ianrankin1.bsky.social www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay have been elected new co-leaders of the Scottish Greens in a vote that saw just 950 members of the party cast ballots www.holyrood.com/news/view,sc...

Graham Simpson has defected from the Scottish Conservatives to Reform.

457 British service personnel died fighting the Taliban in a conflict which cost the UK Government £32.8bn in today's money, and now Nigel Farage wants to do a deal with the regime which has seized power illegitimately? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Jeremy Balfour has quit the Scottish Conservatives, accusing the party of becoming "reactionary" and "chasing cheap headlines". He will now sit as an independent. www.holyrood.com/news/view,je...

Colin Smyth MSP suspended by Labour after being arrested and charged over possession of indecent images www.holyrood.com/news/view,co...

❗ High risk of wildfire for nearly all of Scotland during much of the coming week. It should barely need saying but still, please shout it from the rooftops... 📣 It is simply not responsible to have a campfire when the wildfire risk is high.

Frankly, Nicola Sturgeon’s memoir is bad news for the SNP, says @kirsteenpaterson.bsky.social www.holyrood.com/comment/view...

NEW: Police Scotland sends report to prosecutors after former Labour councillor leader Frank McAveety charged with fraud. www.dailyrecord.co.u...

There is now a notable attainment gap between the Scottish Government’s rhetoric and its results on the attainment gap, writes @kirsteenpaterson.bsky.social www.holyrood.com/comment/view...

The UK Government will recognise Palestinian statehood unless Israel ends the "appalling situation" in Gaza, Keir Starmer has said www.holyrood.com/news/view,ke...

'Some products, some messages, don’t sell in overseas markets. Trump, who prides himself on dealmaking, has failed to sell himself to Scotland. This week's trip is unlikely to make a difference' - me on the US president's travels www.holyrood.com/comment/view...

Isobelle Ouzman carves intricate 3D illustrations into discarded books found in dumpsters, recycling bins, and local thrift shops #WomensArt