Who really won the 2026 Scottish election? Almost 900,000 voted SNP – but more than twice that number chose not to vote at all. Is this a healthy democracy? With almost half the population regularly abstaining from voting in Scottish parliamentary elections, here's a radical suggestion...

Perhaps the beleaguered @zackpolanski.bsky.social might occasionally tweet about heatwaves, biodiversity crisis, accelerating cost of climate change and how to meet these formidable challenges rather than poring over the latest self-inflicted headlines?

I was a spokesperson, actually. I spoke and I'm a person. So there.

Posting for @scepscot.bsky.social A much needed critical assessment of the SNP and why members deserve the truth in a fully accountable inquiry. John McLaren sees a brighter future for the government (and Scotland) if SNP finds courage to admit mistakes and take risks towards real reform

Good news: #NetZero industries are now supporting 105,000+ Scottish jobs and contributing £10.2bn to Scotland’s economy. Clean, homegrown energy can protect nature and communities from the impacts of climate change, whilst bringing energy bills down. News like this gives hope for a green future! 🌍

Meet the old boss – not the same as the AI one sceptical.scot/2026/05/meet...

Good old Gunnera Shelter from the sun today

I'd like to revive the Sceptical Scot presence on Bluesky please @support.bsky.team Since my co-editor David Gow died in November I've been unable to access @scepscot.bsky.social account (password and login details not accepted) What should I do next?

How will new @scotparl.bsky.social meet huge challenges facing Scotland? Start with Council Tax says Oxfam Scotland "Several parties pledged to pursue reform. Now we need them to work together and deliver it." In the first year (2026) they must begin revaluing properties still set at 1991 values

Lovely can-do feeling in Kinross Fixit Repair Festival, storyteller Caroline Carmichael entranced children while repairs of many kinds - ceramics, shoes, clothes, plants, tech, bikes - magically happened around the Greener Kinross-shire tent. And the sun shone too

Quick automatic replies from Jim Fairlie SNP Mid Scotland and Fife constituency MSP, 2 Reform and 1 Con list MSP – all requiring proof that I am in their constituency before addressing issue. Interestingly the Labour list MSP is friendlier and signed best wishes. Lib Dem and Green not yet replied.

Quick automatic replies from Jim Fairlie SNP Mid Scotland and Fife constituency MSP, 2 Reform and 1 Con list MSP – all requiring proof that I am in their constituency before addressing issue. Interestingly the Labour list MSP is friendlier and signed best wishes. Lib Dem and Green not yet replied.

Scottish government has delayed crucial protections for Scotland's seas for more than a decade. We need action. I've emailed my newly elected MSPs to demand action for marine protected areas within the first 100 days of this parliament. Write to your MSPs here: scotlink.eaction.online/100days%0A

I'm not as down on the BBC as many on here but there is a structural problem with the way they cover Reform (and other more extreme parties) that needs to be addressed.

Greener Kinross-shire is hoping to screen National Emergency Briefing in June with politicians in the audience. Our new MSPs for Central Scotland and Fife – for constituency and region – are invited and welcome. The emergency is a chance for all politicians to work constructively with all of us.

This @wwfscotland.bsky.social post plus Climate Change Committee warning that 2C heating will change UK way of life and already costs UK £60bn a year. Hoping all new Scottish MSPs will be attending National Emergency Briefing screenings. We can still prevent the worst

Good to see bluebells and garlic holding up for weekend visitors. I might just manage to get some pesto made Thanks to Arngask Home Farm for lovely photos from their visit

Neither Environemnt nor Land Reform feature in the titles of any of the new Scottish Government Ministers and Junior Ministers. One or more will be responsible for them of course but neither are important enough to merit inclusion in any of the titles. www.gov.scot/about/who-ru...

Voluntary price cap in England now floundering - in Scotland it could be mandatory. Would it help? Capping price of eggs, milk, bananas, bread, potatoes, butter could save average household 80p a week. Lazy scapegoating’: supermarket price cap plan prompts furious backlash

Sums it up

Very cheering to find a link to my blog via @lgspace.bsky.social – helped to break the doom loop! It's still disappointingly cold and wet in our woodland but perhaps the bluebells will last longer. Lots of visitors helping to raise funds for @supportchas.bsky.social #scotlandsgardens

No money left accounts of Farage’s company, Thorn in the Side Ltd, suggesting that’s not how he paid for £1.4m house he bought shortly after the £5m gift from crypto billionaire Harborne If he’s suspended from parliament a by-election could follow. [Perhaps Polanski would stand?]

Love from Donaghadee

Chinese newspaper cartoon (Today... 😂 )

Christopher Harborne is a new entry on the Sunday Times rich list top ten - worth £18 billion. He bought Reform for 0.1% of his fortune...

This looks an interesting idea - a place to meet in real life

Real human contact belongs to a different planet from Zuckerberg’s Metaverse. But it could be the real world we inhabit. Dusting off my old Compaq computer, meet the human boss – knows you better than #AI

A new installation in New York City turned millions of pages of the Epstein files into thousands of bound books, creating a physical archive meant to show the scale of the documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice. https://wapo.st/4dosGxw

I've signed @foescot.bsky.social petition but want to add energy efficiency to the campaign. Reducing consumption will reduce energy bills and pollution. I’m calling on the UK government to go all in on renewable energy. action.friendsoftheearth.uk/petition/bre... @friends-earth.bsky.social

How will Scot Gov cope with its new motley mix of MSPs - half of them with no experience of parliament? Meanwhile FM’s in-tray holds a tottering pile of bills (leftover legislation too) Not to mention the agricultural cost of Scotland’s changing climate. Who would be John Swinney?

Must we keep holding our politicians to such impossible standards?

Record heat is expected to sizzle across 22 states this week — with the most intense conditions expected in the Intermountain West, Plains and South. Temperatures could top 90 degrees for around 50 million people and 100 degrees for 11 million more.

Because there’s so much more to human knowledge than politics Looking forward to Ray Perman’s talk for the tercentenary of James Hutton, The Genius of Time, at @hutton.ac.uk (where else!)

We’re thrilled to announce that Scotland Loves Nature campaign is a finalist for Campaign of the Year at the 2026 Scottish Charity Awards! Thank you to everyone who helped us turn nature recovery into law this year through the Natural Environment Act. Read more: www.scotlink.org/scotland-lov...

What next for Scotland in our new political landscape. Kirsty Hughes sees ‘vital opportunity’ for imaginative co-operation between Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland – and England’s Greens. But that will take dynamism from SNP and Scottish Greens #ScepticalScot sceptical.scot/2026/05/scot...

Too often, outsourcing comes at the expense of our services and the workers who keep them going. If you want public services to work for people, not just profit, sign the Record of Support for Labour’s insourcing pledge. www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/of...

Shaken not stirred? SNP holds on to power (despite declining support) so how much is Scotland changed by the 'seismic' election of 2026? Can Scottish Parliament tackle the huge problems ignored by all the party manifestos? #ScepticalScot will come to that, first a range of expert views.

I wonder if UK Labour and Green politicians/members ever talk to one another? There is now much in common – apart from Green's disregard for economics and why bond markets matter. Of course sharing similar attitudes feeds bitter, divisive hostility, just as in Scotland with SNP & Labour.

Hungary’s parliament sings “Ode to Joy” — the anthem of Europe — after Péter Magyar is sworn in as prime minister. Hungary is once again a proud member of the European Union.

Good to find Douglas Fraser’s Ledger – I'm missing his clear commentary on BBC Scotland. We need his ability to communicate complex issues in clear, accessible, unbiased terms. douglasfrasersledger.substack.com?r=26i928&utm...

I just signed Amnesty's petition demanding that the UK government help end the suffering of civilians in Iran, Lebanon and the Middle East by working with parties to reach a ceasefire. We must act now! www.amnesty.org.uk/get-involved...

Introducing a new feature on a redesigned #ScepticalScot website. The David Gow Archive presents a new piece by David every day (today's is about global solidarity). Thank you to @dougalperman.bsky.social for his imaginative skill in creating a living tribute. sceptical.scot/david-gow-me...

This is a real and repeated problem and it’s so easy to fix for a marginal additional cost! Just randomise ballot order!

Alphabet rules? Does your place on the ballot paper win or lose votes? Could there be a simpler and fairer option?

Elsewhere…Victor Orban is no longer PM or MP

The Brexit legacy. Ten years on. “In wards where more than 60% voted for Leave, support for Reform has averaged 40%. “In contrast, in places where less than 40% backed Brexit, Reform won on average just 10%.” And in Scotland? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

‘Urgent optimism’ and the spirit of enthusiastic collaboration. Watching David Attenborough’s 100th birthday celebration was a great life-affirming contrast to the ‘passive pessimism’ of today’s election results. We do need to rediscover how to collaborate.

Note from Scotland: instead of binning all the campaign leaflets, I’m going to hold to account whoever wins our constituency and control of parliament - wondering when they will acknowledge reality, the complete fantasy of their manifesto promises. Because democracy is not just about voting

Hope springs…