The power of people. Amazing film ! 🔻🔻

World Happiness Index: Finland in first place again. Top six all countries with populations under ten million; 5 of 6 the Nordic countries. While the 'Anglosphere' countries so beloved of the UK right has crashed downwards: UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand.

The spring equinox is one hour away (14:45 GMT), and uh, here's literally the weather in my neighborhood right now. Happy spring, everybody! (And where my dad lives, they're smashing all-time heat records; it's going to be 36°C today. Absurd.) #springequinox #iceland #weather #climate #heatwave

Aah, Chopin, the age-old lullaby for cultured felines. 😸💤 #cat #chopin #piano #concerto

Holy Moly. Did he really say that? Yes, of course he did.

Creating a "Scottish Healthcare Reform Commission" (as Reform UK commit to in their Scottish manifesto today) sounds an awful lot like ... establishing a new quango.

Finland has one of the world’s highest trust rankings between people & govt while UK has one of lowest. Did that help create their top education system? In a word - yes. Film screening with Q&A Thursday in Montrose & Sunday 5.15 Edin Cameo. Still tix. lesleyriddoch.com/events

Wow - if his speech on the day is anything like as good as that, it will be well worth listening to! I admire him greatly for his championing of the underdog! I will watch it online- due to the broken foot.

Some thoughts about the failure of Scotland's assisted dying bill from my own experience of the deaths of those close to me. weegingerdug.wordpress.com/2026/03/18/t...

Dubai emigrants returning to UK want relief from UK tax if they exceed 183 days bit.ly/4sOom0m so they don’t want to pay towards the safety the UK gives them! If they really lived in Dubai it wouldn’t be an issue it’s because they spend months in UK that it arises.

The Greens plan to put social media giants like X and Facebook on the same legal footing as all other publishers in order to regulate them using defamation laws. This is an important step forward. Everyone should back the move - even opponents of the Greens My @heraldscotland.bsky.social column

BBC R4 Health reporter stated people would only need to register with a Scottish GP practice to use the Assisted Dying etc (Scotland) Bill. This is wrong as you need to be resident in Scotland for 1 year. I wish they’d get the facts correct. What’s worse, BBC’s James Cook didn’t intervene.

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill being tag lined as “life or death” on BBC Radio Scotland this morning. This is extremely lazy journalism & gives an inaccurate picture. It should be “death or death” as you can only enact the legislation if you are terminally Ill.

🚨 Starmer told his UK Labour Government to override devolution. And Labour in Wales? More interested in protecting their party than our democracy! 🤯 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Vote Plaid Cymru on 7 May for a government that will always stand up for Wales and our interests.

THE FERRET: Britain Remade is the apparently 'grassroots' group leading the push to overturn Scotland’s ban on nuclear power. But The Ferret has found that two of its directors come from a firm which lobbies for the UK’s biggest nuclear company

🔴NEW: A group leading the push to overturn Scotland’s opposition to new nuclear power says it is “independent” and “grassroots”. But we found links between campaign and a lobbying firm representing EDF, which owns Torness nuclear station www.theferret.scot/britain-rema...

🔴NEW: A group leading the push to overturn Scotland’s opposition to new nuclear power says it is “independent” and “grassroots”. But we found links between campaign and a lobbying firm representing EDF, which owns Torness nuclear station www.theferret.scot/britain-remade-links-industry-lobbyists

On the Problem with Scotland’s Future Bond Plans bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/03/13/o...

Scotland’s future should be decided by the people who live here. Partnership as equals across these islands. New partnerships beyond our shores. The power to lead change, not wait for it. On May 7, Scotland can lead that change. Make it #BothVotesSNP.

That's funny, I could have sworn he said something about not needing Royal Navy vessels because the war was already won. You broke it Don, you fix it.

Louis Theroux ran rings around this group of insecure men without even trying. He just asked a few questions, let them talk & they all showed us exactly who they are.

2024 people voted Labour to get Tories out, ended up with Red Tories. Now people switching to Reform to get Labour out and we’ll end up with failed Tories. Read and understand their manifestos and the consequences therein, then vote for your and your children’s futures.

Who the hell thought it was a good idea to give MAGA supporting Tesla a licence to supply UK consumers when their boss is openly trying to influence UK politics?

Surprise, surprise, there's a "hereditary lifeboat." The Conservatives have been offered the opportunity to retain 15 of their hereditary members by converting them into life peers, allowing them to continue passing laws until they choose to retire.

“But, as you see, it's a beautiful day, the Strait of Hormuz is open and people are having a wonderful time.”

"Palantir CEO Alex Karp thinks his AI technology will lessen the power of 'highly educated, often female voters, who vote mostly Democrat' while increasing the power of working-class men." Remind me again why Labour is shoving vast public contracts down its throat?

'We’d all be better off with a stake in our energy – from national public shares in renewables, to council-run wind farms funding services, to communities benefiting from energy projects they control' - from Our Power - Scotland youtu.be/AY1MJBk8zk8?... @scottishbeacon.bsky.social

Before the Holyrood elections in May, it would be good if someone in the media could ask the other party leaders if they plan to hand Scottish NHS contracts, etc, over to Palantir if they win. I think it's important that we know.

Defence is a reserved matter. If the UK Government believes defence colleges are necessary, then they should be 100% funded by Westminster - not partly paid for with Scotland’s own money. If it’s a UK defence priority, the UK should cover the full cost.

After the leaked memo of Starmer instructing his minions to ignore devolved Governments. Wales Labour condemned their English master! Even a handful in England did. Of course, in Scotland they ALL stand behind Heir Starmer (they didn't need a memo to tell them that)

Back in 1979 Labour said this about the dire results were Devolution to go ahead. After some electoral shenanigans, it took another 20yrs. I am disappointed that devolution hasn’t been the end of the BBC. Interesting slogan isn’t it: Vote for the UK, Vote No. Labour has come full circle, I think.

The Countess of Fife are delighted to be on this Bill! Getting the Band Back Together Supporting Scottish Arts in the Scottish Independence Movement at Oran Mor, 14 March 2026, Come along! #artistsforindy

First class article: In praise of Jeremy Bowen open.substack.com/pub/brokenbo...

Glasgow after the Fire: What should we do about Scotland’s First City? by Gerry Hassan bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/03/11/g...

Why are Scottish musicians set to perform at an independence event in Glasgow, asks The National? Because Independence Forum Scotland and Yes United are putting the band back together, that's why! Join us if you possibly can - link to tickets in the first comment... archive.is/S00W8

My cat sleeps all day and then keeps me awake all night so this gave me a good laugh. Credit - @dagnylill on Instagram

Elon Musk is now worth $845 billion. Tesla reported paying ZERO federal income tax on $5.7 billion of U.S. income in 2025. Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and household debt has risen to a record high. See the problem here?

Maintenance loan, yes. Tuition loan no. Scottish maintenance component also typically includes grants. Average 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 £53,000 in debt. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿£14,840–£17,990. “It’s less” by £35K to 38K Threshold🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 £28,470 or £25,000 plan dependent 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 £32,745 £40k (average) earnings England £1,350 repayment p/a Scotland £653

The BBC doing its bit here to stigmatise mental health issues and play to the Tory/Reform ‘over-diagnosis’ line The real facts in the story are that more than a fifth of all GPs have refused a sick note. Not that you’d know that from the breathless and misleading Culture War headline

Starmer is an utter rat - We know how to settle his hash and make it better for everyone… #VoteGreenInEngland #VoteSnpInScotland #VotePlaidCymruInWales

Starmer's judgement is in question after appointing Mandelson & he is on the ropes. Badenoch & Farage's judgement are in tatters after their U-turn on UK involvement in Trump's Iran War. All three are diminished & in an ideal world all three would go: Starmer, Badenoch & Farage.

The best people to make decisions for Scotland are the people who live here, not politicians in London. But Labour continue to show that they're only too happy to use Tory legislation to bypass and undermine Scottish democracy.

Recently posted on BBC Wales webpage. Will be interesting to see if this materialises on BBC Scotland’s webpage. I hae me doubts!

It's a mistake, I think, to focus on the merits or otherwise of individual members of the House of Lords. All selection systems can produce bad choices. The better objections to the Lords selection system are two fold: 1. power to choose peers is now concentrated in the hands of just one person 1/2

A glimpse of UK democracy The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025 empowers the state to 24/7 snoop on bank accounts of benefit recipients. The poor, old, sick have no financial privacy. The same does not apply to enablers of tax abuse schemes. We are all equal, aren't we?

This is probably the biggest problem the UK and particularly Scotland has and it's why I believe that reforming the financial sector should be the first priority of an independent Scotland and something RUK needs to tackle as well....... The Enemy Within.... my March column for @energyvoice.com

Yes, the American "kinetic operation" on Iran is EXACTLY what it looks like.

Starmer’s autocratic Labour Regime. The views of Scots don’t matter a damn & not one Labour MP supposedly representing Scots has questioned this policy to undermine the elected Scottish Parliament. x.com/bellacaledon...

Absolute truth