Nothing quite prepares you for the avalanche of damning details in this.

Want to grill representatives from all of Holyrood's political parties ahead of the election? Come along to the Scotland 2050 hustings at the Assembly Rooms on March 31, chaired by @scotsman.com Tickets are free: www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

Cost of troubled Cairngorm railway may outweigh its benefits, MSPs warn www.scotsman.com/politics/cos...

Most of my job doesn't involve staring at a computer, it involves talking to people and reading books, and both of those, in different ways, tell me that we will have big problems if *30 per cent of working people in the UK* lose their jobs in the next 15 to 18 months.

If you love journalism and the inky, hard-bitten romance of newspapers, Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists is a total treat.

EXC: Tories pledge to ban new low emission zones in Scotland www.scotsman.com/politics/tor...

'Bring it on': Reform's Malcolm Offord rumoured to be plotting bid to take on Jackie Baillie www.scotsman.com/politics/bri...

🚨 New episode of The Steamie! We assess an extraordinary week for Anas Sarwar & Scottish Labour Plus, I talk to James Macintyre about his new biography of Gordon Brown Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/1MKj... Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

I reviewed the new biography of Gordon Brown by James Macintyre, which is published today: www.scotsman.com/arts-and-cul...

Sarwar open to campaigning with Starmer despite urging him to quit www.scotsman.com/politics/sar...

Wrote about the electoral contest on everyone’s lips… …that’s right, the extraordinary Ross and Cromarty by-election of February 1936! www.scotsman.com/politics/pol...

Wrote about the electoral contest on everyone’s lips… …that’s right, the extraordinary Ross and Cromarty by-election of February 1936! www.scotsman.com/politics/pol...

Former Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman dies aged 72 www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

Wondering where the sunshine has gone? Spare a thought for northeast Scotland; Aberdeen Dyce hasn't recorded any sunshine since 21 January! This is provisionally the longest sunless period here since records began in 1957 ☁️

After my reporting of Fiona McQueen's "Disneyland" comments on @scotsman.com was raised at FMQs today, John Swinney has full confidence in her to continue as chair of the Scottish Police Authority. www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

The hometown newspaper that I read as a teenager through Watergate and Vietnam and made me crave the life of a reporter is now being butchered by a billionaire who had $75 million to bribe and flatter a president and his wife but nothing to save journalism, an bulwark of the republic itself. Got it.

Gordon Brown: I was always against Project Fear www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

I read this, and I am freshly reminded that one of the most important insights in humanism is that this our one and only life.

🚨 New episode of The Steamie out now! 100 days to go (give or take) until the Holyrood election. What’s the state of play? Find it on Spotify, Apple etc: pod.fo/e/383430

Enjoyed the subject line of the latest Scottish Liberal Democrat press release.

Gordon Brown was “appalled” by the treatment of Kate Forbes over her socially conservative religious views during the SNP leadership election in 2023, a new biography says: www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

Policing is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland, so I imagine this won't be controversial at all.

Saw Chicken Run at ‘toddler cinema club’ and have now answered precisely 1,748 questions about chickens and pies

What a film.

Primo Levi’s The Girl-Child of Pompeii

Costa at Newkirkgate, Leith, still playing Christmas tunes if anyone wants to recapture that festive spirit.

Trans prison ban would violate human rights, says Scottish Government www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

I enjoyed this interview with Allan Massie, who is stepping down as chief literary critic of @scotsman.com after fifty years. David Robinson, the former books editor, has written it. www.scotsman.com/arts-and-cul...

Really lovely piece. Allan Massie's reviews are such a huge part of The Scotsman, and I've bought countless books on the back of them. www.scotsman.com/arts-and-cul...

Tight security. Defection drama. An unexpected reference to Deacon Blue's Dignity. A dispatch from the Farage frontlines: www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

Nigel Farage has told potential Holyrood defectors to get in touch “within the next few days” if they want to jump ship to his party: www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

💥 The latest episode of The Steamie is out now! Scottish Budget: soundbites over substance? Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/1hCb... Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

Big boost to Scotland’s offshore wind sector this morning. The huge Berwick Bank wind farm has secured a UK government contract for difference. Could also be crucial for a proposed blade factory in Leith pushing ahead.

Analysis: SNP's pre-election Budget favours soundbites over substance www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

EXC: More than half of Scots do not believe higher income tax rates north of the Border have delivered better public services, a new poll has found. www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

🔴 EXC: Concerns raised after "disturbing occult-style paraphernalia" found at the David Hume mausoleum in Edinburgh: www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

Swinney launches court bid to stop release of secret Sturgeon inquiry evidence www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

Finally dipping my toe into LinkedIn. Hit me up and we can #synergise and circle back.

Enjoyed this line from Angela Constance yesterday: "At the end of the day, the biggest critic of me is me." Fair to say in politics that is extremely unlikely to be true.

A big first day back of campaigning for Scottish Labour and the SNP ahead of May's Holyrood election. @alistairkgrant.bsky.social and me on Anas Sarwar and John Swinney showing what we can expect over the next four months on the campaign trail. www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

Flower of Scotland lyrics are 'cringe', says Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay suggested the unofficial national anthem should be replaced with Loch Lomond www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

Huge day for those who love Scottish political speeches (…hello? Is this thing on?…) 💥 @davidbol.bsky.social will be in Glasgow to cover John Swinney’s speech 💥 I’ll be in Edinburgh for Anas Sarwar and Russell Findlay

✍️ A New Year's resolution for our MSPs: don't be a passenger Why enter politics just to fill out the backbenches? www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

EXCL: Labour will use a "cutting edge data-driven" strategy in its bid to win May's Holyrood election. Insiders have revealed how Labour can win in what Anas Sarwar told me would be the “biggest and most ambitious political campaign that Scotland has ever seen”. www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

✍️ A New Year's resolution for our MSPs: don't be a passenger Why enter politics just to fill out the backbenches? www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

A grand Christmas

Kirk moderator: I get angry at the doom and gloom stories about the Church www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

Years ago I watched film clips with Terence Stamp from his great career: Fellini, Pasolini, Priscilla, The Hit, Superman. He was elegant, reflective, generous, insightful. The conversation is back on the BBC www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...