EXC: Staff and funding shortages have forced Scotland’s freedom of information watchdog to delay its investigation into the Scottish Government’s deleting of WhatsApp messages during the pandemic. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2558519...

Massive change for next year's Holyrood election: there'll be no overnight count. Votes to be counted on the Friday instead.

Brilliant report by @andrewlearmonth.bsky.social on the polling we commissioned ahead of our 10th anniversary conference next week. The results are grim. Scotland deserves better.

🚨 NEW: Reform UK is on course to return 22 MSPs at next year’s Holyrood election — making Nigel Farage’s party the second largest in the Scottish Parliament, a new Survation poll suggests. @heraldscotland.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/news/2557131...

It seems half the world’s musicians are descending on Scotland next month @heraldscotland.bsky.social @teddyjamieson.bsky.social

♦️Labour's timidity on #Brexit has been lamentable. Is the UK Government now changing its tune? My column @heraldscotland.bsky.social @euromovescotland.bsky.social @europeanmovement.co.uk @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social ⬇️ www.heraldscotland.com/politics/vie... www.heraldscotland.com/politics/vie...

A handy guide

Israel and Hamas said they had agreed to a long-awaited ceasefire and hostage deal, the first phase of US President Donald Trump's plan to end a war in Gaza that has killed more than 67,000 people and reshaped the Middle East reut.rs/48RrstN

Big credit to @andrewlearmonth.bsky.social and the @heraldscotland.bsky.social for choosing to do their own version of this thread (this time regarding the Autumn Budget Revision) as the splash in today’s paper. Imagine a world where budget papers made it clear how taxpayers’ money is being spent.

Scotland’s leading mental health organisations are demanding answers over what appears to be a multi-million-pound cut to direct mental health spending, quietly buried in the Scottish Government’s Autumn Budget Revision. @heraldscotland.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/news/2551697...

Pro-Palestinian activists took over Edinburgh Waverley on Thursday night to protest Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla. Passengers had to be escorted onto their platforms by British Transport Police.

Scotland’s standards watchdog received a record 2,714 complaints about councillors last year — nearly nine times more than the year before. But just 128 cases were actually investigated. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2546280...

Police Scotland buried a damning internal report that warned of pervasive misogyny, predatory senior officers, and a “toxic boys’ club” culture in which women in the force were bullied into silence and branded “troublemakers” for reporting abuse 👇

The Deputy First Minister will not stand at next year's Holyrood election @andrewlearmonth.bsky.social

THE WEEK IN SCOTTISH FOOTBALL PATTER 2025/26: Vol. 1

EXC: Mhairi Black quits the SNP www.heraldscotland.com/news/2533985...

"There’s still a part of you that can’t help feeling like a failure.” Former SNP MP @hannahbardell.bsky.social talks to @heraldscotland.bsky.social's Unspun Live about losing her seat at last year's election and what happened next. Full episode on Spotify open.spotify.com/episode/7vbm...

Mark McGeoghegan: Sarwar must take on Labour in Westminster if he is to win Holyrood www.heraldscotland.com/politics/vie...

Poll Analysis: Ipsos 12th - 18th of June 2025 Holyrood seats projection: SNP ~ 59 Labour ~ 23 Reform UK ~ 17 Green ~ 16 Conservative ~ 7 Lib Dem ~ 7 Independence: Yes ~ 52% No ~ 48%

The welfare bill vote will "go ahead on Tuesday," Angela Rayner tells PMQs

Across four nights, audiences will hear from First Minister John Swinney, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, and Britain’s leading polling expert, Professor Sir John Curtice. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2522065...

Liam Gallagher hits out at Edinburgh Council after leaked documents from council officials suggested Oasis fans were drunk, fat and old. See all of the Oasis frontman's comments HERE: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2524019... 𝘚𝘊𝘙𝘌𝘌𝘕𝘚𝘏𝘖𝘛: 𝘓𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳/𝘟 @andrewlearmonth.bsky.social

Nicola Sturgeon accuses actor of misogyny after he calls her ‘a witch’

You’ll be hard pushed to find a better analysis of last week’s by-election than this from @ballotbox.scot

"The thing about donkeys though, is they are known for being sure-footed, steady and persistent" This analysis of the Labour's expectation-busting win in Hamilton from @andrewlearmonth.bsky.social and @kathleennutt.bsky.social is well worth a read www.heraldscotland.com/news/2522249...

Fans are witnessing the final hurrah of Scotland's golden generation - the World Cup qualifying campaign will be the last for many of the national team's mainstays. But who is going to step up and replace them when they go? In @heraldscotland.bsky.social. www.heraldscotland.com/sport/252216...

Big thanks to everyone who has helped me out in with the pieces I’ve written for our series, which has got another bumper day to run tomorrow. We’ve been blown away by the response so far, especially by the huge number of new subscribers. Catch up here: www.heraldscotland.com/news/subscri...

Getting ready for a night of by-election results and the collapse of Rome.

1/ 🧵 A former Police Scotland detective inspector has won a tribunal case against the SQA — and it could have huge implications. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2518829...

Some useful thoughts from @electoralreform.bsky.social's Willie Sullivan in response to my analysis for @heraldscotland.bsky.social this morning, on ways to improve proportionality at Holyrood short of overhauling the voting system entirely.

The Herald journalists scooped four prizes at the 2025 Scottish Press Awards on Thursday night 👇 www.heraldscotland.com/news/2518575... @markmcdougall.bsky.social

To mark the forthcoming 40th anniversary of the Barrowland sign, I wrote a Small Finds piece celebrating it and the venue it graces. smallfinds.substack.com/p/small-find...

Opening the debate on assisted dying, Liam McArthur urges MSPs uncertain about the proposals to allow his Bill to progress to the next stage to be debated and amended and to then vote it down at Stage 3 if still unpersuaded.

The Holyrood debate on assisted dying has started. @heraldscotland.bsky.social is live blogging every key moment Follow along here 👇https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25157637.live-updates-msps-vote-scotlands-assisted-dying-bill/

This is the first direct defection from one established Holyrood party to another since it was set up. All previous examples have been to "new" parties with no prior seats (Solidarity, Reform UK, Alba) or formally sat as Independents until being re-elected (John Finnie, SNP to Ind to Green)

🚨 | Total Number of Candidates (/1,641) #LE2025: ➡️ RFM: 1,630 (99.3%) 🌳 CON: 1,594 (97.1%) 🌹 LAB: 1,540 (93.8%) 🔶 LDM: 1,396 (85.1%) 🌍 GRN: 1,182 (72.0%) 🧑‍🔧 TUSC: 97 (5.9%) 🏰 HER: 24 (1.5%) 🟡 MK: 18 (1.1%) 💷 UKIP: 13 (.8%) 🔴 SDP: 11 (.7%) 🙋 Inds: 461 🏘️ Local: 103 docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Even the MSP for Glasgow's west end wants to move to the south side. Totally understandable.

EXC by @heraldscotland.bsky.social A private outsourcing company is to take over almost all education provision in Scottish prisons, taking over from Fife College in August. The biggest teaching union in the country has called it a 'dangerous step'. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2504256...

According to NRS figures, Scotland has a total fertility rate of 1.3. That means each generation is 65% the size of the last. In 30 years, unless something happens, the population will halve. Is it time to adopt a 'do it for Denmark' approach? www.heraldscotland.com/politics/wes...

John Swinney tells MSPs that Christina McKelvie was "generous, kind, loyal and fun loving." "Members across the chamber all feel that loss, but my party is aching at the news today," he says.

NEW: Rachel Reeves confirms that she wants to reduce the number of civil service jobs by 10,000.