The Declaration of Arbroath was signed on this day - a letter to the Pope asserting Scotland’s right to independence and self determination. Principles we hold dear to this day.

Beautiful #Easter flower delivery from my lovely wee brother Torquil.

Sixteen point lead for @theSNP as, far behind, Reform & Labour battle it out for 2nd / 3rd place. But - every vote counts! So vote…. #SP26 #bothvotessnp

Life in the Faslane. #ScottishLabour

My two wee rescue cats - Grace & Karl made starring appearances on @SkyNewsPolitics tonight. @CatsProtection

Always fun to pop into @SkyNews for the news review with this top team. @oma_salma @AliFortescue @SkyNewsPolitics

Is it wrong to defect from one political party to another? I talked to Matt Forde about some political titans who have - Churchill, Reagan, Robert Kilroy Silk, and my pal Nads Dorries. Have a wee listen. Do you agree? www.instagram.com/reel/DWbWYvk...

Had this wee auction find restored - an early self portrait by Charles Cameron Baillie. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art, visited Paris at the dawn of Art Deco, and designed interiors both for The Queen Mary and the beautiful Rogano in Glasgow.

Football, politics and religion. Everything my Mum told me I should never talk about when I get invited out. I talked about them all with ⁦‪@mattforde‬⁩ on his show. Nationalism too. And broccoli. Have a wee listen….. whatcha think? www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

As most people know I’m quite a dour person without much of a sense of humour. Inexplicable therefore that @mattforde invited me on to his radio comedy show. For better or worse I’ll be on with him tonight @BBCRadio4 at 18.30

Great to see the @ubiquitouschip has now been listed by @HistEnvScot - in large part because of its @AGrayArchive murals. As a wee boy I was in the Young @ObserverUK Reporters’ Club. I got my first ever article published interviewing the owner about the Chip food & art!

The #Reform leader in Scotland - Lord Offord - says the media have been taking “a pop” at him for telling a grotesque homophobic “joke.” He’s apologised for the “joke”. But it gives a flavour of the man and his character. Here it is. Judge for yourselves.

Well this is encouraging in Wales. Polling: @YouGov Graphics: @LeftieStats

Just recorded the Matt Forde Show before a live studio audience. Great fun to do. Out this Thursday evening on @BBCRadio4

I’m looking back at Nicola Sturgeon’s career on @BBCRadioScot at 5pm. It’s a footnote really, but I was always surprised how difficult even the best cartoonists found it to satirise her without retreating into boring national stereotypes. Eg this from Steve Bell.

Scottish voters are going to the polls soon. I know people mostly vote for parties. But it’s really important not to vote for numpties from any party. Talking of which, Facebook reminds me this Tory twit once complained about me eating fruit. Read and wince. He’s an MSP.

As Nicola Sturgeon steps down from Holyrood I’ll be on @BBCRadioScot tonight at 5pm assessing her legacy. What are your thoughts on Scotland’s first female First Minister & her remarkable career?

Decided to build an outside cludgie using salvage. View from and inside….

Natural history notes, an occasional series: this sweet looking Brazilian bald uakari is called the ‘macaco inglês’. The ‘English monkey’.

Popped by to see how the restoration of Culdees Castle in Maothail is going. The brave - and visionary - owners gave me a tour when I was their MP. Only a wee bit of dusting left to do I see…. #Perthshire #restoration

Thinking of my Mum today on #MothersDay

Polish tenement restoration. “Beyond repair” “can’t be done” etc etc. NB #Glasgow

When I was born in the 1960s the Union / Gordon St. junction was gorgeous: R W Forsyth’s department store glorious with its dramatic carved serpent staircase. Now developer gutted. The Greek Thomson Grosvenor Building was soon to be fire gutted. And now this…. Dear #Glasgow

Out canvassing in #Clackmannanshire for the terrific Keith Brown MSP with this top team. #ActiveSNP #SP26

Visiting the tree I planted at the wonderful Japanese Gardens in #Clackmannanshire

It’s International Women’s Day 2026 and so here’s a photo of my wee Mum (on her 90th birthday) with my lovely mother-in-law Silvana Zini

Landing home in the gloamin’ with snow on the hills around Glasgow.

Words have no meaning for these charlatans.

Marco Rubio: “Iran is run by lunatics – religious fanatic lunatics.” Meanwhile in the United States…

Karlito our sweet kitten is 1 year old today. He may be all grown up but he still loves the teddy he brought home from @CatsProtection when we adopted him.

I’m loving #TheMorningShow on @AppleTV Takes me back to my days of 3am rises and duplicitous bosses. Fortunately when I presented the @LBC breakfast show my lovely co-presenter (and now dear friend) Jane Moore had my back… :)

Gordon Brown’s choice for a lifetime sinecure in the House of Lords. Brown knew we could never then get rid of him. Keir Starmer’s choice for Ambassador - despite knowing he’d stayed in Epstein’s home post trafficking conviction. #Mandelson #Starmer #Brown #Epstein

Sunday roast in the ashet ready for the oven..… halloumi & sweet potato fries on the side.

Rooting for Scotland’s curlers today as @teammout go for gold at the Winter Olympics. Thrilling! 🥌 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏅 @scottishcurling #curling #Scotland #Olympics #MilanoCortina2026

Managed to source my Uncle Bobby’s first published work (from the collection of interesting American politician Samuel Bellman.) I now have all his books both UK & US editions on my bookshelf #RobertNicolson

Bella Caledonia highlights some of the silliest journalistic takes on Sarwar: “Method actors prepare for a role by inhabiting the character they intend to play. Sarwar did method politics, inhabiting the role of First Minister.” WTA… bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/02/11/a...

After his failed putsch it’s striking that Anas Sarwar is ignored when he’s being obsequious and ignored when he’s trying to be brutal. No one in the Labour leadership cares much what he says or thinks. ‘Scottish’ Labour is utterly pointless.

I had a near death experience with sepsis three years ago. My life was saved by my partner’s language skills & the speed and efficiency of the Madrid ambulance crew and hospital emergency team who identified sepsis immediately. x.com/mrjohnnicols...

Scotland and England far apart in the latest @YouGov poll. #Reform majority in England. In Scotland Labour collapse & @theSNP yellow across the country. Polling: @YouGov Graphics: @LeftieStats

Nine years ago today Westminster voted to drag Scotland out of the EU against our will. Some Union of Equals: “If you believe John Nicolson MP tonight will in future be seen as the coup de grâce which finished off the UK. And it may well.”

“Jeffrey Epstein sent thousands of pounds in bank transfers after his release from prison in 2009 to Peter Mandelson’s husband, according to emails published by the US Department of Justice.” Mandelson was Starmer’s choice as Ambassador to Washington. He remains a Labour Party peer.

It’s our 18th anniversary. 18 years ago today I met this handsome man. He asked me on a date. We fell in love. We’ve travelled the world together, sharing both heartache & joy. I can’t imagine life without him. Thank you darling Juliano for the days, months & years together. ❤️

Lovely to be in Edinburgh for the @moleskine Scotland launch party - an evening of good conversation, fine poetry & wonderful pipe music.

Sharp contrast between Scotland & England. #Reform retains a huge lead south of the Border whilst in Scotland @theSNP dominant as Labour collapses. Polling: @YouGov Graphics: @LeftieStats

Andy Burnham bad for geopolitical tensions apparently…. “At a time of great geopolitical tensions and in the middle of a cost of living crisis, the country would be aghast if the government turned inwards.”

I have a new Instagram account if you fancy following? It won’t be focussing on politics but instead other stuff that interests me like buildings, music, and happy family photos. See you there! www.instagram.com/mrjohnmacken...

Karlito is 11 months old and adorable. He gets bigger every day, eating like a small horse. When we adopted him from the wonderful @CatsProtection we didn’t quite appreciate we were adopting a Maine Coone mix who’d soon struggle to squeeze through the cat flap!

New polling for Holyrood. Clear lead for @theSNP Labour & #Reform fighting it out for third place. Tories & LibDems nowhere to be seen. And #AlbaNotRising on 0 seats. Polling: @NorstatUKPolls Graphics: @ElectionMapsUK Seat projection @BallotBoxScot

Huge #Reform lead. The more Reform leaning voters hear first hand accounts of #Farage student racism the more they seem to like him as a potential PM. Scotland a very different country with a clear @theSNP lead. Polling: Freshwater Stategies Graphic: @LeftieStats

Disastrous polling for Starmer at minus 46 according to @OpiniumResearch in today’s @ObserverUK This places him lower than May, Sunak & Johnson at the same point in their premierships. Emulating the right on race & immigration pleases neither Reform nor progressive voters.