NEW: 'I'm a bit surprised Ian Murray has been sacked. I don't think he deserved that' John Swinney says he'll work constructively with new Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander. But he suggests Ian Murray lost his job due to mistakes made by Keir Starmer

EXC: Conservative administration of Dumfries & Galloway Council faces no confidence vote on 16 June. Leader Gail MacGregor is 'disappointed' 7 Tories defected & would 'love to continue' as leader. SNP hope to take control

Here's how we got to today's major decision NOT to make Galloway a national park:

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The Conservatives should NOT aim for a deal with Reform UK, Alister Jack says. Former Scottish Secretary believes John Swinney and the SNP are 'secretly' trying to boost Reform's profile, to split the unionist vote. STORY: www.itv.com/news/border/...

More from @kieranandrews.bsky.social exclusive interview with Alister Jack - who says the Tories made a mistake in ditching Boris Johnson, and suggests former PM might have been able to win 2024 General Election

EXC: Alister Jack says Nicola Sturgeon & John Swinney should offer 'proper public apology' to women who challenged Scot Gov gender reforms in court. In first interview since stepping down as MP, former Scottish Secretary says @forwomenscotland.bsky.social were 'demonised'. www.itv.com/news/border

'I am disappointed in the UK government's performance so far' - General Secretary of STUC @scottishtuc.bsky.social Roz Foyer (@rozfoyer.bsky.social) tells Kieran Andrews (@kieranandrews.bsky.social) Labour is in danger of lurching 'to the right'. Full interview: www.itv.com/news/border/...

NEW: John Swinney says any trade deal allowing US imports which are 'not high enough quality' would have 'huge and damaging implications' for Scotland. The First Minister says it's right for Keir Starmer to negotiate over tariffs, but 'you can't just sign up to anything'

NEW: Anas Sarwar acknowledges economic growth and poverty in the UK are 'not where we want them to be'. But the Scottish Labour leader defends the Chancellor's Spring Statement. He says both UK and Scottish Governments need to do more. www.itv.com/news/border/...

I asked Shona Robison if she would 'rule out' replicating the UK Government's disability welfare cuts in Scotland

'There is concern amongst Labour members and MPs' John McTernan, former Political Secretary to Tony Blair, warns benefit cuts could impact Labour's 'brand'. Last week the UK Government set out welfare changes aimed at saving £5 billion. www.itv.com/news/border/...

Lord Kim Darroch: US remains a reliable ally 'for the time being'. The former British Ambassador to the United States says he's not a fan of the term 'special relationship'. But he says bond between UK and US is 'unique'

Two Scottish Government cabinet ministers announced today they'll quit Holyrood at the 2026 election. Changing of the guard

'We have to hope that the United States remains our ally' The Scottish Government's External Affairs Secretary @angusrobertson.bsky.social tells Kieran Andrews 'even saying that out loud remains a concern' Full interview on tonight's programme: www.itv.com/news/border/...

'I don't think President Trump should come to Scotland at all. He's not welcome here' Lorna Slater says Donald Trump should not get a second state visit to the UK. The @scottishgreens.org co-leader says he 'can't be trusted' because of the suspension of military aid to Ukraine

Great to see SFHA's Carolyn Lochhead interviewed on ITV's Representing Border with @gregoryhoare.bsky.social on what the #ScottishBudget means for housing. www.itv.com/news/border/...

Interesting comments from former Irish Taoiseach on what form he thinks future EU / UK relationship should take. Full interview at this link, from about 11pm this evening: www.itv.com/news/border/...

Strong message from Leo Varadkar: UK and EU should 'strengthen' relationship, because US under President Trump does not share 'the same values'

'The public are entitled to have the full disclosure by US and British intelligence' Ex-justice secretary Kenny MacAskill calls for release of documents about Lockerbie bombing but says investigation was carried out correctly. SNP MSP Christine Grahame wants a public inquiry

Interesting comments from the leader of the Scottish Conservatives - who calls Elon Musk's interventions in UK politics 'ill-judged'

NEW: Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay says he 'personally would not use' Robert Jenrick's language about migrants. Mr Jenrick, UK shadow Justice Secretary, had referred to 'alien cultures' with 'medieval attitudes towards women', in the context of grooming gangs

Oliver Mundell explains why he won't be standing in the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. He's currently the Scottish Conservative MSP for Dumfriesshire

Anas Sarwar: 'I'm in it to win it' @anassarwar.bsky.social tells @kieranandrews.bsky.social he believes Scottish Labour will win the 2026 Holyrood election, despite polls suggesting dwindling support. But he won't say whether he'll quit if he fails to become First Minister

Anas Sarwar insists the Scottish Government could bring forward its 'scrapping' (mitigating) of the two-child benefit cap. The Scottish Labour leader says his party's MSPs will back the SNP's budget if they do, and the DWP should be able to provide necessary data in next 3 months

I could say you should watch my first @representingborder.bsky.social programme for the first @johnswinney.bsky.social interview of the year or for brilliant @graemeroy.bsky.social analysis But let’s be honest it’s to see @gregoryhoare.bsky.social do a handstand press up www.itv.com/news/border/...

New year, new approach to broadcasting... In the form of a handstand pushup, in the middle of a piece to camera 😅 Thanks to the team at CrossFit Tweedbank for humouring my feeble effort!

Donald Trump mentioned his Scottish business interests in last month's phone call with John Swinney, the First Minister reveals. Mr Swinney says they did not discuss 'specifics' about tariffs, but did talk about the 'significance' of Scotland's whisky industry

What is John Swinney's New Year's resolution? The First Minister tells @kieranandrews.bsky.social he will be running more, to support Doddie Aid. The challenge aims to raise funds for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, which was set up by Doddie Weir to improve the lives of people with MND

Representing Border is now on Bluesky: please follow for all you need to know about Scottish politics and how it affects the South of Scotland bsky.app/profile/repr...

Hefty jump in CPI inflation today - above expected 2.2% rise. Impact of UK Government's budget is also yet to be felt. Makes it less likely Bank of England will cut interest rates in December - bad news for those with debts (e.g. mortgages)