World
What Kemi Badenoch gets right about colonialism
Kemi Badenoch has developed a habit of truth telling. This is risky in our climate of rigid cultural orthodoxy, for…
Scotland’s surprising new free speech champion
Has Nicola Sturgeon discovered a sudden enthusiasm for free speech? The former SNP leader has today reviewed Salman Rushdie’s latest…
Could this be the Scottish Greens’ tuition fees moment?
Questions of power bedevil radical politics. Is entry into government the only way to force change? Do the opportunities of…
Welsh Labour’s speeding U-turn shows devolution is beginning to grate
The tragedy of Wales’ 20 mph speed limit, which is now to be relaxed, was that it took a good…
Britain doesn’t need an Iron Dome
Air defence was in the news this week, after Israel, with the help of allies including the UK, shot down…
What happened to the Glasgow I love?
The perception of Glasgow still held by outsiders – that it’s all tenement blocks and stabbings, that the only food…
Scrapping replays could be the beginning of the end for the FA Cup
Is time running out for the oldest knock-out tournament of them all? The FA cup‘s obituary has been written a…
Ukraine’s plight is getting more desperate by the day
Driving into the bomb-damaged eastern Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka you can hear the impacts from the big Russian guns and…
The CofE’s female clergy muddle is not sustainable
It’s thirty years since the first women were ordained as priests of the Church of England. For ten years, there…
Israel’s attack on Iran was perfectly calibrated
Today, there have been reports of explosions in Isfahan, in central Iran, in what is presumed to be a strike…
Is Georgia’s future with Europe, or Russia?
On Wednesday, Georgia’s government came one step closer to realising its desire to embed the country deeper within Russia’s sphere…
Watch: Sturgeon reacts after husband charged in police probe
Might this be the worst week of 2024 for the Nats so far? Hapless Humza Yousaf demonstrated extraordinary indecision over…
We’re better off with Hamas in Qatar, than out
The news that Qatar is ‘re-evaluating’ its role as mediator in the ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, amid claims by the…
Will Israel continue its strikes on Iran?
The reported Israeli strike on an Iranian air installation near the city of Isfahan in central Iran appears to have…
It’s not over yet between Israel and Iran
Is that it? This is the immediate and understandable reaction in some quarters to the news that Israel has carried…
Israel’s warning to Iran
Symbolism is important. Israel’s overnight missile attack against Iran was a warning to the ayatollahs residing in Tehran that it…
Why do Lib Dems want to crack down on smoking but legalise cannabis?
Whether it is tuition fees or local development, the Lib Dems are generally not known for their consistency. Trust me,…
Sunak targets Britain’s ‘sick note culture’
Rishi Sunak has returned to one of his pet bugbears: getting the unemployed back into work. His speech to the…
Rayner’s eldest child was registered at husband’s home
It’s been a busy time for police investigations across the country and Manchester is no exception. As the curious case…
MPs need a proper HR service
The most damning bit of the lurid Mark Menzies case is that the Conservatives had been aware of the allegations…
Peter Murrell’s re-arrest has plunged the SNP into crisis
There is what can only be described as a mood of despair in SNP circles following the news that the…
Will Sunak’s welfare reforms get more people back into work?
Chancellor Rishi Sunak had days to design the furlough scheme. Once lockdown became mandatory in spring 2020, it was a…
Iran should be banned from the Paris Olympics
Few would disagree with Ben Wallace’s description of Iran as a ‘bully’. The former defence secretary made his comments earlier…
Israel launches retaliatory strike against Iran
Israel conducted missile strikes against Iran on Thursday night, as confirmed by a senior American military official to NPR. Explosions in…
Why did the Sandyford clinic delay pausing puberty blockers?
The decision by Glasgow’s Sandyford gender clinic to pause the prescription of puberty blockers to children is good news for…
