Trump arrives just in time to see a Scottish autocrat flaunt her power

LET’S FACE IT Donald Trump and Nicola Sturgeon have certain elementary things in common. They are both egotists who crave attention. They rely on family members to discharge authority (she far more than him). They also ...

Hands off Perth Royal Infirmary

LONG BEFORE I became an MSP in 2007, I became acutely aware of just what a special place Perth Royal Infirmary has in the hearts of thousands of residents across Perthshire and Kinross-shire—and rightly so. ...

Why is nationalism dying out in Romania but thriving in Scotland?

A RECENT HOLIDAY in Romania (a country which I have been visiting for 29 years), made me reflect on the respective potency of nationalism there and in Scotland where I live and was born.    

Your McNanny State controls more than just smoking

WHETHER you are a smoker or not everyone should be concerned about the latest tobacco control action plan that proposes a ban on smoking in council houses, released recently by the Scottish Government.

Identity politics and silly stunts may well have made a second referendum more likely

IT'S AN ODD and brave opinion to venture into public but I believe the current state of politics in Scotland has created a well lit path to a second referendum with the missing ingredient even ...

World Cup English commentators’ Bingo

Hours of Fun for All the Family

For the evening of 3rd July.

WINNER gets a night on the town with Mark Lawrenson. Runner-up gets two nights with Mark ...

Our weather defines us - and defines our potential powerlessness

THERE USED TO BE regular criticisms of the British that they were obsessed with the weather in their conversations, even whilst abroad.  Certainly, some of my earliest memories are of older family members recalling how tough ...

Parole system must change before another tragic murder

PUBLIC CONFIDENCE in the parole system across the UK has been shaken. In the wake of the John Worboys case – the jailed taxi driver who was released on parole earlier this year despite a history ...

Politicians – more in common, but not with us

TWO YEARS ago I was debating Brexit at the Royal Society of Edinburgh on behalf of the Bow Group. It was a testy meeting as a room full of remain-supporting academics invariably is.

Russia? It’s not just the football that deserves a look

AS THE WORLD anticipates a thrilling football World Cup football from Russia, few minds will be dwelling on the Russian Civil war that began a century ago. Yet I hazard to ask what relevance, if ...

Fiscal Commission reveals how Derek Mackay is taking us into the red

IN THE EARLY DAYS of the Scottish Parliament, arguments raged as to whether it should acquire additional tax-raising powers. Those of us who supported this cause within the Scottish Conservatives argued that this would make ...

Restorative justice needs to be taken seriously

THIS WEEK saw the publication of Lord Bracadale’s “Independent Review of Hate Crime Legislation in Scotland”. This was commissioned by the Scottish Government last year to examine the country's hate crime laws and is a full ...