Scottish

Sarah Schloegl stranded in Alicante after 11-month-old was found to have invalid documentation under new rulesA British woman from Aberdeen and her 11-month-old baby have been stranded abroad because of new rules regarding dual nationals introduced by Labour.Sarah Schloegl was refused board on a Ryanair flight from Alicante last week after she went to Spain for a short break with her Austrian husband, Philipp, their three-year-old daughter and 11-month-old baby. Continue reading...

Parties accused of ‘fiscal denial’ and failing to tell voters the scale of the challengeThe next Scottish government will need to make “really difficult” spending decisions soon after taking power, including tackling its large public sector pay bill, senior economists have said.Economists with the Fraser of Allander Institute, at the University of Strathclyde, believe the manifestos published by Scotland’s political parties during the campaign failed to tell voters about the true scale of the challenge. Continue reading...

Documentary makers seek to start ‘informed conversation’ in country where public is allowed on just 8% of landAnger and momentum are building for Scottish style rights of access to mountains, meadows, rivers and woodlands in England where the public is allowed on just 8% of land, a new documentary suggests.Our Land, a film whose title is a nod to the protest song by Woody Guthrie, explores the rise of the right to roam movement in England. Continue reading...

Labour called SNP first minister John Swinney ‘shameless’ for claiming credit when it was the result of king’s US visitDonald Trump’s announcement that he will lift punishing US tariffs on scotch whisky has been overshadowed by a row between rival Scottish party leaders over claiming credit for the decision.The whisky industry and business leaders were delighted by the US president’s sudden announcement on his Truth Social network on Thursday that he would end the tariffs to mark the visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla. Continue reading...

Top aide says SNP leader will seek approval to press for independence even if he fails to win majority on 7 MayJohn Swinney will call a vote seeking independence powers on the first day of the next Scottish parliament even if he fails to win an overall majority, his aides have said.The Scottish National Party leader’s senior adviser indicated that if necessary, he would rely on support from the pro-independence Scottish Greens to win that vote in order to demand the UK government gives Holyrood the legal powers to hold a second referendum. Continue reading...

Leader of Tories criticises Farage after he says holding another independence vote ‘probably quite reasonable’Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative party, has accused Nigel Farage of being an opportunist who does not believe in unionism after he urged Scottish nationalists to back Reform.Farage said earlier this week he believed in “genuine nationalists” who do not support the Scottish National party’s bid to rejoin the EU, and urged them to vote Reform in the Holyrood election on 7 May. Continue reading...

Anas Sarwar says there have been ‘no stitch-ups, no deals, no backroom chats, no back-channel contact with Reform’UK politics live – latest updatesAnas Sarwar has dismissed as “a desperate lie from a desperate man” a claim by Reform UK’s Scotland leader, Malcolm Offord, that he offered to do a deal with the hard-right party to keep the Scottish National party out of power.Offord made the claim on Channel 4’s Scottish leaders’ debate on Tuesday evening, alleging the Scottish Labour leader came “bouncing up” to him at an event in December last year, suggesting they “work together to remove the SNP”. Continue reading...