Archive
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‘Weakest defence of the UK yet’: SNP and Labour MPs clash on BBC interview
AN SNP MP laughed and said he had just heard the “weakest defence of the Union yet” while discussing a potential Scottish independence referendum with a Labour MP on BBC radio today. Speaking on Radio 5 Live earlier, Dave Doogan said Labour were
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Wasting hundreds of thousands of SNP votes just doesn’t make sense to me
ONCE again with a Scottish election coming up we get the usual slogan “both votes SNP” and SNP loyalists such as Dave Hill (Letters, February 16), trying to prove to us that this makes sense in the present voting system. Now Dave is a pretty astute
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Queen's business rates reduction highlights the need to address land tax
THE fact that the Queen and some of the wealthiest landowners can legitimately have their business rate bill reduced to less than local schools is utterly appalling and shows how urgently the question of land ownership, tax etc have to be addressed
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Tories rage at Nicola Sturgeon over false claim she's tearing down Union flags
BRITISH nationalists are absolutely fuming at Nicola Sturgeon. There’s little surprise there, but this may just be the most misguided backlash yet. Unionists have been whipped into a frenzy on social media after it was “revealed” the First
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Holyrood governing body tells harassment probe to publish Alex Salmond evidence
HOLYROOD’S corporate body has overruled the harassment inquiry and said that “on balance” it is “possible to publish” Alex Salmond’s dossier accusing Nicola Sturgeon of breaking the ministerial code. The decision now paves the way for the former
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Scottish Government withdraws plans to impose licences on AirBnB-style lets
THE SNP have withdrawn plans to introduce licences for AirBnB-style short-term lets, but insisted that the legislation will be reintroduced in the summer. The Government, though accused of a “screeching U-turn” by opposition MSPs, insisted that
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No Scottish exporters are benefitting from Brexit, industry chiefs say
DESPITE promises of sunny uplands, no Scottish companies which export to Europe have benefited from Brexit, according to industry chiefs. Martin Reid, the Scotland and Northern Ireland director for the Road Haulage Association (RHA), has painted
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'Wheely unbelievable': Scots police stop motorist driving without a tyre
A MOTORIST in Scotland has been charged with dangerous driving after they were spotted driving without a tyre on one of their wheels. Police posted a picture of the bare metal wheel on social media and said the vehicle has been banned from being
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Let's follow the lead of England and Wales and ban live exports
IT’S not often I would urge Scottish ministers to follow their counterparts in England and Wales, but I’m happy to do so on this occasion. In 2019, the Farm Animals Welfare Committee published its opinion on the welfare of animals in transport,
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Here's exactly where Keir Starmer's Groundhog Day Labour are going wrong
KEIR Starmer’s Labour leadership so far has been defined by two factors – by not being Jeremy Corbyn, and the pandemic. Labour have at best been level-pegging and often trailing the Conservatives; while Starmer’s ratings for most of 2020 saw him
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Up to £250,000 seized after police pull over car near Falkirk
UP to £250,000 has been seized after police pulled a car over. Officers stopped the vehicle on King Street, Stenhousemuir, at around 5pm yesterday. Five warrants were subsequently executed, and properties in Bonnybridge, Denny and Bainsford
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Too soon to start easing out of lockdown, Nicola Sturgeon warns
IT'S too soon to start easing out of the lockdown, Nicola Sturgeon has warned. The First Minister was speaking after one of her scientific advisers said the success of Scotland’s vaccination programme should prompt an "earlier unlocking". READ
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There's a glaring flaw with the new Unionist billboard attacking Nicola Sturgeon
WITH 22 consecutive polls recording majority support for independence, these are tough times for Unionists. A combination of Brexit, Boris Johnson and the pandemic has seen backing for Yes surge. And with the pro-independence SNP and Greens
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WATCH: Kate Forbes calls for measures to tackle online abuse faced by MSPs
KATE Forbes has said online abuse faced by politicians is "starving Scotland's political system of good talent". The Finance Secretary spoke out after a survey by Holyrood Magazine found one third of MSPs have been sent death threats. Speaking
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Today's Covid-19 data gives us a 'reason to be hopeful', Nicola Sturgeon says
THE latest data on new coronavirus cases and test positivity in Scotland give us “further reason to be hopeful”, Nicola Sturgeon has said. Speaking at the Scottish Government’s daily briefing today, the First Minister said the country has recorded
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If Scotland actually was ‘too poor’, whose fault would that be?
AFTER reading Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp’s excellent work, Scotland the Brief, your article yesterday, “How Scotland is tricked into thinking it’s too poor”, begs a salient question. Even if the Unionists’ premise was true, and Scotland was too poor
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Unlike Michael Fry, the EU does not put profit before 'worthy social aims'
INTERESTING and readable as was Michael Fry’s history of Catalonia, his continuing hymn therein to capitalism drifted off pitch as he worked up a conclusion that it might not be “at all possible” for a socialist Scotland to come to terms with a more
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Scotland to use TikTok to tackle vaccine scepticism among young people
SCOTLAND is to use TikTok to tackle vaccine scepticism among young people, the country's clinical director has revealed. Professor Jason Leitch said famous faces will feature on the social media site to encourage young people to take the jag.
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Keir Starmer fails to mention Scotland at all in speech on future of the UK
LABOUR leader Sir Keir Starmer failed to mention Scotland, devolution, Brexit or the Union at all in this morning’s speech titled “A New Chapter for Britain”. In his speech Starmer argued the pandemic has shown the need for a bigger government
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Scottish city named the world's friendliest destination in new poll
A SCOTTISH city has been named as the world's friendliest destination in a public vote. Glasgow has seen off competition from the likes of Dublin, Budapest, Vancouver, Tokyo, Copenhagen and Melbourne to land the title. The survey was conducted
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Man dies after falling overboard from fishing vessel in Scotland
A MAN has died after he went overboard from a fishing vessel in the North Sea in the early hours of the morning. Lerwick RNLI lifeboat and a coastguard helicopter attended the scene around 30 nautical miles south-east of Sumburgh in Shetland following
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Covid elimination 'near impossible' in Scotland while borders remain open
IT will be "near impossible" to eliminate Covid-19 in Scotland while the borders remain open, a health expert has suggested. Dr Christine Tait-Burkard said Scotland and the UK as a whole is in a very different position to New Zealand and Australia
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Five Scots health boards have vaccinated over a third of their population - check your local stats
More than one million Scots have now received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. It's been a week since we hit the major milestone last Wednesday, and now, 1,320,074 people have received their first dose. Every week, Public Health Scotland
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Tory MPs complain Brexit deal should be reopened as UK is 'less safe and secure'
BORIS Johnson’s Brexit deal has left the UK “less safe and less secure” and should be looked at again, a group of Tory MPs have said. A report by trade think tank the Conservative European Forum (CEF), led by Tories David Lidington and Dominic
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Brexit: Scottish universities hit by 40 per cent slump in EU applicants
SCOTLAND'S higher education institutions have suffered a 40 per cent plunge in EU applicants. Statistics published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show there were 10,370 by this year’s January deadline – down from 17,240
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IN PICTURES: 'Sack the racists' campaigners call for removal of Glasgow statues
CAMPAIGNERS staged socially distanced protests at historic Glasgow statues this morning, calling on authorities to “sack the racists”. Following on from the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests across the UK, the anti-racism activists said they aimed
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UK plans for voters to bring photo ID to ballot box by 2023 revealed
VOTERS will reportedly be required to bring photo ID when casting their ballots in elections from 2023. The proposal is part of a new Electoral Integrity Bill which will form part of the Queen’s Speech in spring and be in force by the time local
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Man airlifted to hospital after falling overboard from fishing vessel in Scotland
A MAN has been airlifted to hospital after he went overboard from a fishing vessel in the North Sea in the early hours of the morning. Lerwick lifeboat and a coastguard helicopter went to the scene around 30 miles south east of Sumburgh in Shetland
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New Covid rule comes into force today to help break virus transmission
New rules for Scots who are close contacts of positive Covid cases came into force today. From today, anyone who has been traced as a close contact must now get tested for Covid in addition to self-isolating for 10 days. Nicola Sturgeon announced
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Ten years on from revolution, Libya needs global support
IT was time of revolution. Looking back now, it’s hard to imagine that 10 years have passed. The day of February 17, a decade ago yesterday, Libyans now remember as the “Day of Revolt”. I was in neighbouring Egypt at the time, already covering what
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Westminster forced to admit that England does NOT subsidise Scotland
GARY Kelly is a well-known stalwart of the Scottish independence movement, but he is a fair-minded sort of guy who wants England to have indy too. He applied to the people who run the Petitions website for the Westminster Parliament – you
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Scottish Covid catch-up spend for schools is the highest in UK
SCOTLAND has put more money into education catch-up for pupils than any other part of the UK, a study has found. The Education Policy Institute (EPI) found this week’s Holyrood commitment of an extra £60 million for teachers and classroom support
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Kirsty Strickland: Planning for the future just now is fruitless ... as is fixating on the past
IF I have learned one thing during the pandemic it’s that it’s important not to overthink the good days. Given all we have had to deal with over the past year, those truly worry-free moments are fleeting. They are also easily spooked and it doesn’t
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Here's how the Queen's Balmoral tax bill compares to local Ballater businesses
A HOST of small businesses in Ballater, nine miles from the Queen’s Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire, are paying higher rates than Her Majesty for deer stalking on her land. After an appeal, the rateable value (RV) of shooting activities on the
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Richard Walker: As advocates for Yes we must debate without hate
SOMETIMES it suddenly hits you. Out of the blue. It is almost as if we forget we are living through the strangest of times and we that have never before seen their like. Until something happens to bring it all home again. One of those somethings
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Scottish Government urged to do more sooner to prevent homelessness
THE Scottish Government has been urged to be much more proactive in preventing homelessness. A new report by an expert group says public bodies could intervene up to six months before someone faces losing their home. The Homelessness Prevention
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Scots college creates playlist of sounds to ease transport students back to class
A SCOTS college has created a playlist of soothing sounds to transport its 17,000 students into the noisy hallways, classrooms and studios they may have been missing while working from home. The playlist is also aimed at giving the 1000 new students
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Targeted Scottish visa could help tackle population decline in rural areas
A SCOTTISH visa specifically targeted at designated areas could be an option to address the declining and ageing population in Scotland’s remote and rural parts, according to a group of academics. The Expert Advisory Group (EAG) on Migration and
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Nicola Sturgeon hits out at Dominic Cummings' contract revelations
NICOLA Sturgeon has slammed the UK Government after Dominic Cummings said he was instrumental in awarding a government contract to a company run by his and Michael Gove’s friends. Campaigners are taking legal action against the Cabinet Office over
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The Queen is the latest aristocrat to get rates bills cut for deer stalking on Scottish estates
OUR revelation today that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has successfully appealed her rates bill for her Scottish shooting estates is the latest report we have done on the issue of wealthy landowners challenging their rates bills for country sporting
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Queen gets tax bill slashed on Balmoral estate to lower than village pub and shop
THE Queen has had her tax bill slashed by thousands of pounds for three Scottish shooting estates including Balmoral after making a successful appeal, The National can reveal. In a controversial move, the new rateable value (RV) for deer stalking
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Lesley Riddoch: Why I agree with Tom Harris on the state of play for independence
‘EVERY day in Scotland is Groundhog Day” says former Labour MP Tom Harris in the Telegraph. Actually, I agree. The Vote Leave Scotland boss says Scotland has become a country that isn’t sure about independence but keeps electing an SNP government
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Catalan government set to move to the left as pro-indy parties hold talks
TWO of Catalonia’s pro-independence parties have had their first round of talks about forming a new government in Barcelona after four of them succeeded in winning more than half of the vote in Sunday’s election. Representatives of the Republican
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Anger over defence firm ‘gagging order’ on Clyde base staff as pay row ballot begins
DEFENCE firm Babcock Marine has ordered staff not to speak to politicians in a “blanket ban” as a ballot on industrial action begins, it is claimed. The Unite trade union is taking legal advice after its members employed by the Ministry of Defence
