An independent Scotland would be significantly better off than it is now, according to Professor Andrew Hughes-Hallett of George Mason University in two recent pieces in The Conversation. This is contrary…
Think Mary, Queen of Scots and a few key facts probably come to mind: she was Catholic, she was imprisoned and she had her head chopped off. But a poet who offers insight into 16th-century women’s writing…
From John Barrowman’s Scottish accent to Susan Boyle’s nervous take of Mull of Kintyre to the cheered tribute to Nelson Mandela, the Commonwealth Games gave us an opening ceremony to remember. And that’s…
You may have thought that politics-as-usual was only put on ice during war time. But, no; politicians on both sides of Scotland’s divide have been promising in recent days that they won’t sully Glasgow’s…
In the hours after David Cameron unveiled the biggest cabinet reshuffle in a number of years, the Scottish first minister Alex Salmond took to the airwaves. Putting the eurosceptic Philip Hammond in charge…
Since September 2012, the mascot of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Clyde the thistle, has been popping in and out of the media radar; greeting children, featuring on merchandise, cheerfully promoting…
Underneath the sound and fury of the Scottish independence referendum, numerous changes to how Scotland goes to election polls have been proposed by the Scottish government – in particular reducing the…
The Scottish referendum has caused the ancient Roman frontier of Hadrian’s Wall to take on new significance, and is inspiring both those who support and oppose independence. This was particularly seen…
As was confirmed recently by figures from Police Scotland, there has been a 23% increase in recorded cases of rape north of the border over the past year. In 2013-14, the first year of Police Scotland’s…
Westminster’s Scottish affairs committee has published a report attacking the yes campaign for its approach to pensions and welfare. The yes campaign responded that its proposals were “affordable” and…
One question that keeps raising its head in the Scottish independence debate is about border controls and what would happen between Scotland and the rest of the UK at border towns like Gretna Green – a…
This week sees the 200-year anniversary of the publication of Walter Scott’s first novel Waverley. Journalist Stuart Kelly has called Scott “the man who invented a nation” but what is Scott’s relevance…
Welcome to Host City Glasgow, a series of articles that will examine different aspects of the 2014 Commonwealth Games destination as part of our countdown to the main event. To begin, Adam Aitken looks…
I recently wrote a piece for The Conversation in which I argued that for several important reasons, an independent Scotland would not be worse off than it is now – contrary to the views of a majority of…
One long-running sore in the Scottish independence referendum campaign concerns the future UK’s nuclear deterrent. Scottish Nationalists say an independent Scotland will no longer house any of the UK’s…
A peculiar omission in the Scottish government’s new strategy for eliminating violence against women and girls – Equally Safe – was highlighted last month by a North American expert in this field. Consultant…
The surge of interest in British shale oil and gas has focused on central Scotland in recent days. A forward look at national planning to 2019 was published by the Scottish government on June 23. It has…
To date, the debate on the Scottish independence referendum has focused on why the Scots should or shouldn’t back independence. There has also been some recent academic research on why the Scots have arrived…
Two different sets of statistics on Scottish illegal drug use have been published in the past few days – the Scottish drug misuse database (SDMD) on initial assessments for specialist drug treatment; and…
Bannockburn in Stirlingshire is playing host to a major event to commemorate the 700-year anniversary of the battle of the same name, where the Scots under the leadership of Robert the Bruce won a famous…