Scotland’s spiritual leaders have been making their presence felt in the independence debate lately. The Church of Scotland is to hold a reconciliation service the Sunday after a vote to help bring the…
You can perhaps forgive the north of England for casting an envious glance across the border to Scotland. A yes vote in September could significantly enhance Scotland’s ability to determine its own economic…
Scotland is renowned for its seabirds, thanks to landmarks such as the Bass Rock, Ailsa Craig and St Kilda. There are around five million of the birds, including 95% of the EU’s great skuas, 67% of its…
By his own admission, Dave is not the most popular man in Scotland.
Danny Lawson
The Better Together campaign has always had a problem. Such is Tory popularity in Scotland that the battle for the union was never going to be led by the biggest beast in British politics. Yet David Cameron…
Clare’s law will allow people in Scotland to view their partners’ domestic abuse histories
jurgenfr
Following UK Home Secretary Theresa May’s announcement that England and Wales are bringing in a “Clare’s law” that will allow people to check whether their partner has a history of domestic abuse, Alex…
Children’s backgrounds peg them to different achievement levels from a young age.
Tom Donald
Scotland likes to think of itself as a nation reflecting the core social values of collectivism and meritocracy. Yet social and economic inequality is deeply entrenched within both the education system…
Would Scottish R&D take a post-indy hit?
US Army RDCOM
Scotland is home to some of Europe’s oldest universities, and the sector plays a key role in the economy there. But what impact would independence have on it? This week academics have been doing battle…
Tourists reach for the brolly aboard HMS Britannia in Edinburgh.
David Cheskin
When Thomas Cook launched the first group tours to Scotland’s Trossachs in 1846, the attraction was to see the mythical land featured in Sir Walter Scott’s famous poem The Lady of the Lake, written in…
Turnberry hotel and golf resort – Trump’s new place.
Brianac37
When Donald Trump announced that he would not be making any further investment in Scotland and would instead focus on his new acquisition of Doonbeg golf course in County Clare, Ireland, many people no…
The row over Scotland in Europe lives on…
Yanni Koutsomitis
Europe is back on the agenda in Scotland. William Hague wrote to the Scottish government calling for a plan B in case EU membership is refused. Meanwhile Alex Salmond warned EU member states that there…
The national obsession: But do we make the most of it?
Alasdair Middleton
After the Scottish National Party had a bad result at the 1992 general election, deputy leader Jim Sillars famously accused the Scots of being “90-minute patriots”. His point, to paraphrase wildly, was…
Trawling off the West of Scotland is a causing concern.
soilse
Some years ago New Yorker magazine printed a cartoon showing a group of high society ladies enjoying an afternoon cup of tea. One lady turns to her neighbour and says, “I don’t know why I don’t care about…
The voting intentions of non-Scots have been under the spotlight.
AK Rockefeller
The latest ICM poll made delightful reading for the yes campaign the other day. It showed a split of 52/48 against independence (42/39 once we factor the “don’t knows” back in), suggesting that the yes…
BBC Scotland HQ on the banks of the Clyde in Glasgow.
John Dee
The union Equity is calling for a national Scottish broadcaster to be created regardless of the outcome of the independence referendum in September. Meanwhile, BBC Trust director Jeremy Peat warned the…
Will answering in the affirmative ever be politically neutral again?
Andrew Milligan/PA
To make an obvious point, the younger generation’s opinions on the referendum have not been formed by as much experience as those of the older generation. Many potential voters were not alive throughout…
Kolkata and Scotland are both going to the polls this year.
lecercle
Kolkata may seem a long way from the Scottish independence referendum, but on a recent journey to the subcontinent the author and creative writing professor Kirsty Gunn found inspiration to consider the…
Poll after poll shows Scottish women are considerably less keen on independence than men. Alex Salmond has been reaching out to women voters since the campaign kicked off two years ago. We asked our panel…
UK nuclear policy arguably would mean cheaper power bills in independent Scotland.
Sebastian Bartoschek
The twin goals of UK energy policy should be to ensure security of supply for households and businesses, and to ensure the electricity we use is affordable. Unfortunately, the current UK coalition government…
Both the Scottish and UK governments have published new contributions on the energy and independence debate in recent days. Energy Secretary Ed Davey visited Edinburgh to coincide with the Department for…
Go back to your constituencies and prepare to vote Labour!
Danny Lawson/PA
Of all the party conference speeches SNP leader Alex Salmond has made over the years, Saturday’s in Aberdeen was probably the biggest. As the last conference speech before referendum day on 18 September…