Finally the Edinburgh tram has opened – more than three years late and significantly over budget. Disputes with contractors caused long construction delays. The disruptive construction work was unpopular…
At the heart of the Scottish referendum campaign is the question of whether Scotland could really thrive as a small European state. At one time, the nationalists pointed for inspiration to the “arc of…
I woke up yesterday to a sunny Saturday morning in Melbourne and an SMS message from my eldest son in Glasgow: I guess you will have heard but there was a major fire at the Glasgow School of Art today…
Glasgow School of Art is one of the few buildings that can lay genuine claim to the word “iconic”, not just for the style of architecture it represents, but for the complex symbolism invested in every…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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 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…