Last week, the UK Government published a white paper laying out their reforms to the immigration system. The reforms are aimed at reducing net international migration to the UK, which peaked at 906,000 in 2023 and was 728,000 in 2024. The Government estimates that the measures announced will reduce net migration to the UK by about 100,000 people per year, although they have not … [Read more...] about What tighter immigration controls mean for Scotland
Brexit
Insurgent, disruptive or flailing Labour?
When key Labour advisers, and the prime minister himself, are throwing around consultancy-speak words like disruption and insurgency then it’s clear the government has a deep problem. It doesn’t actually know what it's there for, let alone how to be popular – and the feeble, ever narrower repetition of the word ‘growth’, as growth stalls, is not helping. Keir Starmer told his … [Read more...] about Insurgent, disruptive or flailing Labour?
The EU and UK under Trump 2.0
Almost a week after Donald Trump’s election victory, are European leaders any clearer on their strategic reaction to the ever-deteriorating geopolitical environment and the implications of his victory? Or, amidst EU divisions on a range of issues, is the EU – not very strategically – just waiting to see how bad Trump 2.0 proves to be? After the flurry of congratulations from … [Read more...] about The EU and UK under Trump 2.0
Ten years on: the story behind a front-page pic
Last week was the tenth anniversary of the referendum on Scottish independence and I noticed some people sharing the front page of the Herald from the day of the vote, September 18, 2014, on social media. It featured a photo of a man on a mountain - which my husband Rob took. We have a framed copy on the wall and often tell the story of how it came to be there. We are very … [Read more...] about Ten years on: the story behind a front-page pic
Ten years after: the enduring case for indy in Europe
Ten years after the 2014 referendum and Scotland is outside the EU alongside the rest of the UK. The threats in 2014 that an independent Scotland would find it difficult or impossible to rejoin the EU after independence, never valid, are now ironic indeed and have been so since the 2016 Brexit vote. Arguments over an independent Scotland joining the EU as a member state have … [Read more...] about Ten years after: the enduring case for indy in Europe