Politics
Elected mayors in Scotland – benefit or distraction?
Andy Burnham’s commitment to devolve powers based on “a new set of principles and rules for running the British state” promises more transfer of public services to local democratically accountable bodies. In Scotland the reverse…
Farage versus Binface: what that tells us about Britain’s mood
“when voters are shouting at you, it’s bad. When they’re laughing at you, it’s over”. Count Binface received 9,455 votes – one in four of those cast. Farage refused to attend the declaration after his…
A new government of bold reform. Or more psychodrama?
“He has an ambitious agenda and vastly more tools of government but he will need support from across the UK” James Mitchell
Scotland needs to ‘come clean’
Civic curiosity is a fundamental characteristic of a healthy democracy. The question mark has always been a focal point of Sceptical Scot, co-founded by David Gow in 2015, and will remain so.
The SNP must own its mistakes – and learn from them
Is the SNP up to the task? Real reform requires crucial changes to policies on tax, education, health and governance: John McLaren
Scotland after the election – what new opportunities?
What next in Scotland? After a tired election new hope, new ideas and new policies are needed says Kirsty Hughes
Scunnered Scotland but energised England?
Voter turnout is down in Scotland’s parliamentary elections but up in England local elections. What does that mean?
‘I don’t recognise my country’ – in crisis, but what crisis?
Charlie Ellis surveys the 2026 election landscape and finds, as in football, a strangely unpredictable shifting pitch
And the winner is…The Absent Voters Party
However in all six Scottish Parliamentary elections since 1999 of the roughly 4 million people registered to vote, those actually voting averaged out at around 2.2million. That’s a difference of 1.8 million – the Absent…
What’s ‘good for Scotland’ in 2026 election?
The SNP is in no fit state to fight a referendum. It has not begun to address weaknesses exposed in 2014.
Public pay settlements: a crisis waiting for the next Scottish government
The Scottish government has long practised the exercise of kicking problematic cans down the road. Perhaps wider world crises will keep eyes off Scotland’s immediate pay problems but Fraser of Allander’s deputy director Dr João…
Trump’s tariffs: who pays the cost?
As Donald Trump’s second term unfolds, the contradictions at the heart of his “America First” agenda are increasingly apparent. What began as a populist revolt against elite globalism appears to have morphed into policies that…