The SNP's response to Andy Burnham's social care proposals is to whine about higher taxes possibly coming the way of Scottish taxpayers to - as they put it - fund "English" care That's forgetting how the Barnett Formula works and is just a big middle finger to voters who want a solution

My analysis on Anas Sarwar's decision to jump the sinking Scottish Labour ship and head to the House of Lords

I for one hope Lisa Nandy does much better at DCMS than her predecessor

In daily tram user voice: "Fuuuuuuuuuuuck."

Brutal result for Scottish Labour

Election Maps UK@electionmaps.uk · 4w ago

Larkhall (South Lanarkshire) Council By-Election Result [1st Prefs]: ➡️ RFM: 35.2% (New) 🎗️ SNP: 29.9% (+1.0) 🌹 LAB: 24.5% (-8.5) 🌳 CON: 10.5% (-14.0) No Ind (-10.3), LBT (-0.6), UKIP (-0.3). Reform 'Gain' from Labour - Elected Stage 4. Changes w/ 2022.

No media questions after Nigel Farage's statement is the height of cowardice

My Catholic schooling may have worked a little bit *too* well

Tyron@tyron.bsky.social · last mo.

hell yeah britmonkey.com/2020s-politi...

God England are just so average

The constant infantilising of young adults makes me think the only effective corrective is to ban anyone from voting who is five years older (or more) than the average life expectancy and allow votes for 16 and 17 year olds.

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I wrote this back in 2023 and I become more and more alarmed by the global trend: in an ageing democracy the young now have to contend with the 'you understand I have a job now and am an adult?' conversations with parents and older relatives but backed by the coercive power of the state:

Not sure this referee will be getting another World Cup

If I was half as good at Italian as I am playing Football Manager...

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 2mo ago

If you could trade away one thing you're good at to be as good, but no better, at another thing, would you, and for what?

An excellent way to waste five minutes mspgame2026betatest.netlify.app

Kenny Gibson is the new Presiding Officer He's got some strong reform ideas and hopefully will be given the chance to improve the Parliament in the way he has set out to MSPs

This thinking is fundamentally what has slowly killed off Scottish Labour

Jonn Elledge@jonnelledge.bsky.social · 3mo ago

There's a sort of core to Labour support, of people who feel a genuine connection to the party and see voting for - even working with - those of other parties as a betrayal. This group seems chronically unable to understand that *even among historically reliable Labour voters* they're a minority

Beyond a historic result for the Greens in Edinburgh

Ballot Box Scotland@ballotbox.scot · 3mo ago

Edinburgh and Lothians East Region: List MSP Allocation #1: Kate Nevens (Green) #2: Angela Ross (Reform UK) #3: Irshad Ahmad (Labour) #4: Miles Briggs (Conservative) #5: Q Manivannan (Green) #6: Katherine Sangster (Labour) #7: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill (Green)

Green surge the story of the Holyrood election in 2026 Reform UK may well yet finish ahead of them on the regional list, but the breakthroughs in two constituencies - winning both from the SNP - shows shifting sands among younger voters in big cities. Watch this space

Brutal analysis from ex-Scottish Labour spin doctor Paul Sinclair... Says Scot Lab did not do the intellectual "heavy lifting" during the campaign and went for personality politics instead with Anas "flirting with the country hoping that we’d fall in love with him"

*The* reason Reform UK are "soft" on the Union and really don't care how much the Tories talk about it

Mark McGeoghegan@markmcgeoghegan.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🚨📊NEW report out today from @ipsosinscotland.bsky.social and @uofgpolicy.bsky.social - Does Independence Still Matter? Our modelling of drivers of voting intention for next week's Scottish Parliament elections says yes, by orders of magnitude more than traditional political issues. Read more here:

Really good explanation of just how narrow the margins are in this election between it being a very good night for the SNP and an average to poor one...

Ballot Box Scotland@ballotbox.scot · 3mo ago

Weekend Read: Party Profile: Scottish National Party Not so long ago, the SNP were headed to a crushing defeat. With effectively zero improvement in their polling, they are headed for yet another big win. Turns out to be very helpful for your chances if your opponents self-destruct.

Petition to ban election special episodes of Question Time

Sounds like he's cheating, then

Few SLab folk earlier this year were saying this election would have more in common with 2011 for Labour to win it (i.e. coming back from a distance like Salmond did). We are at the highlighted point in the 2011 campaign, by which time the SNP had reversed their polling deficit.

That's the sound of hundreds of Scottish Labour activists facepalming you can hear in the distance, by the way

a crowd of people with their hands on their heads

ALT: a crowd of people with their hands on their heads

media.tenor.com

Friends of Pudding@friend2pudding.bsky.social · 4mo ago

his remarks are a fascinatingly poor bit of writing. you could not have done a better job setting up incredulous jeers from the tory benches, which will be clipped nicely for the evening news.

Another day in Scottish Politics and another, er, *questionable* MRP poll

COLUMN: The SNP's culture of secrecy & cover-up must end. They have perfected their approach - of deny, delay, distract - into an art form of pointing at shiny things away from the glare of the party's failure to reckon with misconduct among their own www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1614660...

SNP culture of secrecy & cover-up must come to an end

AFTER just two full weeks of Holyrood’s election campaign proper, the SNP are already mired in controversy and scandal. Perhaps it’s not a shock a party with 20 years in power is struggling to cont…

thescottishsun.co.uk

A squarely batshit poll that appears to live somewhere between total fantasy and outright delusion.

Mark McGeoghegan@markmcgeoghegan.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Scotland polling by Lord Ashcroft in @holyroodmag.bsky.social today, which @devolvedelections.bsky.social projects the SNP falling two short of an outright majority, and the Greens as the 2nd largest party: SNP: 63 Greens: 18 Reform: 17 Labour: 12 Conservatives: 8 Lib Dems: 9 Other: 2

EXCLUSIVE: MORE than a dozen Reform UK Holyrood candidates are part of campaign group where members spread racist conspiracy theories and branded Muslims a “cancer” and “invaders”. www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1607076...

Reform's Scots candidates exposed as members of racist conspiracy group

DOZENS of Reform UK Holyrood candidates are part of campaign group where members spread racist conspiracy theories and branded Muslims a “cancer” and “invaders”. We can reveal as many as 15 MSP-wan…

thescottishsun.co.uk

Make no mistake that any weakening of FOI is an attack on all of our civil liberties, and would be a clear example of democratic backsliding. It is clear that the government is now seriously considering an attack on your right to know. www.ft.com/content/2c34...

UK considers FOI clampdown as requests soar

Moves to tighten system likely to be met with resistance from campaigners

ft.com

Back at work today after six weeks of sick leave Any stories, tips, or the usual generalised abuse, drop me a DM, an email, or get in touch on WhatsApp

In nerdy Holyrood election news, looks like Russell Findaly will stand just on the list "to free him up to campaign across Scotland" - understand most likely West of Scotland region Douglas Ross did the same in 2021 and it worked - but will ruffle a few feathers internally