John Swinney needs to exploit President Trump’s weak point. The locations of his visit offer the clue about what that is.

Podcast Episode · Holyrood Sources · 23/07/2025 · 45m

John Swinney and his indispensable deputy Kate Forbes are presented with opportunities that, in their wildest dreams, they never thought they would…

The Labour rebels are in charge now, and the same people who said no to welfare reform will also say no to healthcare reform

Using private healthcare in this country is seen as an act of selfishness. A grotesque display of privilege. Two fingers to the little people…

The Tory party in Scotland finds itself in the hottest water it has encountered since devolution began

Don’t bother publicly asking a politician from our two established mainstream parties about a Grand Coalition. But discuss it with some of them in…

Podcast Episode · Holyrood Sources · 11/06/2025 · 44m

Growing up in Edinburgh's suburbs, Andy Maciver knows the frustration of commuting into town by bus but he has a solution...

Podcast Episode · Holyrood Sources · S4, E27 Bonus · 25m

In maths, reading and science - Scottish children’s scores are continually declining. We are now hovering around average in PISA rankings. If our…

Most of what our lawmakers do on a day-to-day basis is fairly drab. This is not to say it is unimportant, but the issues they tackle and the…

YouTube video by Holyrood Sources

Who could be a governing partner for the SNP? There are probably only two options.

Andy Maciver: An SNP by-election win would defy gravity

YouTube video by Holyrood Sources

If dire financial problems facing universities are not confronted, the education system as we know it will perish, says Professor Sir Peter Mathieson

Jamie Greene is a one-time Scottish Tory leadership contender who has resigned the Conservative whip and joined the Liberal Democrats.

Hurray, we built a road! The Cross Tay Link Road was opened this week, linking the A9 north of Scone to the A93 and A94, up into Scotland’s north…

YouTube video by Holyrood Sources

YouTube video by Holyrood Sources

There is a fine line between diplomacy and debasement. The hyperactivity of President Trump and the US administration means that diplomacy will…

What do the Tories do with a problem like Reform? Kemi Badenoch’s party in Westminster has some time to consider this, with over four years to go until it has to put her strategy – whatever that is – ...

Today's Holyrood Sources podcast is all about Scotland's place in Trump's world. We were joined by Lt. Col. Stuart Crawford and Stewart McDonald - please do…

Scottish devolution is a job half done. Decentralising Scotland up, down and out from Edinburgh is important for our governance and politics

Recent censuses have told us that we are a Scotland-first nation. The most recent told us that almost two-thirds of the country have a Scottish…

The Sandie Peggie case exposes the lack of progressive, gender critical voices in Scottish politics, writes Euan McColm. He asks who could fill the void.

It is easy to forget how popular Neville Chamberlain was in the autumn of 1938. Proclaiming ‘peace in our time’ after signing the Munich Agreement, he was heralded as the deal-maker supreme. A leader ...

What is it that would cause Mr Swinney a problem enormous enough that the SNP could lose 10 points in the polls and hand Labour’s Anas Sarwar the…

YouTube video by Holyrood Sources

On July 5 last year, when Labour cruised into Downing Street having handsomely won both England and Scotland, I thought independence was dead.…

Last year, marking the tenth anniversary of Scotland’s independence referendum, I wrote an article for The Spectator looking at the state of Scotland’s political conversation and the prospects for the...

YouTube video by Holyrood Sources

More money for politicians? These spongers. They should be put on the average wage so that they understand what it’s like for the rest of us. Give…

YouTube video by Holyrood Sources

The poll makes grim reading for Anas Sarwar

It is a long time since the Scottish Government could credibly claim to have outlined genuinely ambitious vision on transport infrastructure.