A punchy performance and a genuine olive branch - but will Michael Marra’s more grown-up brand of Scottish Labour last?

The First Minister said the number of deaths was ‘intolerable’

Professor Catriona Matheson says “back street operations trying to divvy up” drugs are adding too much potent synthetic opioids that are killing people, particularly men in their 40s with poor health.

Cocaine and nitazenes have fuelled an increase in Scotland’s drug deaths.

Joe Fagan has argued that Scottish Labour would become more relevant with voters if it could work more constructively with the Scottish government at Holyrood.

Torness nuclear power station is due to cease generation in 2030 - amid fears Scotland will lose skilled workers, investment and be more reliant on gas to keep the lights on.

Scotland’s two government should stop squabbling over the future of the North Sea and work in sync to ensure the nation benefits from the renewables revolution.

Ministers have used more than £100m of ScotWind funds to balance its annual budget and have anticipated using a further £507m of the revenue by 2031

The First Minister confirmed new legislation will be brought forward to help protect women and girls from violence.

UK Labour ministers have been urged to prioritise domestic production of oil and gas over imported fossil fuels in Chancellor John Healey’s autumn Budget next month.

An Aberdeen MSP has called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to ‘curb the number of immoral job losses that lie on the doorstep on Number 10’

The rarely-outspoken Senators of the College of Justice have criticised a key part of the Scottish government’s plan to reduce the prison population

The Prime Minister said Scotland is ‘exactly the same situation’ as Northern Ireland - where a vote would be triggered if the UK Government minister thinks a majority of people want one

The flagship court has a key part of the Scottish government’s landmark justice reforms agreed by MSPs last year

The Scottish government has been warned regional government models can be achieved without a radical overhaul of local councils.

Reforms to Scotland’s public sector are long-overdue but are being driven by an unsustainable financial model.

First Minister John Swinney is to set out his priorities for the year ahead.

It is understood the move will form part of efficiency measures contained in the programme for government

John Swinney has been under pressure to scrap the flagship SNP manifesto commitment.

SNP ministers argued the sexual offences court would help cut the backlog of court cases but have not brought forward any funding for the flagship measure.

The warning comes as John Swinney prepares to set out the “practical steps” to reform Scotland’s public services.

Sir Mel Stride and Dame Priti Patel were ousted as shadow chancellor and shadow foreign secretary on Monday.

Incident ‘indicative of inter-government tension spilling over into poor behaviours all too often’

The UK Labour government is under pressure to ensure floating offshore wind plans are not derailed by an upcoming flagship energy plan

The SNP leader has warned his government will be required to “embrace very actively” vast cuts to the public sector when he sets out his prospectus tomorrow.

Michael Marra told The Scotsman he has personally lobbied the UK government in recent months to end the controversial energy profits levy.

The SNP government is calling on Andy Burnham to consider the Scottish visa plans as Scotland grapples with an impending population decline

The latest crime statistics show a rise in the vast majority of crime types - while overall crime has increased by seven per cent in the space of a year.

The Scottish government has been warned not to “squander” Scotland’s renewables potential after it was revealed projects have stalled.

The Scottish government has not set out whether it will continue to scale up onshore wind capacity after 2030

The two men wanting to become the next Scottish Labour leader went on the attack in the STV Scotland Tonight debate.

The Steamie by The Scotsman · Episode

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander has shared his view on why Scottish Labour recorded its worst ever Holyrood election result

Monica Lennon has accused Scottish Labour of being “stuck in the past” and of “punching down on trans people and other minorities”.

MSPs hoping to become the next Scottish Labour leader have given a bleak assessment of the party’s standing with the public

Union bosses have also appealed for the Prime Minister to review the security concerns raised over Ming Yang’s plans to build a facility in the Scottish Highlands.

The Scottish government is proposing long-term prisoners including sexual offenders can be automatically released after serving just two thirds of their sentence.

The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society believes it can spearhead the restoration of the Glasgow School of Art’s The Mack

Nigel Farage's party hit by outrage after Byline Times revealed its plans would mean candidates being jailed for up to six months for using Gaelic, Irish or Cornish on election leaflets

The SNP has accused Reform of a move “all too reminiscent of the brutal anti-Gaelic laws of the Highland Clearances”.