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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 17h

Is Andy Burnham brining about change within the Labour Party? Andy Maciver explains why he isn't so sure, and why he thinks the government need to completely rewire the UK economy.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

MP for Glasgow South West, Dr Zubir Ahmed tells Calum Macdonald that Andy Burnham's conference speech was the most consequential since 2006. Was it?

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Does Scotland need a reinjection of regionalism? Andy Maciver suggests several factors, including the independence movement, that has led to a lack of regional identities across the country.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Should Scotland's new regions be run by directly elected mayors? Andy Maciver shares his one major gripe with proposed local government reform in Scotland, suggesting that each level should be represented by a different kind of politicians.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

"It's a moment... but ask me in a year." Geoff Aberdein shares his thoughts on Scottish Labour's new leader Michael Marra. Will he be able to save his party, or will he struggle to breakthrough the SNP's dominance?

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Was Malcolm Offord’s parliamentary walk-out a bad look for Holyrood. Andy Maciver thinks so and explains why.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

“All Labour and Tory leaders have done this to themselves over many years” Andy Maciver suggests that Michael Marra’s success will be based mainly on how PM Andy Burnham performs at Westminster.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Why is education so important? Andy Maciver and Calum Macdonald discuss the importance of education, and how it helps to shape the fundamentals of each part of society.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

“The fundamental problem is that the UK is upside down” Andy Maciver explains why he thinks mandates are so important for guiding policy, particularly in the current UK political system.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

There must be a route… Alex Kerr explains why unionist politicians’ refusal to set out terms for a second independence referendum, completely undermine the argument that the UK is a voluntary union.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

“It was a complete clanger… but…” Andy Maciver explains to Alex Kerr why he thinks that Andy Burnham’s answer on an independence referendum is an easy exploit for the SNP… but that why overall it won’t lead to much.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

“It was historic” Calum Macdonald asks SNP National Secretary Alex Kerr his thoughts on Monday’s summit of First Ministers in Cardiff. Did it have gravitas?... Or was it political theatre?

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

"How 'political utopianism' quietly ruined Scottish education." — Prof. Lindsay Paterson How post-devolution optimism led policymakers to discard centuries of rigorous academic standards in favor of a flawed skills-based curriculum. #ScottishPolitics #UKEducation #Holyrood

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

"Devolution allowed a natural experiment—and England’s education policy completely outperformed Scotland’s." — Prof. Lindsay Paterson International PISA results show 15 years of diverging policy saw England outpace Scotland & Wales in core subjects. #PISAResults #UKEducation #Devolution

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Education Scotland stole teachers' ideas without credit- and top-down control isn't changing! Professor Lindsay Paterson calls out Education Scotland for copying curriculum work developed by teachers while continuing to push restrictive control over Scottish educators. #ScottishEducation #Holyrood

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

"How ONE mandatory hour transformed England's schools for disadvantaged kids!" Professor Lindsay Paterson details David Blunkett's innovative "Literacy Hour"- a mandatory session in schools that delivered educational gains. #EducationReform #UKPolitics #Literacy #Schools #TeachingMethodology

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

🔴 Recording on Wednesday 9th - a Holyrood Sources special with the candidates to lead the Scottish Labour party. @michaeljmarra and @JoeJFagan join us in conversation. What would you like us to ask them? | |

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

“We absolutely need offshore wind” Erikka Askeland, News Editor at Energy Voice, explains the need for renewable energy, namely offshore wind, but points out some of the complications that have to be sorted first.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

“They don’t see a contradiction from a climate change perspective” Andy Maciver compares the situation that Scotland’s energy industry is in compared to Norway. He suggests that Scotland simply doesn’t know what it wants when it comes to energy policy.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

“It’s not going to be easily sorted out” Dave Lord, Editorial Editor at DC Thomson, explains the political situation surrounding the granting of licenses to Rosebank.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

On the first episode of our energy specials, we were joined by Erikka Askeland, News Editor at Energy Voice. She explains the current situation at Rosebank, and why campaigners believe that granting new oil and gas licenses on the site would help to boost the UK’s economy significantly.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

“In the devolution era… no one has ever been a saving government” Andy Maciver suggests that Scottish politics has never seen a devolved government focused on saving money… not that any have necessarily had to under the current system.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Andy Maciver suggests that in the midst of budget discussions, one branch of the public sector that he thinks doesn’t require more funding is the NHS. Instead he thinks the healthcare system needs a rethink, with funding being roughly the same per head as in Germany, but with worse outcomes.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

“I can’t get into the story” Geoff Aberdein suggests that John Swinney’s flights to America are justifiable, as the leader of a country, and that it’s something that nearly all First Ministers do.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The Scottish Government has an extra £860 million to spend... ... but Andy Maciver wonders whether more spending is what the First Minister's focus should actually be?

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

“That’s the nature of this devolution settlement” The Scottish Government has an extra £860 million to spend... Geoff Aberdein explains why that might be the case, and why it isn't necessarily simply good news for Jenny Gilruth.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Is the Prime Minister going to call an early election? Geoff Aberdein wonders what the strategy from Downing Street is going to be, as the Prime Minister and Chancellor might be starting to realise that, just like Starmer, the UK "ain't got enough money".

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

WHAT IF… Rishi Sunak had won in 2024? Calum Macdonald, Geoff Aberdein and Andy Maciver wonder how Scottish politics might look if Rishi Sunak had remained Prime Minister after the 2024 general election.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

“We’ve got lots of land… that no one can see” Andy Maciver explains why he thinks that Data Centres are important and necessary for countries to have in their own right, alongside potential for international investment.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

“The SNP won this election because everyone else was incredbly unpopular." Andy Maciver responds to Douglas Alexander’s comments suggesting that Scottish Labour underestimated how popular the SNP would be at this year’s election.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Could data centres be powered by offshore wind Geoff Aberdein explains why Scotland’s energy projects might be producing excess energy, and wonders if data centres might be a good use of the country’s surplus wind-power.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Is there anything surprising about this year’s GERS figures? Andy Maciver doesn’t think so. He explains why... and how both nationalists and unionists use figures like this each year to try to prove that their side of the independence debate makes the most economic sense.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

“There is now complete unity in terms of science, the medical profession and the law” Andy Maciver says that he thinks that any party that attempts to re-inject some ‘dubiety’ into the gender recognition debate could face electoral consequences.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

"I think my views on an unelected chamber having any say in our democracy is archaic and wrong". @geoffaberdein reflects on former Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar's comments that the House of Lords should be abolished.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

"He didn't put a distinct enough stamp of his own identity on the party. He threw himself in with a lot of Starmer...then tried to extricate himself from that...by calling him to resign too late in the day." @geoffaberdein discusses where it all went wrong for Anas Sarwar.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

"He's been in government for the entirety of the time the SNP have been in office. It probably portrays a bit of frustration on behalf of Labour that they can't really cut through and can't make people understand that." @akmaciver whether John Swinney escape Nicola Sturgeon’s legacy.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

"The energy supply chain in this region is the USP to delivering green energy of the future because we have that sub-sea engineering capability already here. But we are losing it." @geoffaberdein explains why Aberdeen is entirely supportive of renewables.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

"I'm not defending it, I'm just saying, he's far from the first person to get the robes on and say by the way, we should be out of here". Calum MacDonald, Geoff Aberdein and Andy Maciver discuss former Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar's comments that the House of Lords should be abolished.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

"For better or worse, Scotland spends more money than it raises. And that's my issue." @akmaciver breaks down Scotland's fiscal deficit.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Do self assessment figures play a role in tax revenue losses? Laurie Macfarlane, co-founder of Future Economy Scotland, doesn’t think so. He explains why he thinks that the headline grabbing revenue loss figure of £22 million that Dan Neidle suggested last week is unfounded.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

“I think that idea is probably dead for now” Andy Maciver concedes that his vision of an independent Scottish Labour Party is probably out of the question for now, in the midst of the current leadership contest. He breaks down what each of the candidates would bring to the table.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

“If you ask to place a bet on who wins the 2031 election, i’m putting everything on the SNP” Andy Maciver and Calum Macdonald discuss the state of the Scottish Labour leadership race. Will any of the candidates provide the change Labour needs to flip the polls?

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

If it isn’t raising anything in your opinion… why do it? Geoff Aberdein asks Laurie Macfarlane what the purpose of the Scottish Government’s 2023 tax-band rise was… if the amount of money it was raising (or losing) was fiscally immaterial.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Last week on Holyrood Sources, Dan Neidle suggested that the Scottish Government’s tax band rise actually cost the Scottish economy £22 million. This week Laurie Macfarlane co-founder Future Economy Scotland joined us to say that he doesn't think it's quite as simple.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

What are the differences between static and dynamic tax estimates? Dan Neidle explains, and the estimates the Scottish Government would have used when implementing the current 48% top rate of income tax…. And why losing money was always a possibility.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

“An independent Scotland would have much less room for its own fiscal policy than they’d like to say” Dan Neidle explains the two reasons as to why he thinks it’s very tricky for the Scottish Government to raise income tax in its current state.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

An internal party contest or a public leadership election? Calum Macdonald and Scottish Labour Councillor Francesca Brennan discuss whether the Scottish Labour Leader should take place internally, within the Scottish Labour branches, or as a public contest with public debates and forums.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

“John Swinney is having difficulty from a series of policies that he did not create” Andy Maciver explains why he thinks that whilst John Swinney has the potential to be a ‘very good’ First Minister, he currently is dealing with the fallout from policies implemented by his predecessors.

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Holyrood Sources @holyroodsources.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

"If you were to ask any rational human being... who's going to say do this" Dan Neidle explains that he was not consulted during the Scottish Government's decision to raise the top rate of income tax to 48%, a decision which has now cost the Scottish economy £22 million.

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