2023 will likely be the year Green MSP Gillian Mackay’s “Buffer Zones” Bill comes into effect in Scotland. The law would establish a 150m radius “safe access zone” around Scottish abortion clinics, protecting a legal right extant since 1967. The impetus for this law lies in a US-based “charity” — 40 Days for Life — […]
Modern Two, one of the two galleries at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, is closing until further notice. The National Galleries of Scotland is facing an unprecedented crisis in funding, according to their Director-General Sir John Leighton. Speaking at Holyrood in September, he said: ‘Already, before the events of recent months, we were […]
Nicola Sturgeon announced today that her government plans to hold another independence referendum on 19 October 2023. Speaking to Holyrood in a televised address, she said that the 2021 Scottish general election’s pro-independence majority gave her a mandate to pursue another referendum. Like the 2014 vote, the referendum would be consultative, meaning that the result […]
When I ask you to consider who owns Scotland, what first comes to mind? My focus is instantly drawn to the verb choice. Owns. ‘Who owns Scotland’ implies that Scotland is an entity for sale, to be carved up and greedily possessed. And after not insignificant research, this rather arbitrary interpretation proves pretty close to the […]
As of the 15th of February, anyone entering Scotland (with the exception of those entering via the common travel area (CTA)) will be required to isolate in a hotel of the government’s choosing for 10 days at a personal cost of £1,750. This policy has been enacted in order to further stem the spread of […]
The Holyrood committee of MSPs investigating how the Scottish Government handled sexual harassment allegations against Alex Salmond has re-issued its invitation to the former First Minister to give evidence to the inquiry. The committee re-issued the invitation on Wednesday, while also stating that Lady Dorrian’s High Court ruling last week had “no impact” on whether […]
A senior SNP MP has said the party is in “unprecedented turmoil” after being dropped from the party’s shadow cabinet at Westminster. Joanna Cherry, MP for Edinburgh South West since 2015, rose to prominence as shadow justice secretary. In this role, she launched numerous legal cases against the government at the height of Brexit tensions […]
In March, the trial of Alex Salmond, former First Minister of Scotland on multiple counts pertaining to alleged sexual assault and other similar reprehensible alleged crimes will begin. In the last few weeks Derek Mackay, the Scottish Government Finance Minister resigned after The Sun timed the release of a story the day before the release […]