General Election will be on 6 May … probably >>

Gordon Brown appeared to end the speculation over the election date this morning by giving the clearest indication to date that polling day will be on 6 May. The Prime Minister announced this morning that a budget would take place in “two weeks time” on 24 March. A budget on 24 March would give the parties six weeks between that date and a General... Read more

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UK Border Agency vigil for dead asylum family >>

By Allan Laing Two days after a family of failed asylum seekers leapt to their deaths from a block of flats in Glasgow, a group of neighbours today held a vigil outside the offices of the UK Border Agency in the city. As the authorities continued their investigation into what drove the victims – believed to be a father, mother and son originally from... Read more

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Expert witness: Has bomb bay heating fault forced Nimrod retirement? >>

By James Jones James Jones was a Nimrod engineering officer, responsible for carrying out flight trials at A&AEE Boscombe Down (now QinetiQ), prior to aircraft entering service in 1968. In 1969, he flew in XV230 – the aircraft which crashed in Afghanistan in 2006, killing 14. Since that accident he has acted as a technical advisor to the families... Read more

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Diary: Tories claim EU a threat to sporrans >>

The Tories have warned about a threat to Scottish sporran sellers after it emerged that the sale of new seal-skin sporrans will be banned from this August. Conservative MSP Nanette Milne warned today that EU plans to curb the sale or rental of seal skins from this August could have a major impact on sporran sellers. Ms Milne said the plans were “unclear”... Read more

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Analysis: Time to get serious about a green economy >>

By John Knox We prefer to talk about the weather rather than the climate. And now that spring is here, it’s a cheerful enough subject. The sun shines again, the birds are singing, the crocuses are out and soon the daffodils will be stretching in never ending line along the margin of the bay. The coldest winter for nearly 50 years is over, the snaw... Read more

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The car crash that was Steven Purcell’s week >>

Another day, another revelation. Or rather, a whole series of new facts, statements and conjecture in the ongoing – and now hopefully finished – saga of the fall of Steven Purcell. “From councillor to counselling,” said one apt but cruel headline about the political car-crash which has been Mr Purcell’s week. The 37-year-old Labour politician... Read more

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Scott sets Lib Dems election target of quarter of Scottish seats >>

Tavish Scott, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, has set his party the ambitious target of winning more than a quarter of all the seats in Scotland in this year’s General Election. In an interview with The Caledonian Mercury on the eve of his party’s Scottish conference, Mr Scott said he believed his party would win 16 seats – four... Read more

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SNP in hung parliament talks >>

SNP leaders were reported today to have started discussions with some of the UK’s other smaller parties in an attempt to take advantage of a hung parliament. Senior Scottish Nationalists are understood to have been in talks with the Welsh Nationalists and are looking for similar negotiations with both the unionists and the nationalists in Northern... Read more

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Diary: Mixing your messages can lead to hangovers >>

How about this for mixed messages? Last month the Scottish Government announced plans to restrict what we eat and drink, including a proposal to impose smaller portion sizes on restaurants – by law if necessary. The government is also in the middle of a high-profile campaign to increase the price of alcohol, including Scotland’s most famous export,... Read more

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Ex-Labour leader Michael Foot dies at 96 >>

Michael Foot, the former Labour leader, has died at the age of 96. Mr Foot was in charge of the party when it fought the 1983 general election against Margaret Thatcher. Mr Foot was only leader of the Labour Party for three years – between 1980 and 1983 – but he took charge during a time of great upheaval within the party. In 1980, Labour had just... Read more

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