NIGEL Farage’s UK Independence Party has entered the contest for a city council seat just a day after the controversial leader was locked in a Capital pub for his own safety as protesters demonstrated outside.

Are the wheels beginning to come off David Cameron’s coalition wagon? Did it ever have four wheels in the first place?

A SANDWICH toaster, office graphics and a jar of coffee are among the items which taxpayers paid for in the latest list of MSPs’ expenses.

A LEGAL challenge to false statements made by either side of the independence debate would have little chance of success, according to academics.

SEX will be top of the agenda again at the Church of 
Scotland’s General Assembly, which opens on Saturday. Four years after its first debate on whether or not to accept gay ministers, the question still dominates the Kirk’s deliberations.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage will visit Edinburgh today as part of a plan to build on electoral gains in England and start winning in Scotland.

Controversy today surrounds the appointment of Lothian’s newest NHS boss after it emerged he lives on the other side of the country and has no experience in healthcare.

Secondary schools are set to become key political battlegrounds as pro and anti-independence groups go head-to-head to sway first-time 16-year-old voters.

MSPS clashed over plans for a public inquiry into the trams after one said he “relished” the prospect of hearings into the controversial project.

A PARALYMPIAN gold medallist has been chosen as the SNP’s candidate in the council by-election to find a replacement for former economic 
development chief Tom 
Buchanan.

A BLUEPRINT for the future of the banking sector has been branded “worryingly naive” by trade unionists.

WORK will start today on the latest phase of the controversial £6.5 million security extension being built on to the Scottish Parliament.

JUSTICE Secretary Kenny MacAskill has snubbed campaigners fighting to save Haddington Sheriff Court by refusing their invitation to a public meeting to explain his decision to approve its closure.

A COUNCILLOR has been reported to standards watchdogs for allegedly describing the SNP as “fascists”.

EDINBURGH Central SNP MSP Marco Biagi has called on council chiefs to act on the Capital’s failing air quality standards.

THE number of top-paid executives at Edinburgh City Council has increased despite the economic crisis, according to a new “Town Hall Rich List” published today.

IT may not have the same ring about it as St Andrew’s Day or Burns Night, but today is Europe Day – and in its own way it could prove just as significant in next year’s independence referendum.

A LONG-SERVING Edinburgh councillor, who was made an MBE in recognition of his work, has died in hospital.

CAMPAIGNERS fighting for a new high school in Portobello Park have launched a public petition in support of a new Private Bill which would allow education chiefs to build on the green space.

IT’S the time that every school pupil dreads – the end of year bringing the report card. Edinburgh’s council coalition has been at work for almost 12 months so has it passed with flying colours or is it a case of “must try harder”?