Sat, 7th December 2024

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and First Minister John Swinney

Starmer to work ‘constructively’ on ending two-child cap in Scotland
First Minister John Swinney raised the issue in private talks ahead of the British-Irish Council

University students studying in a circle

Under-pressure Scottish university chief quits with 'immediate effect'

Author Irvine Welsh, pictured at Leith Theatre. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Trainspotting characters will be looking for love in 1980s-set sequel

Don't Miss

Val McDermid and Nicola Sturgeon will be appearing at a special festive Edinburgh’s Christmas In Conversation event, In The Company of Books, on 15 December at The Assembly Rooms on the Mound where they will be joined by Alan Cumming and bestselling author Paula Hawkins to discuss all things books.

The advice Nicola Sturgeon got from Val McDermid on writing her memoir

The Glen Sannox ferry is due to enter service in January

Glen Sannox starts MOT-like maintenance as update given on start date

The walk takes about two hours and you can warm up with a dram after

The stunning Highlands winter walk that ends in a cosy whisky bar

Waves crashing against South Shields lighthouse in England. Very dangerous winds are set to hit the UK's west coast from as early as Friday night. Picture: PA

Rare red weather warning issued for the UK for high 90mph winds

The country needs less talk and more action from Keir Starmer (Picture: Darren Staples/WPA pool)

Starmer needs to stop campaigning and get on with his job Scotsman comment

John Swinney applauds as Finance Secretary Shona Robison delivers her Budget on Wednesday (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell)

Budget will do nothing for growth – except grow dependency culture John McLellan

Pantomimes are an essential part of the build-up to Christmas (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell)

No Christmas pantos?! Why actors, writers and artists are in trouble Dr Amy Thomas and Dr Arthur Ehlinger

Island communities like Kirkwall have been poorly served by the SNP government in Edinburgh (Picture: Adrian Dennis)

We should be cynical about SNP suddenly listening to rural Scotland Alistair Carmichael

Edward Kane

Edward Kane, Advocate in The Hanged Man. Chapter 5: Thieves, Embezzlers & Resurrectionists (Illustration: Lesley-Anne Barnes Macfarlane)

Edward Kane, Advocate in The Hanged Man. Chapter 5: Thieves, Embezzlers & Resurr...

Illustration: Lesley-Anne Barnes Macfarlane

Edward Kane in The Hanged Man. Chapter 4: ‘He wants to see the dog…’

Illustration: Lesley-Anne Barnes Macfarlane

Edward Kane, The Hanged Man Chapter 3: Lessons of ‘Half-Hangit Maggie’

Highlights

Cellar at 24 in Anstruther

Much-loved Scottish restaurant in picturesque coastal town reopens

Is whisky becoming a buyers market?

10 best luxury whisky gifts for Christmas 2024

Phoebe Strachan (surfing) and Nienke Duinmeijer in a Protect Our Ocean campaign image for Patagonia

Scottish surfing champion Phoebe Strachan joins fight to save seabed

Castle Stalker

Discover 111 hidden gems in new Scottish Highlands guidebook

Notre Dame was rebuilt with traditional skills under threat in Scotland

Lauren Mayberry

Album reviews: Lauren Mayberry | Saint Etienne | Ben Folds

Christmas 2024: The 10 best whiskies for £50 and under

Scotsman Video

Scotsman Video

The latest video from The Scotsman

Featured Videos

Andrea Tarrodi

SCO Digital Season Part Two Andrea Tarrodi’s Serenade in Seven Colours

Watch: Veteran Glasgow Subway carriages reinvented at their new homes

New bike navigation system to help nervous cyclists find safe routes

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the Usher Hall Edinburgh

WATCH: SCO Digital Season, Concert 1 - Coleridge-Taylor's Novelletten

Puzzles

Quick CrosswordTo test and hone your word skills

SudokuThe ultimate logic-based numbers game

WordwheelPit yourself against the clock with our simple anagram game

Sport

Hearts train ahead of Saturday's Premiership match against Dundee.

Hearts nowhere near panic button as confidence levels remain high

Critchley taking no notice of league table as December run targeted

Plucky Edinburgh fall short in Gloucester - and starlet suffers injury

Douglas taken off injured as capital side goes down at Kingsholm

Bob MacIntyre is hugged by Jon Rahm after winning his singles match in last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome

MacIntyre weighs in on Ryder Cup money debate and sets out firm stance

Scot reckons his debut in Rome was like going into battle on a shinty pitch

Bob MacIntyre should feel proud to be teeing up in Tiger Woods' event Martin Dempster

Martin Dempster

SFA panel rule on missed penalty and red card with 4 errors made

Incorrect decisions go against St Mirren, Rangers and Hearts

Hibs boss addresses transfer state of play after key development

Stewart has come in as new head of recruitment

Get The Scotsman app for mobile and tablet

The Scotsman app brings you exclusive, quality news and analysis from The Scotsman, Scotland’s National Newspaper.

Business

Black Friday sales boosted retail revenue by more than 10% in Scotland, with footfall increasing by almost 5% compared to 2023, latest figures show.

Shopping patterns for Black Friday reveal why 2024 was boom year

Harper Macleod said its corporate and M&A (mergers and acquisitions) team advised on 42 transactions in October, as business owners and acquiring companies acted ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ eagerly-awaited, maiden fiscal statement.

Why Budget triggered 'deal a day' for leading Scottish law firm

Politics

A High Court challenge has been brought against the government’s plan to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda. Credit: Getty Images

Home Office relaxes 28-day asylum seeker rule after Glasgow 'pressure'

Scottish Care said the Budget lacked 'targeted support'

SNP Budget 'will kill people', warns Scottish Care

Former independence minister Jamie Hepburn, Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville and former refugees minister Emma Roddick with one of the independence papers.

Exclusive Scottish Government to publish one final independence paper

Kate Forbes

Kate Forbes tells of 'relief' over tax breaks for businesses

On Wednesday Orbex, a rocket manufacturing company which was also constructing the spaceport, suddenly announced it is pausing development at Sutherland and will instead launch from the rival SaxaVord Spaceport on the northern tip of the Shetland Islands.

Public money probe as Orbex shifts focus for space project

Alcohol for sale in a supermarket

Exclusive SNP under fire for ditching public health levy plans in Budget

First Minister John Swinney walks alongside Finance Secretary Shona Robison ahead of the Scottish Budget being delivered. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

SNP warned tax rises and cuts needed to pay for scrapping benefit cap

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gives a speech in Buckinghamshire. Credit: Darren Staples/PA Wire

Analysis What Sir Keir Starmer's 'Plan for Change' means for Scotland

Opinion

Scottish Finance Minister Shona Robison has vowed to scrap the two-child benefit cap (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Readers' Letters: Why should responsible families pay for ever more children?

Temperate rainforests are an important habitat for many different species (Picture: Philip Formby/WTML)

Why Scotland simply must save the home of the world's largest slug Scotsman comment

Theatre School of Scotland

Silence isn’t Golden: Tackling inappropriate behaviour in media and music

Finance Secretary Shona Robison on a pre-Budget visit to green energy firm Logan Energy in Wallyford (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell)

Don't be fooled, SNP's spending spree was made possible by Labour Scotsman comment

Education

Educational programme aimed at raising awareness of online safety, with over two hundred secondary school pupils participating in the sessions at Tynecastle Park between 9th-11th December

How Hearts and their sponsor teamed up to teach kids cyber security

“We are acutely aware of the increasing dangers faced online by young people and welcome this forward-thinking initiative” - Ann Park, Director of Community and Partnership at Hearts

Joshua King

Edinburgh University. Image: Lisa Ferguson

Edinburgh University plans 'significant' course and timetable changes

Stella Maris (Pics: University of St Andrews)

St Andrews University row as rector told to stay away from graduations

Fresh blow as Scottish universities and colleges face real-terms cut Calum Ross

Calum Ross

Heritage and Retro

Braemar in Aberdeenshire. A couple is being sought for a "wonderful" role running holiday accommodation around the village with the role coming with a £60,000 salary and a house.

Couple wanted for 'wonderful' £60k job with house in Highland village

Hall of Clestrain, the Orkney birthplace of Arctic explorer John Rae, is at risk from the elements with a £1.6m campaign now launched to save it. PIC: David Fleetwood.

The £1.6m campaign to save island home of great Arctic explorer

Dowie's Tavern, Libberton's Wynd by George Cattermole shows the Old Town street that disappeared and its most famous hostelry.

Edinburgh's lost street 'The Void' found behind a library door

Archaeologists are to investigate chambered and passage tombs which were built across Scotland around 6,000 years ago (Picture: Gavin MacGregor)

Scotland and France's Auld Alliance (sort of) dates back 6,000 years Scotsman comment

Deep snow in Braemar in 1895. The village recored the lowest ever temperature in the UK that February at -27.2 degrees Celsius. Photograph by Peter M Stewart.

Beautiful Scottish winter days of a bygone age in vintage photographs

Scotland’s Earliest Megalithic Monuments will investigate the chambered and passage tombs which were built across the country around 6,000 years ago.
PIC: Gavin MacGregor, Archaeology Scotland

Secrets of Scotland's earliest 6,000-year-old tombs to be unlocked

Scarpachs at the fank in the 1960s. The last islander left Scarp on December 2 1971 after a long period of population decline with the loss of working-age men particularly felt. PIC: Anderson Burr Bakewell.

The 'sadness and gladness' of abandoning life on a Scottish island

Arts and Culture

Ilumina - In the Light of Shadow

Arts industry thrown £34m 'better than expected' Budget lifeline

Mother Goose at Perth Theatre

Theatre reviews: Mother Goose | Weans in the Woodlands

Author Irvine Welsh, pictured at Leith Theatre. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Trainspotting characters will be looking for love in 1980s-set sequel

Fontaines DC

Fontaines DC, Glasgow review: 'a dynamic display'

Artist Jasleen Kaur with her installation of a car covered in a giant doily

Scottish artist Jasleen Kaur who put doily on a car wins Turner Prize

Henry Redcliffe

Charlie XCX, Glasgow review: 'a cacophonous, unforgiving set'

Amy Adams in Nightbitch

Film reviews: Nightbitch | Grand Theft Hamlet | Rumours

Scotsman Sessions

Just a few of the artists who have performed Scotsman Sessions

The Scotsman Sessions: links to numbers 1-400

Constant Vigier

The Scotsman Sessions #429: Constant Vigier

Jennie Lee: Tomorrow is a New Day

The Scotsman Sessions #428: Kit Laveri, George Docherty & Trish Mullin

David Luximon

The Scotsman Sessions #427: David Luximon

Hay's Way

The largest independent Scottish renewables developer has said progress in the sector is being blocked by “years of intergovernmental discord”, with major investment being put at severe risk.

Exclusive Developers accuse MoD 'stalemate' of blocking £9bn wind farm projects

Scotland’s largest dairy said it does not include a new additive marketed to reduce methane from cattle in its products

Scottish dairy labels keeping away from new methane-reducing additive

Danish clothing tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen is now Scotland’s single largest private landowner after buying up a vast swathe of land covering around 90,000 hectares across 13 estates in Sutherland and the Cairngorms, including Glen Feshie (above), with plans for nature restoration and rewilding on a grand scale

Hollywood backing for a 'rewilding nation' - but what does it mean?

Health

Cows grazing in a field. A case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, has been confirmed on a Scottish farm. Picture: PA

Mad cow disease case reported at Scottish farm

ME Action UK campaigners gather in Parliament Square to demand the £100s millions missing from ME research.

ME: 'Tired doesn't even come close to describing it'

These vitamins could be the key to dodging illnesses this winter

The best Vitamin D supplement to take this winter - a doctor explains

Plant-based alternatives to meat are increasingly realistic (Picture: Adam Berry/Getty Images)

Why it's bad that vegetarians now eat the most ultra-processed foods

Fearne Stewart of Blantyre, South Lanarkshire who is in remission from leukaemia

How Scottish schoolgirl cancer survivor inspired a poem about courage

The NHS is struggling. Can the SNP be trusted to use extra money as a result of Labour's UK Budget to tackle its many problems? (Picture: Christopher Furlong)

As Labour hands over NHS windfall, we should all fear SNP incompetence Jackie Baillie

It's important to be aware of the symptoms of Covid this Christmas.

Covid symptoms you should look out for this Christmas

Recommended

Aldi expert Julie Ashfield shares five secrets about the chilled aisle (Photo: City Press / Adobe)

Aldi's five festive changes for Christmas

This is probably the cheapest way to pick up a branded dash cam

eBay is selling Nextbase dash cams at up to half price

The Anker Solix C300 can charge several devices at once

Review: The Solix C300 rewrites the portable power station rule book

Shoppers in an Aldi supermarket in March 2020 (Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Supermarket opening four new stores this week - full list of locations

Electric shavers are a great time-saver for those who like a smooth start to the day

Shaver deals: Big savings on men's electric shavers for a limited time

An espresso machine and hot chocolate maker are on offer in Aldi later this week

Bargain espresso machine for barista-style coffees on Specialbuys

These subscriptions either send you fully-prepared meals, or the ingredients to start you off on a culinary journey

Top 10 meal kits and recipe boxes - save time and money on your meals

Sport Opinion

Finn Russell dots down for Scotland in the 27-13 win over Australia.

Scotland can dare to dream that France trip will be Grand Slam decider
Hope and expectation swell after successful Autumn Nations Series
Allan Massie

Scotland's Darcy Graham, Blair Kinghorn and Duhan van der Merwe with the Hopetoun Cup at full time.

Scotland pass defining test with distinction as Ritchie shines bright

Australia head coach Joe Schmidt during a training session at Murrayfield on November 22, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

Australian revival is good news for rugby - and for Scotland match

Scotland players celebrate John McGinn's winner against Croatia in a match broadast live free-to-air on YouTube. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

Outrage over Scotland games being shown on YouTube - but what's not to like?

Obituaries

Katie Goodwin was a supporter of many local and international charities

Scotsman Obituaries: Katie Goodwin, Scottish business owner and voluntary leader

Judith Goodier had a lifelong passion for Botany

Scotsman Obituaries: Judith Goodier, early years education specialist

Rugby Union

Matt Fagerson, Scott Cummings and head coach Franco Smith during a Glasgow Warriors training session at Scotstoun.

Glasgow chase history in competition that means so much to them

Edinburgh Rugby take on Gloucester at Kingsholm.

How to watch Gloucester v Edinburgh Rugby on TV plus team news

Jamie Ritchie won't feature for Edinburgh against Gloucester.

Why seven Scotland internationals are missing from Edinburgh team

Blair Kinghorn lifts the Champions Cup last season.

'Brutally difficult': The task awaiting Scotland's teams in Europe

Scotland are due to play three home matches in the 2025 Six Nations.

Scotland suspend Six Nations ticket sales after 'bot attack' detected

Stewart's Melville College players celebrate with the trophy at full time after the 2024 Boys' Schools Cup Final win over Merchiston Castle. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)

Stewart's Melville joy at Murrayfield - results and picture gallery

Former Scotland rugby captain Stuart Hogg (centre) leaves Jedburgh Sheriff Court after being sentenced to a five-year non-harassment order and fined after breaching bail

Sentence for former Scotland captain Stuart Hogg sentence revealed

Former Scotland rugby captain Stuart Hogg has pleaded guilty to one charge of domestic abuse over a five-year period against his former partner.

Stuart Hogg to be sentenced over domestic abuse charge

Freddy Douglas, who made his Scotland debut last month, has signed his first professional contract with Edinburgh Rugby. (Photo by Ewan Bootman / SNS Group)

'World class' starlet shuns big-money move to sign Edinburgh contract

Cars

Jaguar Type 00 concept and crest

New pictures as Jaguar reveals Type 00 concept car

The all-new Dacia Duster

Dacia Duster review: The best cheap family SUV just got even better

This 1957 Jaguar D-type looks cool, but the modern car company is in need of a relaunch (Picture: National Motor Museum/Heritage Images)

Jaguar about to return to fast lane – or crash and burn spectacularly Stephen Jardine

Dryrobe's car seat covers are designed to fit any vehicle

Dryrobe wearers are realising they can have matching car seat covers

Steven chisholm with the 2024 Kia Sorento test car

2024 Kia Sorento PHEV review: 7-seater's practicality & real EV range

The BMW X1 is a premium family SUV

Act fast for a 90p Black Friday offer to try and win this £40,000 BMW

Must Read

Caviar Gold skincare by Lacura hits the middle aisles later this week

Caviar face creams and LED masks: Don't miss Aldi beauty bargains

Yellow warnings caution against further rainfall and colder snaps for Ireland, says Met Office

Ad Feature UK-based radiator supplier comes to Ireland as temperatures plummet

The back of the 31-year-old's bat will be sponsored by Balqis Capital, a leader in private market credit

Ad Feature England Cricketer Liam Livingstone secures new sponsorship deal