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Will Boris Johnson be undone by his latest wheeze – a proposal to refuse the £39bn Brexit “divorce” payment until the EU agrees better departure terms for the UK?

Buoyant party must find distinctive policies and a leader capable of commanding the UK stage, writes Lesley Riddoch.

The BBC says the contest is ‘tantalising’ but there is little to tantalise Scotland in the Conservatives’ internal war, reckons Lesley Riddoch.

Is the BBC’s flagship series now a law unto itself – directly accountable to no one, asks Lesley Riddoch.

Dead policies walking. Dead excuses on parade. Watching UK Education Secretary Damian Hinds on the Andrew Marr programme yesterday, I was reminded of Iain Duncan Smith’s “quiet man” routine – that last embarrassing attempt to postpone his inevitable removal as Tory leader. This time of course it won’t just be a politician but an entire party that fails. And the sure signs are wooden TV performances, where answers to straight questions sound like something from a Monty Python sketch.

Twenty years of the Scottish Parliament has given us a glimpse of what’s possible, writes Lesley Riddoch

Nicola Sturgeon should press ahead with a Citizens’ Assembly as soon as possible, writes Lesley Riddoch

As the polls start pointing towards a Labour/SNP coalition, indyref2 won’t be too far behind, says Lesley Riddoch

Election debate can be a rehearsal for another independence conversation, writes Lesley Riddoch.

Johnson and Rees Mogg, turncoat architects of Brexit, are escaping the wrath of the public, but why, asks Lesley Riddoch

Who are the front-runners to take over as Tory leader from the beleaguered Theresa May? Has Gove been smarter than Hunt? Did Raab and Johnson jump ship too soon? Could Hammond’s lukewarm backing for a second referendum put him back in the frame? Has the grey man David Lidington already sewn it up? Or do we believe the gritted-teeth denials insisting no plans exist to unseat the Prime Minister?

Three days before Brexit, an important by-election takes place in the Houses of Parliament, in which just 31 people will be eligible to select three new members from a shortlist of 14 male candidates.

The way in which our authorities treat young people is key to tackling knife crime, writes Lesley Riddoch

Are we heading for the declaration of a second independence strategy or a fresh campaign before the SNP’s April conference?

No apology, no plausible excuse, not even an emergency broadcast by way of explanation. Instead Theresa May’s unilateral decision to shunt this week’s meaningful vote to the very brink of Brexit was delivered yesterday in the snug surroundings of a jet bound for Egypt.

The workplace parking levy debate proves that Scots needs to rethink our relationship with the car, writes Lesley Riddoch

BBC Scotland needs to dump, not adapt, the tired format that dogs the UK’s flagship politics show, says Lesley Riddoch

Roll out the barrel. With just 54 shopping days till Brexit, a plethora of newspaper stories have linked Britain’s present predicament to heroic moments during the Second World War, when Britannia (arguably) ruled the waves.

In the face of last-minute Brexit panic, giving the politicians in Eire a hard time is not the solution, writes Lesley Riddoch