Scotland trending: Today’s most talked-about topics

TODAY’S top stories on social media from Scotland and beyond. In today’s edition, Scotland’s islands are found the be the happiest place to live in the UK, and Andrew Lloyd Weber is criticised for flying across the Atlantic Ocean to vote for tax credit cuts

The site had recently been renamed Leuchars Station. Picture: PA

Scotland’s islands are ‘happiest places to live in UK’

Scotland is more prosperous than England and is home to four of the top 10 most prosperous parts of the UK, a new study has shown. The Western Isles and Orkney have beaten better-off mainland areas because of their sense of community and security. The findings are based on a measure of prosperity by merging how happy people are with their income levels.

Andrew Lloyd Webber derided for Transatlantic flight to vote for tax cuts

Millionaire Conservative peer Andrew Lloyd Webber faced criticism for flying back to the UK to vote in tax reform that the Conservatives ultimately lost by thirty votes. The composer was in New York before being summoned by party whips to take part in the essential vote. A spokesperson for Lloyd Webber emphasised that the flight would not be paid for by the taxpayer and that the star had never claimed expenses from the House of Lords.

More than 100 Scottish film locations unveiled in new book

A book which contains details of more than 100 films shot in Scotland over the decades is to be launched to capitalise on the growing trend of “set-jetting”. The publication, Set in Scotland: A Film Fan’s Odyssey, created by VisitScotland, gives visiting fans the chance to visit the Scottish locations of their favourite films including Skyfall, which features Glen Etive as James Bond’s ancestral home; 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film The 39 Steps, which includes the iconic Forth Bridge and Chariots of Fire which opens with a scene filmed on the beach in St Andrews.

RAF Leuchars air base ‘could be re-opened’

Defence bosses could re-open the Leuchars air base, in Fife, Scotland, in response to threats from Russian aircraft and submarines after the Nimrod fleet was retired without replacement in 2011. A new fleet of maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) could be based there as part of the government’s forthcoming defence review. RAF Leuchars, the UK’s second most northerly air defence station, closed as an air base just six months ago.

The internet reacts to Spectre’s opening night

The newest James Bond epic launched in cinemas across the UK yesterday, with critics praising the CGI-free action sequences but panning the film’s reliance upon old Bond techniques. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were among those who attended the premiere.