John McLellan

The reputational damage suffered by Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon is likely to dampen voters' enthusiasm for Scottish independence (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

SNP and independence are inextricably linked whatever party critics say

Not all the anti-monarchist protesters were arrested as King Charles and Queen Camilla were crowned (Picture: Gareth Fuller/WPA pool/Getty Images)

Free speech does not mean protesters can disrupt public events like Coronation

It's probably unlikely that Ben Stiller or Robert De Niro, seen in a campervan in Meet The Fockers, will play roles in any future film about the SNP (Picture: Moviestore/Shutterstock)

SNP facing split that makes Alba party breakaway look like minor disagreement

Most voters whose priority is saving the Union already understand how to vote tactically (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Tories' anti-SNP tactical voting scheme will dismay activists in urban Scotland

Humza Yousaf, seen at a community cafe in Dalkeith, claims there was a cock-up, not a conspiracy, over the SNP's membership figures (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

SNP party membership scandal raises questions about Yousaf’s judgment

Alcohol marketing restrictions do not seem to have had a big effect on consumption in Finland (Picture: Markku Ulander/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images)

Scotland should learn a lesson about alcohol advertising bans from Scandinavia

The trick of the Salmond/Sturgeon era was to create the impression that the SNP was a unified centre-left, social democratic party (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

A collision with reality has caused the SNP's descent into chaos – John McLellan

Actress Noele Gordon, aka Meg Mortimer, with her screen daughter and husband, ruled the roost in soap opera Crossroads until, like Nicola Sturgeon, she found her time in charge hit a dead end (Picture: PA)

Sunak's high-tax Tories and Labour's polls surge are problems for new SNP leader

Supporters may discover Nicola Sturgeon has killed off their goal of Scottish independence (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA)

Sturgeon resigned to avoid carrying can for end of indy 'dream' – John McLellan

The police recording of 'hate incidents' where no crime has been committed is pushing Police Scotland into a democratic minefield, writes John McLellan.

Police recording of 'hate incidents' should worry us all - John McLellan

Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer should work on a much clearer vision of the UK's future relationship with the EU (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

How Scottish Labour can make greater inroads on SNP support – John McLellan

Nicola Sturgeon addresses a Scottish independence rally outside the Scottish Parliament after UK Supreme Court judges rejected her plans to hold a second independence referendum (Picture: Peter Summers/Getty Images)

Sturgeon's democracy denier jibe adds to poisonous nature of political debate

Supporters of the Yes and No campaigns gather outside Dumbarton Town Hall in September 2014 ahead of the Scottish independence referendum (Picture: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Unionists need to make the emotional case for staying in the UK – John McLellan

Is it time to stop the Scottish NHS being used as a political football and take a different approach? (Photo: Michael Gillen).

Readers' letters - parties should band together to save the Scottish NHS

The times call for the kind of unflashy steadiness that Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister and Jeremy Hunt as Chancellor can offer, writes John McLellan. PIC: PA Wire/Victoria Jones.

With Sunak and Hunt, the next election will be a contest - not a wipe out

New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Picture: Getty Images

Analysis: Why this really is the last roll of the dice for the Tories

Liz Truss keeps a firm hold of her glass during her speech

Like her glass, Truss needs to take a firm grip of the books - and her party

King Charles III receives Prime Minister Liz Truss in the 1844 Room at Buckingham Palace (Picture: Kirsty O'Connor/WPA pool/Getty Images)

Truss's 'New Conservative' government echoes New Labour's view of taxation

Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss on the campaign trail this week. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Truss has to convince she is a serious leader for serious times - John McLellan

Boris Johnson needs to realise it's time to take his David Brent act on the road (Picture: Ian West/PA Wire)

How Boris Johnson has, in his own words, become like David Brent – John McLellan

Boris Johnson speaks on the phone with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

The Tories are torn, Boris Johnson's credibility is in tatters - John McLellan

Will Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson still be First Minister and Prime Minister, respectively, in 2024? (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Why Sturgeon and Johnson's days in high office may be numbered – John McLellan

The SNP should say that, while independence is its long-term goal, the immediate priority is the economy (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

SNP should admit independence isn't going to happen any time soon

Should Boris Johnson be looking to Winston Churchill for inspiration?

UK needs wartime-style economic plan, not a trade war with EU – John McLellan

Compared to Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, Edinburgh and Glasgow’s SNP leaders are lickspittle satraps (Picture: Martin Rickett/pool/Getty Images)

How to stop national politics overshadowing local elections – John McLellan

Tony Blair has called for the reform of courses which do not build valuable skills (Picture: Victoria Jones/PA Wire)

Tony Blair's home truths aren't the only sign of trouble for universities

Demonstrators outside the entrance to 10 Downing Street yesterday (Photo by Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images)

Readers' Letters: UK could cope with Johnson stepping down

Boris Johnson meets Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukraine, shortly before the Russian invasion (Picture: Peter Nicholls/PA)

Johnson may survive for now, but lockdown fines could come back to haunt him

The sell-off of Channel 4, broadcasters of shows including Gogglebox (pictured), has prompted a remarkable anti- Conservative reaction when crucial issues facing the British media continue to go unnoticed, writes John McLellan.

Political heat around Channel 4 deflects from crunch issues for British media

The late former bare-knuckle boxer Willy Collins’ grave in Sheffield

Monumental public spending failures are the product of ego and ambition

Boris Johnson is too big a personality to be hidden away from Scottish voters (Picture: Stefan Rousseau/pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Scotland desperately needs a cohesive alternative to SNP – John McLellan

Police officers detain a demonstrator during a protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in central Saint Petersburg (Picture: Sergei Mikhailichenko/AFP via Getty Images)

The West must persuade the Russian people to topple Putin – John McLellan

Edinburgh SNP MP Joanna Cherry has faced a campaign of vilification (Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

Cancel culture is silencing dissenting voices and views – John McLellan

Jack Hawkins and Joan Collins in the 1955 film Land of the Pharaohs (Picture: Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock)

Why Boris Johnson needs to watch Land of the Pharaohs – John McLellan

The ongoing Boris Johnson saga has reduced Scottish Conservatives like Ruth Davidson to tears (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Scottish Tories can’t rely on Johnson, but can’t defect to Labour –John McLellan

Boris Johnson has demonstrated his survival skills, but must tackle the cost-of-living crisis (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Johnson must scrap NI rise if he is to escape Partygate scandal – John McLellan

Homes are supposed to be fitted with smoke alarms and other safety equipment by February (Picture Jean-Philippe Ksiazek/AFP via Getty Images)

New smoke alarm rules epitomise SNP's impractical policies – John McLellan

Conservative volunteers may not wish to go canvassing ahead of council elections to face anger over Boris Johnson's actions (Picture: Rui Vieira/WPA pool/Getty Images)

Johnson may have already damaged Tory chances in local elections – John McLellan

Boris Johnson needs to rediscover his political form (Picture: Jack Hill/WPA pool/Getty Images)

Why Johnson needs to focus on cost-of-living crisis – John McLellan

The Scottish government wants councils to ask school pupils intimate questions about sex (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

School sex survey: Edinburgh urged to halt 'inappropriate' questionnaire

Even the anodyne duo of Ant and Dec are making jokes at Boris Johnson's expense (Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Johnson's blunders are distracting from serious issues – John McLellan

Larry the Cat, Britain's Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, stands by a Christmas wreath hanging on the door of the official residence of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson 10 Downing Street, in London. Picture: AP Photo/Matt Dunham

Why Boris Johnson needs to learn some skills off Nicola Sturgeon - John McLellan

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has endured the worst spell of his premiership but there is no sign of any serious attempt to drop the pilot, writes John McLellan. (Photo by MATT DUNHAM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The self-inflicted injuries of Boris' white knuckle ride need to stop - John McL...

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once described power as the 'ultimate aphrodisiac' (Picture: Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images)

Politics is an ugly business for showy people – John McLellan

Standing down: Councillor John McLellan

Edinburgh City Council Conservative John McLellan to stand down

Boris Johnson speaks during a press conference at the COP26 climate change summit (Picture: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)

Johnson's blunders in Paterson affair may put wind in SNP sails – John McLellan

Nicola Sturgeon meets Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on day two of the COP26 climate change summit (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Is Sturgeon touting for a new job with international agency? – John McLellan

Unions had threatened to strike during the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow (Picture: Michael Gillen)

It's union militants, not Thatcher, who are the problem – John McLellan

Unlike his party conference speech, Boris Johnson's new zeal for heat pumps and compulsory insulation may not go down well with Conservative members (Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Johnson's eco-friendly hair-shirt risks alienating Tory voters – John McLellan

The demand for allotments is growing.

Sixteen years - the waiting time for an East Lothian Allotment

The move to a net-zero carbon economy need not mean the end of fossil fuels if carbon-capture-and-storage technology delivers (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

COP26 must not lead to the end of North Sea oil and gas – John McLellan

John McLellan has been having trouble with the Covid passport app on his smartphone (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

Covid passport chaos is another sign of SNP's failings – John McLellan

Boris Johnson's 'stand-up' went down a storm at the Conservative party conference (Picture: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

Johnson can still win Scotland over to his charms – John McLellan

After an overwhelming 2019 election victory, the completion of Brexit and the stunning success of the vaccination programme, Conservatives have reasons to be pleased with Boris Johnson (Picture: Lindsey Parnaby/WPA pool/Getty Images)

Why Tories have reasons to celebrate at conference but won't – John McLellan

Nicola Sturgeon speaks over the internet at the virtual SNP conference (Picture: Andrew O'Brien)

Nationalists starting to admit independence would be 'hard work' – John McLellan

Boris Johnson may face a more difficult Conservative party conference than two years ago (Picture: Toby Melville/pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Johnson's 'Blue Labour' policies are testing Tory loyalty – John McLellan

The Scotsman Top Stories

Scottish Labour are predicting 20,000 Scots will die in 2023 while waiting for NHS Treatment.

More than 18,000 Scots died while waiting on NHS treatment, amid private surge

Hull 802 under construction at the Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow in April with sister ferry Glen Sannox afloat behind. Picture: John Devlin

Troubled shipyard Ferguson Marine hails apprenticeship applications deluge

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been accused of wanting to keep the Covid inquiry in the dark.

Government launch legal action to stop Covid inquiry seeing Johnson's WhatsApps