Birmingham is awash with local election candidates – but will result be a ‘coalition of chaos’? Some fear a fragmented field of hopefuls from Labour, the Conservatives, Greens, Reform and independents could leave city ungovernable

ICYMI last week - this is a great, comprehensive explainer from @nehagohil.bsky.social on the plethora of choices facing Birmingham voters in the local elections

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

No 10 signals Starmer accepts he inadvertently misled parliament over Mandelson vetting – UK politics live Downing Street spokesperson says PM ‘would never knowingly mislead parliament or the public’

Politics live - @moreincommonuk.bsky.social MRP poll suggests near tie between pro-independence and pro-UK parties in the Holyrood election on 7 May, with SNP and Scottish Greens one seat short of a pro-independence majority - @severincarrell.bsky.social reports

www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

How Reform is exposing the reality of Scotland’s views on immigration and identity Once a progressive outlier, Scotland is facing a political reckoning as Reform benefits from growing social division

Just heard from an Aberdeen activist I interviewed for this piece, who came across another racist poster on the bus stop on their way to work this morning...

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

How Reform is exposing the reality of Scotland’s views on immigration and identity Once a progressive outlier, Scotland is facing a political reckoning as Reform benefits from growing social division

“It’s not as simple as whether Scotland is welcoming or not; the difference is in the visibility of racism”

How the rise of Reform is challenging assumptions about progressive Scotland

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

‘Things could go backwards’: Kezia Dugdale on safety, LGBTQ+ rights and the future of Stonewall Exclusive: Former Scottish Labour leader says she feels more scared as a lesbian today and calls for a kinder debate on transgender issues

‘Things could go backwards’: Kezia Dugdale talks to Helen Pidd about safety, LGBTQ+ rights and the future of Stonewall, announcing her new role as chair

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

How Reform is exposing the reality of Scotland’s views on immigration and identity Once a progressive outlier, Scotland is facing a political reckoning as Reform benefits from growing social division

Holyrood elections: how Reform is exposing the reality of Scotland’s views on immigration and identity

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Starmer says it is ‘staggering’ and ‘unforgivable’ he was not told Mandelson failed vetting – UK politics live PM responds to Guardian revelations that Foreign Office overrode failed security vetting for former minister

Buoyant Scottish Lib Dems launch their manifesto in Edinburgh - politics live

www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

This is a great addition to the UK politics pod scene, from those super-smart nuance hounds at @moreincommonuk.bsky.social

In this first episode, interesting detail on what young ppl really think about social media

Badenoch calls Farage an ‘opportunist’ after he urges Scottish nationalists to back Reform Tory leader criticises Farage for saying that holding another independence vote ‘probably quite reasonable’

Badenoch calls Farage an ‘opportunist’ after he urges Scottish nationalists to back Reform

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

‘The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the SNP’s pledges were not backed up by a credible plan to pay for them, given that substantial public sector efficiencies were already planned to pay for existing policies & this lack of precision was a “familiar pattern” in Scottish elections’

SNP pledges to cap bread and milk prices if it wins Scotland’s parliamentary elections John Swinney unveils his party’s manifesto, saying cost of living is the ‘defining issue’ for voters on 7 May

SNP pledges to cap bread and milk prices if it wins Scotland’s parliamentary elections

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

I’m here in Glasgow for the SNP’s manifesto launch. Naturally I’ll be asking detailed questions about policy, costings and the rest but really I just want to know if John Swinney’s going to make his ‘oh!’ face again. Iykyk

One year on: how landmark ruling on single-sex spaces has changed lives Some campaigners are frustrated at slow pace of change, while those impacted are trying to work out what it means day-to-day

One year on: how landmark ruling on single-sex spaces has changed lives

www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Scottish Labour leader calls claim he tried to do Reform deal a ‘desperate lie’ Anas Sarwar says there have been ‘no stitch-ups, no deals, no backroom chats, no back-channel contact with Reform’

Scottish Labour leader calls claim he tried to do Reform deal a ‘desperate lie’

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

💯

Sarwar challenged Swinney several times about the SNP leader's posture of calling out Reform's racism whilst suggesting Labour would do a deal with them, as they continue to attack Sarwar in a dog-whistle/overtly racist way. But this point is too nuanced for telly or indeed the doorstep

Dog missed an interesting exchange where Sarwar challenged Offord about the Reform candidate who called for his kids to be deported; Offord accused Sarwar in turn of 'bouncing up to me at [the last debate] and saying we should work together'

Watching the second of this Holyrood election campaign’s leaders’ debates, tonight on Channel 4, and the dog has already made her position clear

EHRC updates guidance on how to apply supreme court ruling on gender Changes follow concern that original code created a legal minefield for organisations implementing it

EHRC updates guidance on how to apply supreme court ruling on gender

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Guardian announces new writers for flagship newsletters The Guardian has today announced key appointments for its First Edition and Long Wave newsletters, boosting its newsletter expertise globally.

Delighted to be joining the Guardian’s newsletters team as lead writer for First Edition…happening after May 7 so stick with me here til
then for Holyrood election updates

www.theguardian.com/gnm-press-of...

I’ve travelled hundreds of miles around Scotland in the last week or so, urban & rural, east & west, for work & for fun. And I’ve counted four campaign signs in windows, gardens etc FOUR

No wonder strategists are as worried about turnout as they are about voters going to another party

Kimberly’s story: the tragedy that changed British legal history Her death led to landmark ruling that sustained domestic violence can make an abuser criminally responsible for their victim’s suicide

How Kimberley Milne’s death resulted in a prosecution that made British legal history - thoughtful reporting from Geraldine McKelvie & @hannahalothman.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-i...

Scottish Labour pledges £30m to top up artists’ income to a living wage Anas Sarwar says scheme would be part of overhaul of arts funding in Scotland Labour has pledged to spend £30m on giving Scottish artists and musicians a living wage, mirroring a similar scheme in Ireland guaranteeing artists a basic income. Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, said the scheme would be part of a deeper shake-up of cultural funding in Scotland by integrating arts and culture into the Scottish government’s economic strategies if his party won power in next month’s Holyrood election. Continue reading...

Scottish Labour pledges £30m to top up artists’ income to a living wage

Starmer arrives in Saudi Arabia for talks with Gulf leaders on resolution to Iran war - UK politics live PM will meet leaders in the region to discuss diplomatic efforts to support the ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran

Reform UK talk energy policy in Aberdeen while new polling puts them neck and neck again with Labour, despite their leader Malcolm Offord’s falling approval
ratings - UK politics live www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

‘Seismic change’: how election wins for nationalists in Celtic nations could reshape UK With polls suggesting Plaid Cymru, the SNP and Sinn Féin could be in power after May vote, constitutional challenges may lie ahead

"The status quo is not sustainable" - what happens if nationalists win next month across the Celtic nations?
by @severincarrell.bsky.social and Bethan McKernan
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

‘I felt ashamed and scared’: how an online friendship became a sextortion nightmare Thomas found connection online after moving to a rural village with no friends nearby. Then things started to spiral

I spoke to 21 year old Thomas, himself a teenage target, about the realities of sextortion

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Children in UK report online sextortion attempts in record numbers Exclusive: Call for nudity-detection tech on phones as number of under-18s reporting blackmail attempts rises by 34%

NEW Children in UK report online sextortion attempts in record numbers

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

James McAvoy: ‘I’ve been “that Scottish person”, reduced to a noise that comes out of my mouth’ He went from a Glasgow council estate to Hollywood fame. Now, in his directorial debut, the X-Men star is challenging stereotypes about his homeland via the remarkable tale of a real-life hip-hop hoax

I spoke to James McAvoy about his directing debut California Schemin’, Scottish accents and scones

www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ma...

Glasgow arts hub tenants condemn ‘unsustainable’ rent rises by landlord City Property, which manages buildings for council, accused of ‘coercive and unfair’ increases and issuing eviction notices

With the future of Trongate 103 tenants on a knife edge, concern grows about the conduct and accountability of City Property, the arm’s-length organisation that manages hundreds of buildings on behalf of Glasgow city council #T103

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Parties launch Holyrood campaigns against backdrop of voter indecision Change is on offer across the political spectrum, but no one knows whether apathy or tactical voting will prevail

Hope or change or somewhere in between? My analysis of the Holyrood election campaign day one

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...