The Forgettable Election On 25 March, the UK Government blocked Ming Yang’s bid to build Britain's largest wind turbine manufacturing plant on the Moray coast. The Chinese renewable energy company had proposed to invest £1.5b...

"One can’t escape the sense that this May’s poll is passing voters by."

My latest for Conter on a forgettable Scottish election campaign.

In the latest episode of Nest of Fearties, Robin McAlpine of Common Weal and Ross Gibson of Strathclyde UCU discuss the profound crisis facing the further education sector.

🎙️ Listen to 'Scotland's Collapsing Universities' now: buff.ly/IH9BU6G

How the UK-US 'special relationship' made Westminster look impotent on world stage SINCE the beginning of Donald Trump’s war on Iran late last month, Keir Starmer and his Cabinet have been at pains to insist that Britain is not…

"Workers across Britain are bearing the burden of a war in which they have played no part and been afforded no say."

My @scotnational.bsky.social column on the implications of the ‘special relationship’ for the cost of living.

🗳️ The fifth episode of Election '26 — Skotia's new weekly podcast dedicated to covering this May’s Scottish Parliament election — is out now.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts: buff.ly/wWBsms4

Nice to see you!

Activist Coll McKail and Indypodcaster Fiona at the Faslane demo yesterday, standing either side of Scottish CND banner hanging from the barbed wire topped fences at the North Gate of the naval base

Good to see activist @mccailcoll.bsky.social at the #Faslane demo yesterday, both of us filming in the rain, with Coll getting extra points for also being one of the speakers! Thanks to Scottish CND for organising the rally at the North gate of the hellsite that is the Faslane nuclear sub base.

Labour has become the cartel party par excellence. Divorced from the people they claim to serve, the narrow clique atop the Starmer project looks ever more like what Abbe Sieyes would call a "separate people".

My column in the Morning Star: morningstaronline.co.uk/article/keir...

This week, the jury box threw a spanner in the works of the war machine. That’s exactly why Keir Starmer and David Lammy want to do away with it.

My column in today’s @scotnational.bsky.social: www.pressreader.com/uk/the-natio...

"Scotland, as the seizure of the Marinera and its aftermath illustrate, is the vassal of a declining American empire – and our politicians can’t bring themselves to admit it."

My latest for Conter: buff.ly/nsBDGAv

Britain's Nuclear "Independence" is a Myth | Samuel Rafanell-Williams YouTube video by Skotia

Keir Starmer just admitted what campaigners have argued for years: Britain's nuclear 'independence' is a myth, says Samuel Rafanell-Williams of Scottish CND.

This is our 20th episode of Nest of Fearties.

With less than 100 days until May's Holyrood election, it's an important milestone for us as we look to expand our coverage.

If you're enjoying the podcast, do chip in to keep us publishing: patreon.com/skotia

The Scottish Labour Party’s Holyrood representation has shrunk at every Scottish Parliament election since 1999.

I’ve written for today’s Herald about why that isn’t about to change.

Read online: bit.ly/3Ly57IK

Spoke with @tajali1.bsky.social and @mccailcoll.bsky.social this morning for @theskotia.bsky.social podcast.

Politics pub chat on a Friday morning – can't whack it.

If you wanna hear us trying to make sense of – and creating solutions for – the country’s problems, then it will be available soon.

Trump’s Venezuela Spectacle Shows US Empire Is in Decline | Novara Media Washington’s power is waning - so it’s little wonder the US president is resorting to crude shows of aggression, writes Coll McCail.

"Ultimately, the spectacle of lawlessness to which the people of Venezuela have been subject belies a fundamental truth: Washington’s power is waning."

I've written about Trump, Venezuela and the 'Donroe Doctrine' for @novaramedia.com.

Link in the post below.

Thanks, comrade. Happy new year!

Nest of Fearties #18: The Year in Review

The launch of @theskotia.bsky.social podcast has created a good platform for left-wing analysis of Scottish politics. It was one of the few bright spots of 2025. Well done to @mccailcoll.bsky.social and Rory Hamilton for all their work. Listen and subscribe for more in 2026!

Venezuela: When Might Makes Right Since the beginning of September, the United States has conducted 23 aerial attacks on small boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. At least 90 people have been killed in what the Trump adm...

"In Venezuela, we see the reality of imperial violence in a world where might is right: Murder advertised on our timelines, starvation as strategy and old-fashioned colonial theft in service of regional domination."

For Conter on 'Operation Southern Spear’.

'Ignored by their government, we can't let the hunger strikers die this Christmas' As Christmas approaches the government is hoping you'll forget about the eight Palestine activists on hunger strike in British jails, writes Coll…

“Innocent young people have been allowed to reach the point of death by grey men in grey suits who, when not ignoring their suffering entirely, flatly deny their agency to mitigate it.”

My latest for The Herald.

Scotland's first minister backed Israeli sanctions, but met with Airbnb while it promoted West Bank 'occupation tourism' Airbnb’s business practices in the West Bank have long been in the spotlight, prompting criticism from human rights campaigners. We can now reveal that the firm has lobbied the Scottish Government 52 ...

Hours after the Palestinian Ambassador urged the SNP to "isolate" companies that profit from the occupation, John Swinney met with Airbnb, which lists hundreds of properties in illegal Israeli settlements.

My piece in @theferret.scot.

Scotland’s left is outmanoeuvred and outpaced “MAN the barricades as we take on the political Establishment.”Readers of this newspaper have heard these words before. They inspired the Paris Communards to storm the heavens in 1848, galvanised the ...

"Just over a mile from the Grangemouth Oil refinery, a London stockbroker and an Edinburgh investment banker told a story of decline and deindustrialisation that spoke to the despair of Scots across the country."

My latest in today's Morning Star.

It was great to join the Skotia podcast to talk all things ScotWind with Dave Moxham from the STUC.

Listen here:

Is Scotland squandering its offshore potential?

Almost four years on from the ScotWind leasing round, Dave Moxham (STUC) and Laurie Macfarlane (Future Economy Scotland) offer their perspectives.

Listen to the latest episode of Nest of Fearties now: buff.ly/4bAhXVT

Mossmorran workers are the latest to be betrayed by government On November 18, ExxonMobil announced that it plans to close its ethylene plant at Mossmorran in Fife

“Multinational corporate actors have no stake in the future of Scotland’s energy transition but all the power to determine its direction.”

My latest in today’s @scotnational.bsky.social.

Chair of the STUC Youth Committee, Coll McCail, gave his solidarity greetings from the STUC Youth Committee highlighting the shared struggle among equalities groups. Thanks Coll!

@mccailcoll.bsky.social

#stucdisabledworkers25

Caledonian Paralysis Despite the party’s failure and scandals, the SNP is set to lead a historic fifth term in government in Holyrood next May. The Scottish Left needs to reestablish itself and rejuvenate the politics of ...

No political party with a record as poor as the SNP’s should be assured a fifth successive victory at next year’s Holyrood election. And yet, here we are. But why?

Me on ‘Caledonian paralysis’ for Tribune Magazine.

In August, almost two million Vietnamese people donated to a major crowdfunding campaign for Cuba. It's the latest act in a long history of solidarity between the two peoples.

I've written about that bond for the latest issue of Cuba Sí.

Frankly: Legacy Management In Parochial Scotland Earlier this year, Nicola Sturgeon’s autobiography entered a political sphere still reeling from its author’s departure from frontline politics in March 2023. Frankly promised to offer welcome, if tem...

Read online. www.conter.scot/2025/10/1/fr...

In this month's Conter column, I've written about Nicola Sturgeon's memoir and the reaction 'Frankly' received in a country still grappling with its author's departure from frontline politics. Link below.

Scotland is not for sale. Can someone tell the SNP Government? "NATURE is not only something to save, it is something to invest in ..."

"Today, MSPs can be brought to blows by seagulls, but never spurred to act against a system that strips power and control from their constituents."

My column in today's @scotnational.bsky.social.