Aye… but I’m unconvinced it is going to achieve much as the finances still have a long way to go, also it highlights the other things we’re still excluded from. But yes, a bit of progress!

Alyn Smith: Hungary’s election battlefield is on Facebook HUNGARY has an election today, and I’m always wary of getting into the politics of other places but … gaun yersel Péter Magyar! The election is…

📰 A significant election in Hungary I’m not managing to be neutral in, but there’s a lot going on to be thoughtful about. Me in today’s Sunday @scotnational.bsky.social

www.thenational.scot/politics/260...

This fab little route around Stirling rich in history will be led by a local historian May 17th 11:00. Many local cafés for pit stops. One of myriad opportunities as part of the @festivalofeurope.bsky.social Register here: Stirling EuroWalk - Festival of Europe Scotland share.google/S7coPkTCcxOc...

I'm afraid I would not take Best for Britain as a reliable source for much.

EU budget wrangling a reminder of how much Scotland has lost – but hope remains Scotland benefitted massively from EU membership precisely because the EU prioritised underrepresented regions and industries against the central…

📰 I remember the days when 1.8 trillion euros was a lot of money. The EU budget has the potential for huge added value in all of Scotland's best strengths, and Scotland (and the UK) will be getting none of it. Rejoining is more urgent than you think.

www.thenational.scot/politics/259...

Yes of course we do. The linkage is well past the point of making sense and makes no sense at all when renewables make up so much of a share now of our generation. There’s details to be worked out yet of course but the linkage is now entirely artificial.

Alyn Smith: Dependency on oil is ludicrous when Scotland won the green energy jackpot An independent Scotland simply won’t run our energy market like this.

📰 In case you missed it, here's yesterday's column from me in the Sunday National on how events in the MidEast, again, underline why we need to get the full community and economic benefit of Scotland's renewables jackpot.

www.thenational.scot/business/259...

Energy bills are estimated to soar again by £332 from July. Households cannot afford to take another hit.

I am calling on the Prime Minister to urgently convene a four nations emergency summit and freeze the price cap now.

This thread on the different currents in the UK government is very worth your time. @snp.org’s position is clear, we want fully back in EU and independence is the only way. But I’d also like to see the UK back too, so Labour’s debate matters.

Keir Starmer has a chance to rejoin the EU single market. Will he take it? WHEN I think back to the crazy period of the Brexit negotiations 2016-2020 a moment always comes back to me. My old friend, the president of the…

🗞️ There's a lot more happening on UK-EU talks than you might think, but it is all guddling around the simple core problem: Out means Out. My column in today's Sunday @scotnational.bsky.social

www.thenational.scot/politics/259...

*restarting 🙊

Iceland locks in on date for EU referendum | Euractiv As a member of the European Economic Area, Iceland is already aligned with much of the bloc's legislation

And now confirmed, iceland to hold referendum on restatting EU accession talks. Scotland will be watching closely.

www.euractiv.com/news/iceland...

Alyn Smith: Even Iceland’s looking to the EU. What’s the UK waiting for? The news last week that the Icelandic government will bring forward a referendum on restarting EU membership talks was seismic

🗞️ ICYMI Big news from Iceland, now looking urgently at EU membership in a way it simply wasn’t a matter of months ago. Significant implications for Scotland and UK, I sketch out in @scotnational.bsky.social:
www.thenational.scot/politics/259...

Some exciting news and a lot to look forward to coming from Stirling Council, we're bringing back Hogmanay! A full programme of events to bring folks in, great news for hospitality and hotels 👏

Exactly right. I went to my regular check-up in May, expecting to get a new prescription but instead the optician told me I had an early cataract in my left eye. She immediately referred me to Ninewells, I received an initial appt there within 2 weeks and was put on the list for cataract surgery.

Wow Bridget thanks for sharing, sorry to hear you needed treatment but delighted it was spotted early, hope you’re on the mend soon!

Absolutely, it is a hugely successful advanced screening exam and you hardly ever hear it mentioned!

👁️ 👁️ Your taxes funded 2.4million (!) eye health checks last year, vital check ups for millions of Scots, identifying glaucoma, cataracts, high blood pressure and more far earlier than ever we have. They’re a huge success in Scotland, but in Labour run England they’re not free.

Well here’s some big news 🇮🇸🇪🇺

Accession to the EU looks like it just got a whole lot easier for Scotland I WAS already 100 confident that Scotland’s accession process would be smooth, uncontroversial and, given how well-prepared we already are,…

📰 How states join the EU is changing, perhaps in a really significant way that makes Scotland’s accession a lot faster. Me in Sunday @scotnational.bsky.social
www.thenational.scot/politics/258...

What’s the SNP government ever done for you? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Today’s Sunday @scotnational.bsky.social column on how fast the world is changing, and why EU membership is essential for Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇪🇺

TikTok ‘addictive’, EU finds in digital law probe European Commission cites TikTok’s ‘highly personalised’ system, slams safeguards as ineffective.

This is significant, worldwide, and underlines that individual states (excepting maybe two or three) lack the heft to deal with these corporations. High time Scotland gets back into the EU.

www.scmp.com/news/china/d...

⚽️ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Stirling should get behind Scotland at the football World Cup and allow those pubs who want to to open late so we can all enjoy a safe shared experience. My letter to Council Leader Susan McGill below ⬇️

💊 Last year, there were 2.2 million prescriptions given to Stirling residents free of charge. That’s saved local people around £22 million.

In Scotland, MSPs have a right to bring forward Members’ Bill proposals and if I’m elected in May I’m going to take full use of it. What law would you like to see created? Amended? Scrapped? I’ve plenty ideas myself but want to hear from you. Drop me an email to the address on the clip.

A happy Burns Night to all! Just the two of us at home tonight, a brilliant haggis from our local butcher, tatties and neeps from Ginger Roots on Port Street, obligatory @irnbru.bsky.social and (unpictured!) dram 😋 🥃 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Mark Carney's full speech at the World Economic Forum YouTube video by National Post

This speech from Canadian PM Mark Carney is a breath of fresh, if chilly, air. Especially uncomfortable, but true, on the comfortable fiction of the rules based international order. Well worth your time.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=btqH...

Kaja Kallas: "Let me be abundantly clear: tariff threats will not pressure Denmark into handing over Greenland. They only risk making both Europe and the United States poorer and undermining our shared prosperity. We have no interest in picking a fight, but we will hold our ground."

🚆 Nobody looks forward to the Monday morning commute, but the SNP government has made it a bit easier and more affordable by scrapping peak fares for good.

ScotRail has now been brought into public ownership, meaning it’s firmly on the side of commuters, thanks to SNP intervention.