Mark Irvine - Blogger, Campaigner, Organiser

The Herald reports that John Swinney is 'talking mince' when he says as First Minister he cannot comment on the  SNP policy of placing male criminals in a women's prison. John Swinney was, of course, Nicola Sturgeon's loyal deputy when the former FM placed a double rapist, Isla Bryson, in the female prison estate. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25607854.women-scotland-swinney-wrong-contempt-court-rules/

The Daily Record has an interesting article on Scotland's drugs policy which it describes as 'Five Years Of Failure' - leaving Scotland still the drug deaths capital of Europe. I'll be interested to see who else will be invited to have their say, but for me a policy which is not focused on getting addicts off drugs is doomed to failure.  As ever, successive SNP government and senior politicians have been motivated by grandiose plans and spending announcements which have failed to deliver results. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/250m-plan-cut-drug-deaths-36217832

More than two-thirds of Glaswegians have lost trust in SNP run Glasgow City Council. An annual household survey found just 15 per cent were satisfied with roads maintenance and 40 per cent were content with the level of street cleaning - r ead the full story via the link below to the Daily Record https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/public-trust-glasgow-city-council-36209851  

Scotland's NHS has more money, more staff and more resources than ever before - but in many areas the waiting lists for treatment are a national disgrace. The Sunday Mail reports that as of September 2025 at least 28,487 children were on Scottish NHS waiting lists desperately seeking preliminary investigations for autism and ADHD. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/emotional-devastation-thousands-scots-children-36214233  

The Scottish TUC will need to come up with some catchy new slogans given the news that its boss Roz Foyer owns five homes and separate plot of land in Glasgow. Now that is funny - I wonder if Roz knows that SNP ministers and Glasgow City Council have declared a housing emergency?

Scotland's Chief Constable Jo Farrell has landed taxpayers with an eye-watering £134,000 bill to help her buy a second home - read the full story via the link below to the Mail on Sunday. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15272271/amp/Scotlands-Chief-Constable-lands-taxpayers-134-000-expenses-bill-help-pay-second-home.html