Today's Thinking
We need to play more cricket… The Christian, the Hindu and the Muslim
THERE IS A STRIP of concrete in a yard that slopes so sharply that the word ‘pitch’ feels like a courtesy. It runs uphill. It
Dominic Wightman
October 22, 2026
National Millstone Day- £107,000 for every family in the land
ON WEDNESDAY 21st October the UK’s debt officially breached the £3 trillion milestone equivalent to £107,000 for every family in the land. Like it or
Ewen Stewart
October 22, 2026
Something to cheer about, but no cigar
By Catherine McBride OBE TWO CHEERS for Jonathan Reynolds, who has announced that he will not follow the EU and impose additional tariffs on imported
Catherine McBride
October 16, 2026
Is Burnham stupid – or does he know exactly what he’s doing?
PEOPLE OFTEN SAY to me ‘how can they be so stupid?’ They, of course, being the Government. It’s a good question and for a while
Ewen Stewart
October 2, 2026
Think Politics
SNP faces a gathering storm after Burnham cramps Swinney’s ‘style’
ANDY BURNHAM’S decision to visit Scotland during the SNP’s annual conference in Aberdeen was a calculated political intervention, and one which took the wind out
Stuart Crawford
October 21, 2026
In Edinburgh, 777 seems more like 666
BUS LANE STORIES in the Edinburgh Evening News are like buses themselves. None come for ages then two or three turn up at once. Following
Iain Whyte
October 15, 2026
Labour has accepted mob rule in Northern Ireland
IN CHESS, a player is said to be in ‘zugzwang’ if every possible move he or she can make will result in a bad outcome.
Owen Polley
October 15, 2026
Drug deaths: How many more funerals before the system changes?
ANOTHER YEAR. Another set of drug death statistics. Another 1,133 human beings gone. Drug deaths in Scotland rose by 11 per cent in 2025, from
Annemarie Ward
September 23, 2026
Think Culture
King James VI & I – the first Unionist
Divine Right of Kings versus Magna Carta and the common law THE ORIGINAL UNIONIST was a Scot, the most intelligent and educated monarch who ever
Ian Mitchell
November 3, 2026
The next Bond? Meghan, full of Surprises. As ever.
NOT SINCE Severus Snape has Joe Public got someone so wrong. Poor Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Imagine taking knocks from the press about cutting off
Dr Gail MacDonald
October 29, 2026
Charles Darwin’s second great book is a rewarding read
Coming down from the family tree LET ME SAY right away that this book illustrates what real publishing is for. I can hardly remember a
Ian Mitchell
October 28, 2026
The pain of Aberfan is real, but would we react differently now?
WATCHING WHAT HAPPENED at Aberfan is incomprehensible. All those children lost in what reads like a horror folklore story where a little generation were stolen in a
Dr Gail MacDonald
October 22, 2026
Think Business
Ten years fighting for Scottish business and the union
FOR THE PAST ten years, I have had the privilege of serving as Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Business UK, alongside my great friend the
Struan Stevenson
November 3, 2026
Burnham’s supine loyalty to the EU will cost farmers dear
IT IS THE HEIGHT OF ABSURDITY that the UK Government argues that joining the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme will protect the UK’s exports – when
Catherine McBride
October 2, 2026
Scotland’s dependency culture cannot be denied and must change
THIS MAY SEEM a bit obvious but sometimes one needs to go back to basics such is the nature of the discourse of the ruling
Ewen Stewart
August 19, 2026
Six charts explaining Brexit outcomes accurately
Here is a selection of charts designed to challenge some of the shakier claims about the economic impacts of Brexit, including on the pound, investment,
Julian Jessop
July 10, 2026