Kirsteen Paterson

2 weeks ago | holyrood.com | Kirsteen Paterson

The difference between Labour and Conservative economic policies is “like choosing between gonorrhoea and chlamydia”, according to new Scottish research by pollster Lord Ashcroft. Focus groups carried out in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen at the start of this month reveal candid insights into what the public thinks in the run up to the Holyrood 2026 vote.

3 weeks ago | holyrood.com | Kirsteen Paterson

“Just because you can do something digitally doesn’t mean you should,” says the man leading Scotland’s healthcare innovation mission. “Let’s get real about it.” It is not, perhaps, what you’d expect to hear from the chief executive of the body charged with using tech as a catalyst for change in our health services. But Professor George Crooks – a fast-talking former GP who previously headed NHS24 – is prescribing a dose of “common sense” when it comes to what digital advances mean in practice.

3 weeks ago | holyrood.com | Kirsteen Paterson

“The thought occurs that if we would have had Boris Johnson’s head sitting in a pile of shite on a Highland road, that might have been quite a crowd-pleaser,” says screenwriter Ninian Dunnett. He’s talking about the requests he’s had, and rejected, to reboot the 1985 cult film Restless Natives for a contemporary audience. The tale of the scheme-boys-turned-Robin-Hoods – “the most charming bandits in world history” – was Dunnett’s first foray into professional filmmaking.

3 weeks ago | holyrood.com | Kirsteen Paterson

Former Scottish Conservatives leadership hopeful Jamie Greene MSP has quit the party, accusing it of abandoning the centre ground for a "Reform-lite agenda". Greene, who represents the West Scotland region, said the party is at risk of becoming "Trump-esque in both style and substance". Greene said: "I do not believe that I have left the Conservative Party.

3 weeks ago | holyrood.com | Kirsteen Paterson

US President Donald Trump has imposed a 10 per cent tariff on the import of goods from the UK. The tariff, which came into force at 5am this morning, is lower than that imposed on many other parts of the world, with the European Union's set at 20 per cent and China's at 34 per cent. It also comes with a 25 per cent tariff on US imports of all foreign cars. The move was described by Trump as a "declaration of economic independence".