menu_open Columnists

Herald Scotland

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Rebecca McQuillan: This posturing politician has done trans people no favours Oh enough already. We’re all used to posturing politicians sowing discord, but they’re not usually on the left. Enter Maggie Chapman, who preaches tolerance while proving herself over and over to be one of the most divisive voices in the Holyrood chamber.

Oh enough already. We’re all used to posturing politicians sowing discord, but they’re not usually on the left. Enter Maggie Chapman, who preaches...

latest 3

Herald Scotland

Rebecca Mcquillan

Kendrick Lamar is on top of the world right now... but he can still never win Controversial collaborations and luxury Chanel deals reveal an impossible double standard for a rapper put so high up on a pedestal.

Being placed on a pedestal is rarely a final destination. People are always looking up at you, noticing everything you do right – but, more...

latest 2

Herald Scotland

Derek Mcarthur

Mark McGeoghegan: Is indy inevitable? The signs are looking good for Yessers

Is Scottish independence inevitable? What one thinks about the long-term likelihood of Scottish independence is closely tied to what one wants to...

latest 2

Herald Scotland

Mark Mcgeoghegan

It's exams time again – what scandal will the SQA have this year?

This article appears as part of the Lessons to Learn newsletter. It’s the end of April, which means that it is time for Scotland’s annual exam...

latest 2

Herald Scotland

James Mcenaney

Scottish seafood can use US tariff volatility to create competitive edge

For weeks the word "tariffs" has been on everyone's lips. From long lists of reciprocal tariffs leaving few unscathed, to a 90-day reprieve from...

latest 2

Herald Scotland

Matthew Hurst

The Union flag is an object of sexual desire, is it? Don't be absurd Glasgow’s Tron Theatre is set to stage East Belfast-based absurdist play Fleg, in which a central character imagines the Union flag to be an object of sexual desire.

What is it with theatre’s incessant need to produce absurdist plays? Isn’t it all a bit absurd? Right now, the quite brilliant Gary Oldman is set...

latest 1

Herald Scotland

Brian Beacom

Neil Mackay: If you believe in free speech you must defend Maggie Chapman

The laws of free speech are immutable. They never change. They must not change. The founding principle is the hard, important ask: that we protect...

latest 10

Herald Scotland

Neil Mackay

Brian Wilson: The simple truth is there are not enough homes - of any sort

Holyrood will give a Housing (Scotland) Bill its Second Reading next week. It is an unusual Housing Bill in that it does not focus on building more...

yesterday 40

Herald Scotland

Brian Wilson

Alison Rowat: BBC Scotland closing River City is cultural vandalism

Who knows what they would make of it down The Tall Ship, the watering hole that is to River City what the Queen Vic and the Rovers Return are to...

yesterday 20

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Ian McConnell: Rival airport chief’s Prestwick compliments not to be sniffed at As we await the outcome of a takeover approach for Prestwick Airport, a recent conversation with the chief executive of a rival airport came to mind

As we await the outcome of a takeover approach for Prestwick Airport, a recent conversation with Edinburgh Airport chief executive Gordon Dewar...

yesterday 3

Herald Scotland

Ian Mcconnell

Carlos Alba: So we may not be alone. What does that do to religion?

The death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday will inevitably have prompted moments of deep introspection among those who believe – and many of those...

yesterday 3

Herald Scotland

Carlos Alba

Barry Didcock: Netflix and Amazon now making better Scottish drama than BBC or STV

Streamer challenge One of the counter arguments used by terrestrial broadcasters in their own defence when streamers like Netflix and Amazon are...

yesterday 3

Herald Scotland

Barry Didcock

Why we must start recognising the power of the visitor economy

For many years, Easter heralded the start of the "traditional" tourism season. Yet in today’s world, Scotland’s visitor economy is too important...

yesterday 1

Herald Scotland

Vicki Miller

It's time to finally end the misery of greyhound racing

The life of racing greyhounds is one of abject misery. Bred to race, they are exploited for their speed and then cruelly cast aside when no longer...

previous day 6

Herald Scotland

Christine A Dorchak

Mark Williamson: SNP Government 'laser-focused on delivery' claim rings hollow John Swinney has promised the Scottish Government will be laser-focused on getting things done but wants the Chancellor to fund key initiatives.

John Swinney has promised the SNP Government will concentrate on getting things done after doing too much strategising in the past as he made clear...

previous day 5

Herald Scotland

Mark Williamson

David Wilson: Social media is teaching our boys how to hate

Misogyny is not innate but learned behaviour and increasingly boys and young men are learning how to hate from social media. Perhaps we’ve all...

previous day 5

Herald Scotland

David Wilson

Kevin McKenna: A new Pope needs to visit Scotland and wake up our sleepy bishops

First, the bad news. According to the prophecy of St Malachy, a 13th century Irish bishop, Pope Francis was the last of St Peter’s 266 successors....

previous day 20

Herald Scotland

Kevin Mckenna

Neil Mackay: Gangsters are terrorising Scotland, but do our politicians care?

With weary disgust another headline drops about the gangland war staining central Scotland.  There was a passing moment, back in the late 1990s,...

previous day 10

Herald Scotland

Neil Mackay

Sell off of our public buildings. And the urban area pioneering how to save them In Portobello, Edinburgh’s seaside town, a project is showing a route for many communities across Scotland to hold onto their spaces.

This article appears as part of the Winds of Change newsletter That police station that got sold off, the local church, the toilets, all...

previous day 6

Herald Scotland

Vicky Allan

Calum Steele: Look around you: you'll see we are in the age of the imbecile

When Barack Obama visited Edinburgh in 2017 he was asked: If he could choose to be alive at any time in human history when would that be? Without...

previous day 1

Herald Scotland

Calum Steele

One of my favourite budget recipes as supermarket prices soar MasterChef: The Professionals finalist and acclaimed Scottish chef Dean Banks shares a budget burger recipe as supermarket prices rocket.

A huge part of being a chef is keeping a close eye on food costs and understanding why certain ingredients can fluctuate in price. But last...

previous day 5

Herald Scotland

Dean Banks

Mark Smith: The new motorway that Scotland doesn’t need

Ash Regan of the Alba party has said that what we really need in Scotland is more roads, specifically a new motorway, but I have a message for Ash...

tuesday 20

Herald Scotland

Mark Smith

Roz Foyer: Trump's tariffs are only one piece of a chess set When Trump returned to office, tariffs in hand and rhetoric blazing, the world braced itself. But instead of unveiling a shrewd economic strategy, Trump revealed, once again, that he is not the 4D chess master he thinks he is. He has, in fact, come unarmed - without a chessboard and without a plan.

When Trump returned to office, tariffs in hand and rhetoric blazing, the world braced itself. But instead of unveiling a shrewd economic strategy,...

tuesday 10

Herald Scotland

Roz Foyer

‘Human dignity and honour’: remembering the Warsaw Ghetto uprising

One month after the shameful meeting of the Israeli government sponsored far right gathering in Israel to "combat antisemitism", an event that most...

tuesday 2

Herald Scotland

Henry Maitles

Kevin McKenna: Francis had the wisdom to foster a renewed sense of compassion

An hour had passed since the death of Pope Francis yesterday morning and already the BBC people were asking bewildered guests about his "legacy"....

tuesday 10

Herald Scotland

Kevin Mckenna

Sean Duffy: We need to be smarter about poverty

You won’t often hear a social enterprise chief executive say that money isn’t such a big deal, and you’re not going to hear it from me either....

tuesday 30

Herald Scotland

Sean Duffy

Scotland is no longer a global leader on climate change

Scotland is no longer a global leader on climate change

One-year anniversaries are typically joyous moments to savour and celebrate. But this past week there‘s been an occasion that marks a much less...

20.04.2025 20

Herald Scotland

Arina Russell

Transgender ruling may resolve the law but it can’t make our society whole again

Transgender ruling may resolve the law but it can’t make our society whole again

When I saw the women raising their champagne glasses after their Supreme Court victory, I felt that same queasy way I always feel at the end of...

20.04.2025 7

Herald Scotland

Dani Garavelli

We're going to need a smaller boat: The large ferry dilemma for CalMac GIVEN the current state of the ferry network, it is little wonder that islanders are getting a wee bit hacked off and who can blame them.

We're going to need a smaller boat: The large ferry dilemma for CalMac GIVEN the current state of the ferry network, it is little wonder that islanders are getting a wee bit hacked off and who can blame them.

Given the current state of the ferry network, it is little wonder that islanders are getting a wee bit hacked off and who can blame them. Anything...

20.04.2025 5

Herald Scotland

Alan Simpson

Every single civic body in Scotland was complicit in 'The Great Silencing' of women TO Edinburgh, where a large contingent of feminists have gathered to hear the Supreme Court’s verdict on For Women Scotland versus Scottish ministers.

Every single civic body in Scotland was complicit in 'The Great Silencing' of women TO Edinburgh, where a large contingent of feminists have gathered to hear the Supreme Court’s verdict on For Women Scotland versus Scottish ministers.

TO Edinburgh, where a large contingent of feminists have gathered to hear the Supreme Court’s verdict on For Women Scotland versus Scottish...

20.04.2025 2

Herald Scotland

Kevin Mckenna

Inside story: How Restless Natives made the journey from film to theatre

Inside story: How Restless Natives made the journey from film to theatre

To say Ninian Dunnett is excited is rather like saying Big Country battered out a couple of passable tunes back in the day. Forty years ago,...

20.04.2025 2

Herald Scotland

Brian Beacom