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Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat

Herald Scotland

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Alison Rowat: Change coming at BBC Scotland, but is that the best they can do?

A little piece of Scottish journalistic history takes place this Thursday on the BBC Scotland channel. At 10pm, The Nine will sail off into the...

19.12.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: A not so silent Sunday as business leader issues warning for 2025 Just as Christmas seems to start earlier every year, so does the great rush to get away. With the Commons in recess from December 19 and the Scottish Parliament officially heading off two days later, the Sunday politics shows were among the first in the media to shut up shop. BBC1’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg marked the occasion traditionally and politically with a glorious rendition of Silent Night by the German baritone Benjamin Appl, and an interview with the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, about Labour’s plans to “smash” the people smuggling gangs.

Just as Christmas seems to start earlier every year, so does the great rush to get away. With the Commons in recess from December 19 and the...

16.12.2024 2

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Have you met the new delightful and de-lovely Donald Trump?

This year, as every Christmas since the 1950s, the North American Aerospace Defence Command will be tracking Santa as he goes about his one-day-a-year...

12.12.2024 3

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

What memoir writer Nicola Sturgeon can learn from Angela Merkel's doorstopper

As someone who earns a sizeable crust from expressing his opinions, Piers Morgan is usually a stranger to the fine Scottish art of swithering. Indeed,...

25.11.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: It's not just Jeremy Clarkson who is being driven to despair by Labour

From all corners of the kingdom they came, determined to have their say about inheritance tax. A sea of waxed jackets and jeans as far as the eye...

19.11.2024 7

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: How Scottish aide scuppered Farage's chances of top Trump job

Almost a week on from the US elections and the chin-stroking among the commentariat continues, not least in those heartlands of pondering, the Sunday...

10.11.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: The kids will be all right without an inheritance, won't they?

From employers and home buyers to pensioners and the parents of private school pupils, the queue of those complaining about Rachel Reeves’s Budget...

06.11.2024 20

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Who's afraid of the redoubtable Reeves women? Not new Tory leader Kemi

Gone are the days when new employees would be sent for a tin of tartan paint, a long weight, or other jokey requests. In certain trades, however,...

03.11.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the curious case of the iffy book

Rachel Reeves makes history today when she delivers her first Budget. After eight centuries of male Chancellors of the Exchequer, the purse strings...

30.10.2024 30

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: It's that man Gove again. What has he done now?

Appearing on the new BBC Radio 4 series Surviving Politics with Michael Gove, Humza Yousaf revealed that his host had become a verb among Scottish...

23.10.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Scotland caught between good cop and bad cop on NHS turnaround

Some news can silence the usual din from party politics and unite society as one. The revelation that Sir Chris Hoy’s cancer is terminal was one...

21.10.2024 7

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Weeks to go and it's war between Trump and Harris. Terrified yet? Just when you think you are through the looking glass with the US presidential contest along comes another push deep into crazy territory. How does a country get back on track after an election that makes Duck Soup look like The West Wing? It is testimony to American preparedness that some have been thinking ahead to what happens after the polls close on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. One might take comfort from that fact, if only the visions of what is to come were not quite so terrifying.

At age 78 it is late in the day for Donald Trump to be considering a career change, but let no one doubt the man’s willingness to serve his...

16.10.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: a torrent of formal tributes, but one man's tears defined the day

Parliaments have their own ways of marking the death of a member. Protocols are observed, some dating to an earlier age, others less so. As it is for...

14.10.2024 7

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Oh dear, Keir. Is it too late for voters to ask for a refund?

Outbreaks are occurring across the country, from Liverpool and Birmingham to Glasgow and London. The condition began in the opinion columns of The...

02.10.2024 7

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Prime Minister 'absolutely furious' at interview question

Downing Street must have been looking forward to the Conservatives gathering in Birmingham. Labour’s conference week was dominated by rows over...

29.09.2024 6

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Keir Starmer kisses the vision thing goodbye

With time to kill before Keir Starmer’s first speech to conference as Prime Minister, I had a browse through some other landmark addresses. As you...

24.09.2024 6

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Look who wants to interview BBC's Laura Kuenssberg over pay

Was it the photo of the Siberian kitten that gave it away? Or the conference eve announcement that the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and...

22.09.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: You don't need Specsavers to see who is wrong in Labour freebies row

As violence once more threatens the US presidential election, the Russian-Ukraine war reaches a dangerous crossroads, and thousands flee deadly...

18.09.2024 6

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

'We may never know truth about what took place in stranger moments of indyref’

Ten years since the independence referendum? Seems like ten minutes. It is certainly too soon to tell the whole story of those heady days. ...

16.09.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: As border controls tighten the debate on migration must open up

His name was Alan Kurdi and he was just two years old. In September 2015, Alan, his parents and five-year-old brother left their home in Turkey and...

11.09.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: People staring, prime minister? They'll be the unimpressed voters

Westminster has been up and running for a week, and the first prime minister’s questions have been and gone. But nothing says the holidays are over...

09.09.2024 9

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

'I tried the car key. Nothing. What on Earth was going on?'

You don’t need the Met Office’s State Of The UK Climate 2023 report to tell you that this has been a washout summer. Though it felt like the...

07.09.2024 5

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Danger ahead for Starmer as Blair makes last-ditch bid for legacy

TWO things you can say for certain about Tony Blair’s new book, out this week. One, there will be no Harry Potter-style midnight queues at bookshops...

04.09.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Curb boozing at airports, Mr O'Leary? Here is what else should be banned

It is not every week that Michael O’Leary acquires a legion of fans for something he has said, but fair play to the Ryanair CEO. His call to curb...

31.08.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Behind every prime minister, there's a cat rolling its eyes

Between sounding the alarm about tough times ahead, mending relations with Europe and battling claims of cronyism, Sir Keir Starmer has had another...

31.08.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Thanks to Starmer, everything's coming up roses - for the SNP And just like that we were back in 2009, with a Labour government in power, Oasis set to go off on tour, and the sun shining (except for viewers in Scotland). Happy days were here again in Downing Street. Except they were not. Yes, the Gallagher brothers are getting back together, making a lot of middle-aged people very happy. And yes, that was a Labour prime minister holding court, but unlike Oasis he was not the bringer of good news. Sir Keir Starmer had discovered a problem, quite a few of them as it turns out, and wanted a word. The gist of it was that during the election campaign he had been careful not to promise voters a rose garden. One or two nice blooms, certainly, but nothing Chelsea-standard. Yet when he walked into Downing Street he discovered the previous occupants had taken or killed most of the roses and left the manure.

And just like that we were back in 2009, with a Labour government in power, Oasis set to go off on tour, and the sun shining (except for viewers in...

27.08.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Who is Keir Starmer trying to impress with this economic machismo?

The forecast for London on Tuesday promises late summer sunshine and a gentle breeze. Perfect weather to sit in the Downing Street rose garden and...

26.08.2024 6

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

A word to the wise for Sue Gray and other dedicated followers of fashion

Raspberry berets off to the fashion industry for once again trying to sell customers another idea that costs a fortune and looks daft on all but a...

24.08.2024 9

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Behind the scenes at the party conventions

It was all about the speech. Kamala Harris’s address to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago was a now-or-never moment that would either...

24.08.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Nicola Sturgeon and the neverending story of Operation Branchform

It has been a quiet festival season for Scottish politicians. Time was when you could barely swing a canvas tote bag in Edinburgh without hitting some...

21.08.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: ex-BBC man Jon Sopel and the call that rattled top Labour aide

In the run-up to its landslide victory in 1997 one of the strengths of New Labour was its ability to keep secrets. Though plans were made for the...

19.08.2024 7

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: cheers or jeers, how will you mark Scotland's indyref anniversary?

Regular travellers to Ayr will know them. The bridge folk. They wave Saltires at the traffic, and every now and then a driver gives them a honk....

14.08.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: the world-leading idea from Scotland that Trump can't stand

Of all the insults hurled at Donald Trump, few have pierced that famously rhino hide of his. You can count on the fingers of one unnaturally small...

12.08.2024 5

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Heard the one about Salmond and Sturgeon being the new Burton and Taylor?

Showing tonight on Sky Documentaries is Elizabeth Taylor: the Lost Tapes. Built around recordings made by the double Oscar-winner in 1964, filmmaker...

10.08.2024 20

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Dog perfume is the latest thing - now that's what I call barking mad

If you are Christmas shopping this weekend (what do you mean you haven’t started?), be sure to get your paws on Fefe, a new perfume for dogs by...

09.08.2024 3

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Who governs Britain, the Prime Minister or Elon Musk? After locking the doors and windows and drawing the curtains they ran upstairs to hide. It wasn’t safe on the ground floor. They had seen the videos of other homes being attacked. “Are we going to die?” one of the children asked. The front door held so the mob turned their attention to the car outside, booting in the windscreen and jumping on the roof. Mum, who works as a carer, wouldn’t be able to get to the disabled woman she was due to visit that night. So the ripples of misery spread.

After locking the doors and windows and drawing the curtains they ran upstairs to hide. It wasn’t safe on the ground floor. They had seen the videos...

07.08.2024 6

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Fringe: Tory Ruth's comeback chances and what Salmond thinks of Kamala Harris

To everything in politics there is a season. Or at least there used to be. At this point in the summer news cycle, with Westminster now joining...

05.08.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

There's going to be a bin strike: Will we be able to spot any difference?

In our street it is a Friday. Round the corner it is a Saturday. It has even been known to take place on Sundays at Christmas and New Year. Fancy. ...

03.08.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: After Maggie the milk snatcher meet Rachel 'one bar only' Reeves New Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the Commons she had found a £22 billion black hole in the government accounts. She blamed the old Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, and all associated with him. No one actually said the word lie, we have not yet got to that stage, but the message from Labour was plain: the books were half-baked, there is not enough in the account to cover commitments this year, so something has to give. That something turns out to include scrapping the winter fuel allowance, worth up to £300 a year, from pensioners who do not qualify for certain benefits. Ten million people will be affected. Sorry mum, sorry grandad, no more Caribbean cruises or lighting your cigars with five-pound notes for you. That must be what Downing Street reckons some pensioners do with the money. Otherwise, why be so mean?

I checked the Guide Dogs “sponsor a puppy” calendar on the fridge. Sure enough, there it was. In the box for July 4, under a picture of a young...

31.07.2024 5

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Is it the last dance for Strictly?

As every Strictly fan knows, timing is everything. With the 22nd series of the ratings smash on the way in the autumn, it probably seemed the right...

20.07.2024 7

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Why Trump should beware this vice-presidential nominee bearing gifts

Anyone who has read Hillbilly Elegy, the Appalachian rags to Silicon Valley riches memoir of JD Vance, would have come to the same conclusion: if this...

20.07.2024 5

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

A shiny new government arrives, but how much will change?

Early this morning, before the birds and breakfast show presenters are up, a group of hardy individuals clad in red, black and gold finery will search...

17.07.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Farage : I know who is to blame for attack on my friend Donald

Week two of the new Labour government begins and Sir Keir Starmer is finding foreign affairs taking up the lion’s share of his attention. His...

15.07.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Keir’s cool, Kate too, but not Nicola - why it's hip to be square

Respect to Tony Blair for waiting so long before he jumped in the back seat and started giving directions to the new Prime Minister. It must have been...

10.07.2024 8

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Stand clear for round two of Joanna 'KO KC' Cherry v Nicola 'Motorhome' Sturgeon

“What are you going to do about this?” “Whose fault was it?” "Are you standing or not?! “Who used the last of the Touche Eclat eye bag...

08.07.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: Starmer has promised change. Now he must deliver - or else

At lunchtime yesterday a very British revolution took place. Saltires, Union flags, and Welsh Dragons fluttered as a cheering crowd welcomed a new...

06.07.2024 20

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Sorry seems to be the hardest word to say for TV pundit Nicola Sturgeon

As one of the dwindling band of Tories fortunate enough to keep his seat, it was mere minutes into his acceptance speech before Rishi Sunak took...

05.07.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat: We could all use a break not least from the Conservatives

Whatever the comings and goings on Friday, no politician will depart the stage to the cheers heading Andy Murray’s way when he retires. Though we...

03.07.2024 3

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

BBC's Kuenssberg in stitches at SNP leader's Tartan Army remark on live TV

“We are not doing a running commentary on toilet arrangements.” This response from Labour when asked how the Treasury might be preparing for the...

30.06.2024 9

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

The great garden centre rip-off: Perils of afternoon tea when wearing the wrong specs

Hello, police please. I’d like to report a mugging. Broad daylight, last Saturday, in the cafe of a well-known High Street store. What was stolen?...

29.06.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

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