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Mark SmithHerald Scotland |
Best to be honest: the more I see of Andy Burnham, the more I like him. He was in Ukraine the other day, with the troops, and someone handed him a...
It is a constant disappointment to my parents that, despite the fact I spent four years studying law and earned the right to put LLB Hons (First...
Well, would you look at that. There we were, in 2020, worrying about people who didn’t wear face masks; now here we are, in 2026, worrying about...
What happened at your school? What did you see, and feel? Me: I’m thinking of the English teacher who kicked a friend of mine for some misdemeanour...
It was a bad year, the worst. On Westport beach in Argyll, there were 200 at least. It was bad in Orkney and Shetland too, and East Lothian, and on St...
Just before the Holyrood election, when things were hotting up, I was in Glasgow at a Labour event (no free wine, you get free wine at Tory events)...
Nicola Sturgeon has said JK Rowling is obsessed with her, but aren’t we all? Wherever I am, whatever I’m doing, it’s Nicola Sturgeon I’m...
I WAS standing in an unflattering hard hat in the middle of George Square the other day with Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken watching a...
Now it’s nearly over, it feels weirdly personal. It started last May when I was in Weatherspoons – as I almost always am – and sat and watched a...
The Prime Minister made three dramatic announcements this week. Firstly, he announced that the results of a review on social care will be announced a...
I’m taking Mona for her usual Saturday run round the dog park at Glasgow Green, but something’s wrong. The first sign is the group of police...
Everyone, or rather lots of people, or rather some people, have been talking a lot in the last few weeks about the fun the Scottish football fans had...
Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister today, but this time it’s different, familiar, personal. Mr Burnham was born in 1970. I was born in 1970. Mr...
I can’t remember the exact date I was last in the Sub Club in Glasgow but it was probably the same year I went to see Trainspotting in the cinema,...
I’ve just been looking at the latest figures on the economic impact of the Silverburn shopping centre in Glasgow and I’m remembering a trip I did...
I’ve got to admit, it’s been a while since I’ve had any direct experience of the property market and what it’s like to buy and sell a house...
One thing you may have noticed about me (the people who live with me certainly have) is that I do not like change – small changes, big changes, any...
In his big speech this week, Andy Burnham said politicians need to cooperate more and spend less time arguing and more time “pulling in the same...
Saturday night: I’m out and about in the centre of Glasgow and I’m feeling all my usual love and anxiety for the place, my old friend and mentor....
The new Scottish Nationalist MP Lara Bird took the oath of allegiance in the House of Commons this week but she didn’t seem very happy about it did...
The first thing that made me angry this week was the sight of journalists being held behind newly erected barriers at Holyrood which mean they can’t...
On Tuesday, it’ll be 10 years since the Brexit vote on June 23, 2016, but let me take you back to June 24, the morning after. We’ve woken up, the...
The people of Aberdeen South go to the polls on Thursday and what a curious competition it has proved to be. The SNP candidate Richard Thomson has...
I’ve seen it happen near me and if you haven’t seen it happen near you, I’d be surprised. It has been called the “greying” effect and it’s...
Chances are you haven’t noticed it yet: the first one has only just been installed in a shop in Glasgow. But keep your eyes peeled in the coming...
Imagine you’re a judge: the wig, the stern expression, the lot (some of you will find this easier than others). Now imagine there’s a man in the...
It’s always struck me as weird that Labour and the Left were so opposed to the sale of council houses. The idea was popular with the public,...
I was walking down the street recently when something happened that hasn’t happened to me for at least 30 years. I heard a woman, at the end of her...
It’s natural when someone slags off the place you come from to get a bit defensive, so when the Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said this week that...
The man from the council, Angus Millar, was out and about in Glasgow this week talking about the improvements being made to the city centre. “The...
The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest was asked on the night to explain the meaning of the lyrics to her song which go: “I’m the bangarang...
It is said of Wes Streeting that if he takes over from Keir Starmer, he would be Britain’s first gay Prime Minister. But I’m not so sure that’s...
A group of lawyers which campaigns on free speech has sent an email to senior figures at Edinburgh University this week raising concerns about the...
I was saying the other day that there are several streets that lay bare the crisis in Glasgow and that one of them is Carlton Place, the Georgian...
IT was quite a line-up. The Gypsy Pistoleros, a group of “glam-punk, goth ‘n’ roll outlaws mixing swagger-drenched punk anthems, dark cabaret...
We’re now in the last-gasp days of the election campaign so the parties are mainly telling us to vote for them to stop something terrible. The SNP...
The latest polling for the election next week is interesting. Survation’s figures for the constituency vote are SNP 35%, Reform and Labour both 20,...
Take a look. Take a look at the excavators and the dump trucks, and the piles of bricks and sand, and the posters showing us what it might look like...
I’ve got quite the collection now. One of them shows Anas Sarwar staring at something far off in the distance (could it be Keir?) Another shows John...
John Swinney says Scotland would be a better place after a yes vote, but the overlap between England and Scotland means their vision isn't going...
John Swinney has promised his government will directly fund the Clyde Tunnel if the SNP win the election. And a promise is a promise right? says Mark...
The signs are Scots are rediscovering their favourite seaside resort. Does it have lessons for the rest of the country, asks Mark Smith The first time...
New freedom of information data shows the scale of the problem with fines for litter. Can we fix it, asks Mark Smith Believe me when I say I have done...
The latest plan for the old Watt Brothers store in Glasgow has been given the go-ahead. It's a great step forward, but we still need some...
Reform has launched its Scottish manifesto, but we should be talking about how we got here, says Mark Smith I was interested to hear Malcolm Offord,...
Scotland's MSP vote today on ending greyhound racing. Green MSP Mark Ruskell has brought forward legislation that if passed would make it an...
A £150 fine. Plans for a cull. And volunteers checking on the birds in Central Station. What should we be doing with the pigeons in public spaces,...
Glasgow is battered and burnt, but an offer of £1,000 for ideas to make it better may be just what we need, says Herald columnist Mark Smith Ask...
With just weeks to go until the May elections, one cohort of Scottish voters may hold the result in their hands, says Mark Smith With a few weeks to...
Change is afoot at John Lewis in Glasgow. Is it a sign of better things to come, asks Mark Smith It’s not easy when you see your life – or a large...
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