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This is where you can find my take on what's happening in the world of Scottish politics
16 hours ago
It's all going great. A night of sultry warmth. An enthusiastic crowd. The Boss on top form, sometimes challenging, sometimes assertive, sometimes soothing.
The repertoire is all there; the range. Does he raise us up with "Glory Days"? Or is the theme "Spare Parts"?
17:46 UK time, Thursday, 13 June 2013
Johann Lamont went straight for the question which has troubled the nation. Well, part of the nation. OK, that part of the nation which occupies the Labour floor at Holyrood. Some of them, anyway.
And the question? Has the First Minister lost his mojo?
13:37 UK time, Tuesday, 11 June 2013
An exceptionally difficult morning for the SNP at Holyrood - or, more precisely, for those supporters of the governing party on parliament's justice committee.
After nearly three hours of final scrutiny, the committee decided - by five votes to four - to back the closure of ten sheriff courts as part of a drive for savings and efficiency in the system.
15:20 UK time, Monday, 10 June 2013
I had the pleasure of chairing Iain Banks a number of times at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Once, by simple mistake, I ended up chairing Iain M. Banks, his sci-fi alter ego.
He engaged amicably and enthusiastically with his notably devoted followers, discussing the Culture which was at the core of his science fiction work. Iain was in his (scientific) element. I was lost in space.
17:02 UK time, Friday, 7 June 2013
The sun is shining, the ancient city of Stirling is looking splendid - and yet the world is not entirely cakes and ale here at the Scottish Conservative conference.
It would not be fair to exaggerate these matters. With regard to the future of Scotland, there is much more that unites the Tories than divides them. Independence? They're agin it.
17:46 UK time, Thursday, 6 June 2013
Perhaps it was the electoral cycle (that Aberdeen by-election), perhaps it was the merciless sun, more Sahara than Saughton. But there was a distinct sense of the surreal during questions to the First Minister today.
Not throughout, you understand. The surreal atmosphere was decidedly dispelled when the Tory leader Ruth Davidson rose to challenge the First Minister, once again, to call for a public inquiry into the tragic issue of the disposal of babies' ashes.
17:00 UK time, Tuesday, 4 June 2013
Been spending a bit of time as a boulevardier, ambling along the sun-kissed streets of Aberdeen. Yes, you read that aright. Authentic, warming, durable sun.
Last night, I briefly checked, as I always do, on my first married home - a little flat in the centre of Aberdeen, overlooking the harbour. In the evening sunlight, the silver granite glistened a long-remembered welcome.
15:14 UK time, Thursday, 30 May 2013
We saw three different sides to Alex Salmond today. Or, more precisely, three different approaches to his interlocutors in the chamber.
Responding to Johann Lamont, he was combative. Ruth Davidson drew the approach empathetic. And Willie Rennie? He brought out the disdainful in the First Minister.
16:04 UK time, Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Excellent debate at Holyrood this afternoon anent a problem which is, quite literally, persistent and ever present - that of chronic pain, endured by some 700,000 Scots citizens.
(Incidentally, en passant, I was distressed to learn that the Church of Scotland has decided to expunge the splendid Scots word "anent" from their documents. A clanjamfrie of protest awaits.)
17:41 UK time, Thursday, 23 May 2013
In the face of grievous horror, normality. In the shadow of wilful brutality, seeming calm. Public and political life can sometimes appear ephemeral but, when confronted with the raw edges of existence, its very persistence can be soothing.
As is right, as is proper, political leaders at Holyrood opened today with words of sadness and sympathy in the light of the shocking events in Woolwich.
16:41 UK time, Thursday, 23 May 2013
Brian added analysis to:
The exchanges were pointed and precise. Mr Salmond eschewed rhetoric, disdained conflict.
Indeed, at one point, he said he was not going to "rise to the bait" dangled in his direction by Ms Lamont.
16:16 UK time, Tuesday, 21 May 2013
It opens a little like a tea towel. You know, the one that lists all those many inventions by Scots - from television to penicillin and points in between.
While it is always encouraging, indeed joyous, to hear again the many achievements of those north of the Tweed and Solway, there is of course a practical, political purpose to today's litany, included as it is within the document setting out an economic case for independence.
16:36 UK time, Thursday, 16 May 2013
On a ward round, doctors may find themselves discussing a patient's condition - even in very general terms - while the individual concerned listens intently. Or they may step aside for a quiet chat, despite the risk that this discreet manoeuvre may alarm the patient. Or they may simply assess the case later, in private.
Such a quandary seldom confronts politicians. Today was an exception as the First Minister faced an ambush from his Labour opponent. A very effective ambush.
17:53 UK time, Monday, 13 May 2013
Today's intervention by Gordon Brown was about distinct politics: establishing a distinct offering within the broad pro-Union camp. And offering a distinct take on what he argued were distinct values.
On that latter point, there is a shorthand version occasionally deployed by those, particularly from a left of centre perspective, who advocate the Union.
16:18 UK time, Thursday, 9 May 2013
In the long Scottish winter, which faltered briefly on Tuesday this week, there is a constant search for innocent merriment, for ways to pass the time and entertain the offspring. Cards? Conkers? Karaoke?
Today, at Holyrood, a new suggestion emerged. A perfectly simple game, one you can all play at home. You simply name an MSP - anyone, doesn't matter - and decide which character from "The Simpsons" they resemble.
15:37 UK time, Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Quoth Her Majesty from the throne: "My government will continue to make the case for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom."
Was this the Sovereign entering into the debate about Scottish independence? Older heads cast an eye back to a speech by the Queen in 1977 in which she appeared to question the plans, then extant, for devolved self-government.
15:02 UK time, Tuesday, 7 May 2013
More anent the referendum debate. Not, this time, the debate about substance - which is now motoring eagerly - but the debate about the arrangements for the plebiscite itself.
That has, understandably, been overshadowed, for two reasons. One, the citizenry and certainly the commentariat are anxious to get on with the arguments about independence.
14:38 UK time, Thursday, 2 May 2013
In decrying a political rival, one can try a range of tactics. Perhaps it will be best to strike directly, to target a particular policy. Or perhaps one might try subtlety, satire, drollery. Then again there is the strategy of guilt by association.
Examples of that latter tactic were on display at Holyrood today. In pursuing the issue of the currency today, Labour's Johann Lamont noted in passing that her rival, Alex Salmond, used to work for the Royal Bank of Scotland.
12:08 UK time, Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Turn things round. Ask not what Scotland does or does not get from the Union. Ask what benefits accrue to England.
Already, I discern Nationalists leaping to their feet and declaring: "All that volatile oil". But set aside for a moment the argument as to where the balance of economic interests lies.
18:15 UK time, Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Consensus at Holyrood this afternoon on the subject of how to deal with excesses by the Press - with all parties signed up to a scheme which would involve a tailored Scottish adjunct to a UK system.
The consensus itself is not accidental. It has emerged from detailed discussions involving the party leaders and also reflects, at least in part, the evidence given to a Parliamentary inquiry.
Brian has been a journalist for ever, well, since 1977.
He covers politics in all of its guises - UK, European but mostly Scottish.
Before joining the BBC he spent six years as a lobby correspondent at Westminster.
He has lectured on politics and identity across Europe and the USA and has written two books - and co-written a handful of others.
At St Andrews University, he studied literature.
He is a proud, patriotic Dundonian and fanatical supporter of Dundee United Football Club, losing no opportunity to trumpet their many glories.
He is married with two sons.
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