Herald View

Yes, there have been party-political failures in Scotland, just as there have been in England. You could study the Conservatives’ long reign at Westminster and ask, what have they really done for the country, apart from taking us out of Europe?

Farewell then, 2023: a year in which we were horrified by the scale and human cost of the war between Israel and Hamas, were plunged into despair by Russia’s ceaseless assault on Ukraine, and witnessed, yet again, the relentless impact of climate change

AS budgets go, the measures introduced by Shona Robison this week fell on markedly stony ground. That the opposition parties were so hostile comes as little surprise, but the new tax band for higher earners, for instance, was deservedly criticised.

SHONA Robison, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister and finance secretary, has tough calls to make on Tuesday when she reveals her plans to close the estimated £1.5bn black hole in the country’s finances.

A HERALD reader who recently spent two periods in a Scottish hospital counted five or six different nationalities among the staff who attended to her. On leaving for home she reflected, as many before and since have: where would our NHS be without people from overseas?

THE sense of loss and grief yesterday was palpable.

The words of the teachers say it all. “It’s a daily occurrence.” “Extreme incidents are becoming common.” “Children are traumatised.” And “staffing has been continually cut.” Schools in Scotland are experiencing rising levels of violence and falling levels of support and resources, and the consequences are serious.

Eighteen months ago – it seems like a long time ago now – Nicola Sturgeon launched the first of a series of papers laying out the case for Scottish independence. The first of the papers was, said Ms Sturgeon, about refreshing the SNP’s arguments. With independence, she said, Scotland too would have the levers and the autonomy to help fulfil its potential.

There will be people in some parts of Scotland who are very relieved indeed that Bonfire Night is over for another year. People in the Niddrie area of Edinburgh for example, where the police faced young people armed with rockets and petrol bombs. Or Kirkton in Dundee where children as young as 10 were seen setting off fireworks. The fact that it is happening at all is shocking, but sadly it is no longer unusual. Bonfire Night has become the focus for dangerous and potentially deadly anti-social

Even those of us inclined to be cynical about the competence or otherwise of those who run the country have been taken aback by the evidence emerging from the UK Covid Inquiry.