41 h. ago Readers' letters: Labour's push for growth will be stymied by tax hikes

A reader says we need a smaller, leaner state able to take a radical approach to economic policy

Politics

65 h. ago Readers' letters: Library closures in rural Scotland will harm literacy levels

A reader warns there will be consequences for the literacy levels of young people if the spate of library closures continues

Politics

4 d. ago Readers' letters: It's time to accept that the world has changed

A reader suggests its time for the UK to focus on other friendships now that the United States is so unreliable

Politics

5 d. ago Readers' letters: Rachel Reeves has declared war on the most vulnerable in society

A reader brands Rachel Reeves’ welfare cuts immoral and depraved

Events

7 d. ago Readers' Letters: Scotland hobbled by Westminster when it came to Covid PPE

Scotland’s efforts to protect medics and carers early in Covid pandemic were wrecked by Westminster, says reader

Politics

8 d. ago Readers' Letters: Labour has lost right to call itself 'people's party'

Labour is letting down the people who need help most, says reader

Politics

9 d. ago Readers' letters: SNP government's Civil Service and quangos need pruning

words

Politics

1 week ago Readers' letters: Scottish Government is riding roughshod over rights of communities

A reader says the Scottish Government’s response to the consultation on its Electricity Infrastructure Consenting in Scotland proposals is an attack on local democracy

Politics

1 week ago I moved overseas by myself and I’m desperately lonely. Did I make the right decision? | Leading questions

It’s impossible to know if a choice is ‘right’, advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith says. But you can have some certainty about how it makes you feelRead more Leading questionsI recently moved overseas by myself and I’m desperately lonely. I moved for better weather, proximity to nature and a calmer, healthier way of living but I’ve really struggled to make any friends. This isn’t the first time I lived abroad. I moved around in my 20s and they were some of the happiest times in my life.Now, at 34, the experience feels different. I’m living alone and working remotely. This is something I wanted to do for a long time but it’s a lot harder than I expected. I miss my family, friends and partner, although we speak all the time and travel back and forth to see each other. I know it takes time to build a new life. I miss the familiarity and my network back home. Was moving the right decision?The reader’s letter has been edited for length Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago A record number of women leaders are helping to transform the rural economy in Scotland

Following International Women’s Day, Scotland’s leading entrepreneurial support organisation Elevator is celebrating not only the imminent appointment of its first female CEO but a remarkable surge in the number of women participating in its Scottish Rural Leadership Programme.

Politics

1 week ago Readers' Letters: Borders railway expansion would not benefit Scotland

An extension of the Borders Railway would be good for train fans but bad for taxpayers, says reader

Politics

2 w. ago Readers' Letters: Sturgeon came so close to assuring a legacy to be proud of

The debate around Nicole Sturgeon’s ‘legacy’ goes on

Politics

2 w. ago George Orwell and me: Richard Blair on life with his extraordinary father

The literary giant’s only child reflects on his father’s devotion in their days together in rural Scotland, his early death, his genius as a writer – and his reputation as a womaniserRichard Blair didn’t have the easiest start in life. At three weeks old, he was adopted. Nine months later, his adoptive mother, Eileen, died at 39, after an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic she was given for a hysterectomy. Family and friends expected Blair’s father, Eric, to un-adopt him. Fortunately, Eric, better known as George Orwell, was an unusually hands-on dad for the 1940s.Orwell and Eileen had wanted children for years, but he was sterile and it is likely that she was infertile as a result of uterine cancer. Having finally agreed to adopt after their struggle, Orwell was not going to give up on his son. “The thing he wanted most in life was to have children,” says Blair. “And now I was his family.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Readers' Letters: Shaky future ahead for SNP with third of MSPs to go

The deluge of MSPs announcing they’re leaving Holyrood should worry John Swinney, says reader

Politics

2 w. ago Readers' Letters: It's time for councils to stop taking ever more tax

Councils must stop asking for more cash and make what they have work for us, says reader

Politics

2 w. ago Reader's Letters: Nicola Sturgeon's political career was a case of ambition overruling ability

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced she was stepping down from Holyrood

Politics

3 w. ago Readers' Letters: Don't blame seniors for the ills of the world

A reader suggests we should stop trying to apportion blame for society’s ills

Politics

3 w. ago Readers' Letters: It's time to take women's health seriously

Women wait too long for NHS treatment because their pain isn’t a priority, says reader

Politics

3 w. ago Readers' letters: Rachel Reeves doesn't need to cut benefits

A reader says the German solution to funding defence and infrastructure spending suggests benefit cuts should not be necessary

Politics

3 w. ago Scotland’s Rural College puts spotlight on four Albert Bartlett apprentices

Quartet undertook modern apprenticeship in food and drink operations (production and processing skills) at the potato facility in Airdrie.

Politics