THE Scottish Conservatives are an under-appreciated bunch. When times are fraught and uncertainty abounds (see Putin's speech for your latest batch of nightmare scenarios), Douglas Ross and his troops can always be relied upon to provide an amusing d...

Reversing the mistake of the M8 is not possible, but perhaps we can apply a bandage

THE NUMBER of Scots firms that have gone bust has soared by over a third in one year plunging business into a crisis sparked by soaring energy bills.

THE numbers being held in custody without conviction has hit record levels with the length of time detained quadrupling in less than three years, leading to calls from a key Scottish solicitors group for urgent action.

SCOTTISH Government-owned ferry operator CalMac is being asked to rethink after coming under fire for 'cuts' to winter timetables that have been put to user groups in draft form.

THE Scottish Government is failing to tackle child poverty adequately, the country’s spending watchdog has warned, with ministers neglecting to set clear milestones.

SCOTS householders are bracing themselves for a huge hike in mortgage costs today as the Bank of England looks to bring inflation under control.

HOUSING and homelessness experts have demanded an urgent meeting with Shona Robison to discuss unprecedented strains on the sector, including Ukrainian refugees.

IT can be hard to avoid feeling despondent about the state of Glasgow.

STATISTICS regulators have scolded the National Records of Scotland for a lack of transparency over fixing the census fiasco.

The 39th annual British Social Attitudes Survey, published today, also showed growing divisions across Britain

A professional services group launched two years ago to “shake up” the sector in Scotland has been sold to a larger expanding English rival.

By Ian McConnell

In most schools, lapses in pupil concentration are as inevitable as stained coffee cups in the staffroom.

By Scott Wright

WE waited to see what the new Tories under Liz Truss were going to be like. Pretty much all sensible people had grown sick of the lies, sleaze and corruption of the Boris Johnson fiasco, so we were hopeful of a positive change.

By Duncan Cameron

THRILL-SEEKING Barrie Crawford enjoys holidays that are jam-packed with incident and activity, though he admits that even he was a tad trepidatious after perusing the house-rules of the Airbnb in Salzburg where he stayed last week.

Here on Normal Island – aka ‘Great’ Britain – we’re well into the rapids

SERGEY Markov is a former adviser to Vladimir Putin and straight out of central casting. As BBC radio listeners munched their cereal and packed the kids’ schoolbags yesterday morning, he threatened them with nuclear war.

Our cartoonist Steven Camley’s take on the energy crisis September 22 2022

SOME say Liz Truss has had a terribly hard start to her stint as Prime Minister, what with the Queen upping and dying and everything.

If you're not a fan of the hit games Wordle or Heardle then maybe try the movie spin-off Framed.

Hints and answer for today's Wordle.

If you have tried and loved Wordle, Quordle should be your next go-to brain teaser.

A woman who died in a crash in Perthshire was a 69-year-old American who was visiting loved ones in Scotland, police have said.

A man has been jailed for his involvement in supplying millions of pounds of amphetamine into Scotland during 2013 and 2014.

LIZ Truss’s plans to slash taxes will lead to a £30bn black hole in Britain’s finances, according to a new analysis by the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

AN SNP backbencher has hit out as the Scottish Government for refusing to bring forward updated plans on whether key roads are to be dualled – labelling the current strategy “plainly impossible”.

THE SNP’S Net Zero Secretary has suggested the UK Government should reverse plans to expand North Sea oil and gas extraction amid claims levelled against the Tories of “climate denial at its worst”.

TRIBUTES are being paid to a Scots DJ and house producer after his sudden death.

Snow could fall on higher ground in Scotland as temperatures drop next week, forecasters have said.

SHARES in Hostmore, the hospitality company that owns the Fridays and 63 + 1st brands, have fallen sharply after it warned soaring utility prices will lead to a near-£6 million rise in costs.

Students looking to take their places at one of Scotland’s oldest universities have been instructed not to enrol in their courses if they do not have housing secured amid an intense demand for flats.

By Ian McConnell

CHANGES to national assessments put in place in 2021 when exams were cancelled because of the Covid pandemic significantly increased teacher workload and made some teachers consider leaving the profession, research published today shows.

The number of marriages in Scotland between April and June 2022 is considerably higher than the five-year average.

A council has had to pay out more than £1.2m to cyclists who have fallen off their bike on Edinburgh's tram line.

MOST female candidates at the recent Scottish council elections experienced threats, abuse or intimidation, new research suggests.

EVELYN Partners, the wealth management and professional services group created from the merger of Tilney and Smith & Williamson, has announced that it has agreed terms for new landmark offices in Glasgow.

THE SCOTTISH Greens wll demand answers from police bosses amid concerns over “free speech and democracy” after anti-monarchy protesters were arrested.

SCOTTISH Conservative MP David Duguid has been appointed by Liz Truss to the role of Scotland Office minister.

SCOTTISH Government-owned CalMac has come under fire as it emerged lifeline CalMac services cannot be booked beyond the next five weeks due to delays in publishing its timetable.

By Ian McConnell

SHARES in Frasers Group closed down after Mike Ashley announced he would step back from the board next month, as one analyst signalled there may “no longer be a steady hand on the tiller”.

By Scott Wright

Medical software provider Craneware is predicting a further acceleration in sales in the coming year after revenues more than doubled following the largest-ever acquisition in the company’s history.

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II has tested positive for Covid-19 after attending Queen Elizabeth's funeral in London, the royal palace said.

With offices in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Azerbaijan, leading engineering and consultancy firm PD&MS has major ambitions for growth – and is currently recruiting 200 new personnel at a forthcoming jobs fair in Glasgow, writes Ann Wallace

By Ian McConnell