Scottish independence debate reduced to 'do you like Nicola or hate Boris', says MP

disunity among nationalists, Kenny MacAskill said many potential voters "are neither in a party nor want to be".The MP for East Lothian called for other pro-independence organisations to be "respected not directed" if a second referendum was eventually to take place.Nationalists are split over both the timing and the best way to secure a legally-binding vote on the constitution.

caused uproar last year when he dismissed the opening of the Scottish Parliament as Tony Blair's "biggest mistake".Devolution - which meant power was taken from Westminster and handed to devolved governments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast - was a key policy introduced by the New Labour government in 1997.It was bitterly opposed by many Conservatives at the time and suspicion has lingered that Boris Johnson remained against it.But the Tory leader has now rowed back on his comments and insisted

is on course for a majority of seats at May's Holyrood election while support for independence has also climbed over the last 12 months.Carwyn Jones, who led Welsh Labour from 2009 until 2018, said this popularity was partly a response to the "English nationalist" outlook of the UK Government led by Johnson.He said it would be "very difficult to oppose" for the Prime Minister to oppose an IndyRef2 if the Nationalists won a majority as expected.And the former Welsh Assembly leader warned that

Yes vote ahead, but the gap with unionists has tightened. The Savanta ComRes poll, published by The Scotsman, put support for independence at 47%, compared with 42% for staying in the UK and 10% undecided.

Andrew Dunlop - who served as an advisor to David Cameron during his disastrous term in Downing Street - said it would be "responsible" for the UK Government to reject all demands for an IndyRef2 to take place.

independence even further.

whole of the UK and the Republic, which already operate a common travel area. Leitch gave his view to MSP scrutinising the government’s covid response and proposals to monitor travellers arriving in the country.

Roz Foyer said the “likely” election of a majority of pro-indy MSPs made the case for another vote “unanswerable”, but insisted multiple options could be offered.She said further devolution could give MSPs the power to set a higher minimum wage and use inheritance tax to cut inequality.The SNP Government is demanding a second referendum, but the pro-UK parties have refused.However, a growing number of voices believe Scots should be offered a variety of options in a referendum, rather than a

Boris Johnson has sacked his top adviser on saving the Union, topping off a torrid Scottish week for the Prime Minister that saw him savaged for visiting a Livingston vaccine plant at the centre of a covid outbreak. Former Scottish Tory MP Luke Graham was given his marching orders the day after Johnson returned from his controversial Scottish trip last Thursday, but the sacking has only been confirmed now.

coronavirus  outbreak at the site. The  Prime Minister  went to Valneva, in Livingston, last Thursday during a  controversial trip north.

London School of Economics (LSE) predicted the economic damage caused by the break-up of the UK would be two or three times worse than Brexit, given the amount of trade between Scotland and the rest of the country.The financial boffins also said that rejoining the EU would make little difference in the short term to the finances of an independent Scotland.But SNP ministers said there was "no reason whatsoever" that Scotland could not emulate the success of independent countries of similar

the Reformer the visit was to help the Prime Minister be “accessible” during a national emergency, and during his stop he spoke to troops setting up the centre and volunteers there.

First Minister met with her Scottish Government Cabinet this morning where it was agreed that children in primaries one, two and three should provisionally return to class from the week beginning Monday, February 22. Pre-school nurseries would also reopen at the same time as part of a gradual reopening of the wider schools system.

rock singer from the southside of Glasgow is a long-term Labour supporter. His father, Bob senior, is a veteran trade union campaigner and stood for the party as a candidate at the famous 1988 Govan by-election won by the SNP.

Unison outlined concerns about staff safety and “democratic legitimacy” due to the pandemic.

Alex Salmond during an interview with the Irish Times on Thursday.

the First Minister described as “non-essential”, the Prime Minister dismissed demands for a referendum as “completely irrelevant to the concerns of most people”.In an interview for the media pool the Tory leader defended his visit to meet army and health professionals involved in the vaccine roll-out across Scotland.He said: “I’m here in my capacity as Prime Minister of the whole country to thank hard-working officials and public servants across the whole of Britain who are doing fantastic

lockdown despite First Minister Nicola Sturgeon criticising it as “not essential”. Gove, the Cabinet Office Minister, said: “The Prime Minister has a responsibility and a role to make sure the vaccine roll-out is proceeding appropriately, to thank those on the front line, NHS professionals and those in the British Army who are making sure things work well.”“It’s absolutely right, the Prime Minister should be there talking to those who are involved in that effort.

coronavirus vaccine, providing testing and giving financial support throughout the pandemic. The Prime Minister 's visit has been deemed "not essential" by Nicola Sturgeon who emphasised that cross-border travelling was still discouraged.

Boris Johnson plans to visit Scotland this week, comedian Janey Godley has created a hilarious voice over from his 2019 visit which has left Twitter in stitches. The Prime Minister is set to head to Scotland to 'unite the union' and talk to Scots about the benefits of staying in the union.