Beatrice Wishart

Former first ministers Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon

Exclusive Sturgeon and Yousaf branded 'part-time' for contributing least as MSPs

Tom Daley at the Soho Hotel in London, during a portrait session for his new Channel 4 series, Game of Wool: Britain's Best Knitter

Tom Daley invited to Shetland amid Fair Isle knitting row

Stephen Flynn MP, Anas Sarwar MSP and Maree Todd MSP

The 16 seats to watch out for in the 2026 Scottish election

Carol Watters inspects flood damage to her home in Cupar caused by Storm Gerrit (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

SNP's track record on flood protection is as bad as we've come to expect

Kinloss Park resident Andrew McIntosh looks through his damaged belongings. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Parts of CupaR were hit badly, the River Eden burst its banks and Kinloss Park residents houses were flooded by the Ladyburn over flowing also

Minister accused of being 'all at sea' over flood prevention works

Digging weeds by hand on an organic farm in the sunshine. Picture: Getty Images

Skilled worker salary increase will 'split families' and hit rural Scotland hard

SNP MSP Fergus Ewing rips up up a consultation document on controversial highly protected marine areas (HPMAs) during a debate in the Scottish Parliament

SNP backbenchers raise local fury at HPMAs as former minister rips up proposals

Communications to Shetland have been completely shut down after a subsea cable was damaged.

Damaged subsea cable leaves Shetland cut off from mainland

Using ferries to link nearby islands is an outdated approach to transport (Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)

Shetland is crying out for tunnels to connect island communities

Alex Cole-Hamilton is running to be the new leader of the Scottish LibDems.

Alex Cole-Hamilton to stand as candidate for Scottish Lib Dem leader

The attainment gap has been stubbornly high

'Record £215m' to close attainment gap in schools

The SQA has been criticised for failing to publish details on the appeals process for 2021 exams. Picture: PA

Lib Dems urge major reform of Scottish Qualifications Authority

Scottish students staged protests in Edinburgh and Glasgow last year over the SQA's exam marking scheme.

Swinney doubles-down on school 'exams'

Pupils are at risk at missing out on counselling services, the Liberal Democrats have said.

Counsellor per school target missed by SNP, Liberal Democrats claim

National Clincial Director Jason Leitch said that Scots living elsewhere in the UK on a temporary basis should be able to get the vaccine.

Scots living in other parts of UK will not miss out on Covid vaccine

The Scottish Liberal Democrats want the starting age for school in Scotland lifted to seven. Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Push for school starting age in Scotland to be raised to seven

Education Secretary John Swinney has said the pandemic has affected school leaver destinations.

Number of school leavers going to 'positive destinations' falls

The Covid-19 vaccine started being dispensed in Scotland last week

Return to post-Covid normality a 'long way off', say vaccine experts

Flagship childcare plans will brought back in August

Flagship Scots childcare policy to return next year

Scots schools returned in August

Scots teachers back strike action over Covid safety fears

John Swinney said "judgements" are made about whether a meeting is minuted or not by civil servants.

John Swinney responds directly to exam results 'cover-up' accusations

Childminders have seen an increase in operating costs since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Scots childminders fear for future

Half of Scottish childminders ‘will run out of cash in six months’

A total of 77 students in secondary schools and 40 primary school students have tested positive for Covid-19

117 pupils test positive for Covid-19

John Swinney will seek clinical advice on face masks

School Covid rules may be strengthened after pupils test positive

Posters with the message "keep looking out for each other Glasgow" and featuring song lyrics by Scottish artists such as Simple Minds, Dougie MacLean and Stealers Wheel have appeared around Glasgow city centre.

Scots 'local lockdowns' may be used to tackle fresh Covid outbreaks

Fish caught out of the North Sea. Picture: J Mitchell/Getty Images

Scottish fishing chief says industry does not want extension to Brexit talks

Stock image. Unison has warned of teachers' anxiety at returning to the classroom. Picture: John Devlin

'Scottish education staff anxious about returning to work'

Westminster officials are becoming increasingly frustrated at differences in public messaging between England and Scotland.

Westminster fears ‘four nations’ approach is splintering amid Scotland-England d...

Teacher numbers are not yet back at 2007 levels, and average classroom sizes are growing, according to new statistics.

More teachers, but class sizes still larger than promised, new figures show

Secondary school vacancies dropped by 106 to 294 since the start of the 2019 academic year. Picture: Getty

‘Encouraging’ fall in Scots teacher vacancy rates

Teachers are spending more to close the gap.

Scottish head teachers spend £132m to help close attainment gap

The SNP have defended themselves as the 'strongest advocate' for Scotland. Picture: File

SNP spent more on Shetland by-election battle than Brexit referendum

"The fact that the SNP spent more on the by-election in Shetland than in the entire EU referendum campaign speaks volumes," critics say. Picture: PA

SNP spent more on Shetland by-election than Brexit vote

The Scottish Government has been criticised after admitting it was failing to reach childcare provision targets.

Scottish Government criticised after admitting failure to hit childcare provisio...

The question for Swinson is whether the Lib Dems can prompt an exodus from the other unionist parties, writes Lesley Riddoch.

Lesley Riddoch: Will moderate Scots warm to Jo Swinson?

The government has announced new funding.

One in ten Scots pupils is taught in a school in poor or bad condition

The Scottish Lib Dems celebrate after Beatrice Wishart wins the Shetland by-election

Labour has surrendered to the SNP over independence – Willie Rennie

Beatrice Wishart (bottom right) won the by-election for Jo Swinson's (bottomo left) Scottish Liberal Democrats. Pictures: PA/Beatrice Wishart Twitter

Nicola Sturgeon claims seat now SNP's 'top target' after gains in Shetland

The resignation of Scottish Liberal Democrat Tavish Scott has led to the Shetland by-election, where the war memorial has been vandalised with the letters SNP.

Shetland war memorial vandalised ahead of by-election

The First Minister recently visited Shetland.

Shetland election candidates condemn 'misogynistic' comments about Nicola Sturge...

Mr Scott announced he was stepping down last month.

Full list of Shetland by-election candidates announced
Ten candidates have been announced for the by-election in the Shetland constituency which is due to take place next month.

Tavish Scott. Picture: PA

Shetland by-election to take place at end of August

The Scotsman Top Stories

Scotland has failed to meet its latest target for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the latest official figures show. Picture: John Giles/PA Wire

Fail: Scotland misses climate target

Pro-independence protesters with Scottish Saltire flags (top) march for Scottish independence. Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images

Yousaf: Growing popular support for Yes the only way to Scottish independence

Nadine Dorries. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

SNP MP cleared of bullying Nadine Dorries