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Britain World Editorial Features Culture Sport
Climate Crisis Workers' Rights Middle East Labour Party Red Star Talks Scotland Iran Latin America
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Labour’s crisis runs deep — it needs a real debate on its future
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Climate Crisis Workers' Rights Middle East Labour Party Red Star Talks Scotland Iran Latin America
Matt Kerr
A bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes on Thursday is seen in the town of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, April 3, 2026
CWU Conference 2026 / 10 May 2026
CWU delegates condemn Iran war
10 May 2026
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks to supporters at Chelmsford City Racecourse, Essex, following the 2026 local election results, May 8, 2026
CWU Conference 2026 / 10 May 2026
CWU delegates fear current anti-racist strategy is ‘alienating working-class people’
10 May 2026
First Minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader John Swinney during a visit to Rouken Glen Garden Centre in Glasgow, on the last day of campaigning ahead of the Holyrood elections on Thursday, May 6, 2026
Holyrood Election / 6 May 2026
SNP predicted to ‘gobble up’ seats but ‘odds against’ winning overall majority
6 May 2026
Reform UK Scottish leader Lord Malcolm Offord speaks to the media outside Trinity Church in Larkhall, Lanarkshire, on the campaign trail for the May 7 Holyrood election, May 5, 2026
Holyrood Election / 6 May 2026
SNP and Labour round on Reform
6 May 2026
Campaigners take part in a Stop Rosebank protest outside the UK Government building in Edinburgh, after the controversial Equinor Rosebank North Sea oil field was given the go-ahead, September 30, 2023
Holyrood Elections / 6 May 2026
Scottish Greens claim only they tell the truth on new oil and gas
6 May 2026
THE GREAT ILLUSIONIST: Scotland First Minister John Swinney (centre) with assorted worthies at Wheatley Housing Development in Wallyford, East Lothian, apparently keen on accelerating housebuilding throughout Scotland, January 2026
Holyrood / 6 May 2026
Scotland’s election risks becoming an exercise in apathy
6 May 2026

As Scotland heads to the polls, the main parties offer variations on the same script, says MATT KERR

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, during a visit to Bathgate, while campaigning for the upcoming Holyrood election, May 4, 2026
Scotland / 5 May 2026
Vote Labour to ‘save our NHS’, says Sarwar
5 May 2026
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn at the launch of the Scottish National Party 2026 Scottish Parliament election campaign, at Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, March 26, 2026
Scotland / 5 May 2026
Thursday means ‘Starmageddon’, says Flynn
5 May 2026
Tenement flats along Comely Bank in Edinburgh
Scotland / 5 May 2026
Over a third of Scots live in fear of homelessness
5 May 2026
A preschool age child playing with plastic building blocks
Scotland / 4 May 2026
Campaigners call for ‘bold’ action to slash child poverty
4 May 2026
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn during campaigning for the Scottish Parliament elections at the Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre in Glasgow, March 27, 2026
Scotland / 4 May 2026
Flynn slams Labour's game of ‘celebrity traitors’
4 May 2026
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar unveils his plan for the first 100 days of a Scottish Labour government, whilst campaigning for the upcoming Holyrood election in Edinburgh, April 30, 2026
Scotland / 4 May 2026
Sarwar shifts focus to constituencies
4 May 2026
Scottish Green party supporters hold placards
Scotland / 4 May 2026
Scottish Greens pledge ‘railcard for all’
4 May 2026
CP Aberdeen
May Day / 3 May 2026
Marches across Scotland mark International Workers’ Day
3 May 2026
A data centre [Pic: İsmail Enes Ayhan / Creative Commons]
Big Tech / 4 May 2026
Campaigners call for ‘transparency’ over data centre plans
4 May 2026
Mental health [Pic: Elimende Inagella / Creative Commons]
Healthcare / 4 May 2026
Put mental health on par with physical health, say medics
4 May 2026
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar unveils his plan for the first 100 days of a Scottish Labour government, while campaigning for the upcoming Holyrood election in Edinburgh, April 30, 2026
Holyrood Election / 4 May 2026
Labour set for new Holyrood low, poll suggest
4 May 2026
First Minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader John Swinney with SNP candidate for Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith Ben Macpherson (left), launches a campaign billboard for the upcoming Holyrood elections on Leith Walk in Edinburgh, April 29, 2026
Scotland / 30 April 2026
Holyrood campaign enters its final week
30 April 2026
Scotland / 1 May 2026
Parents' charter launched ahead of Holyrood poll
1 May 2026
The Lady Justice statue atop the Central Criminal Court
Britain / 30 April 2026
Justice devolution ‘stalled’ in the North
30 April 2026
The logo for Glasgow airport
Scotland / 30 April 2026
Security workers at Glasgow airport balloted for strike
30 April 2026
Reform UK Scottish leader Malcolm Offord speaking at the Reform UK Holyrood election campaign rally in Aberdeen, April 13, 2026
Reform UK Scotland / 29 April 2026
Six houses Offord faces calls for a tax named in his honour
29 April 2026
Protest outside Leonardo, April 28, 2026
Arms Tarde / 28 April 2026
Leonardo's Edinburgh factory blockaded over ‘complicity in genocide’
28 April 2026
A BP petrol station in Lymm in Cheshire, April 15, 2026
Climate Crisis / 28 April 2026
BP posts £2.4bn profit from ‘human misery’ in three months
28 April 2026
Scottish National Party (SNP) leader John Swinney delivers a speech on the early actions a re-elected SNP Government would take to support people, at Pearce Institute, Glasgow, April 27, 2026
Scotland / 27 April 2026
Swinney sets out plans for first 100 days back in office
27 April 2026
A preschool age child playing with plastic building blocks
Scotland / 27 April 2026
Holyrood manifestos fall ‘well short’ on child poverty, charity warns
27 April 2026
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, along with party supporters, at Beveridge Park in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on the campaign trail for the upcoming Holyrood election, April 23, 2026
Britain / 24 April 2026
Sarwar accuses SNP of ‘bloated bureaucracy’
24 April 2026
Delegates during the first day of the STUC conference in the Caird Hall, Dundee, April 20, 2026
Aw That / 25 April 2026
Congress: It’s all talk
25 April 2026

But that’s OK, says MATT KERR, as talking is what will help us get things done

Prime Minister Keir Starmer departs 10 Downing Street, London, to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament, April 22, 2026
STUC 2026 / 22 April 2026
STUC votes against Starmer's war economy
22 April 2026
Scottish Green party co-leader Gillian Mackay during a visit to the Palestine Museum Scotland in Edinburgh, October 17, 2025
STUC 2026 / 22 April 2026
Green co-leader addresses STUC
22 April 2026
STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer during the STUC conference in the Caird Hall, Dundee, April 20, 2026
STUC 2026 / 22 April 2026
Directionless governments costing hundreds of green jobs, says STUC
22 April 2026
First Minister John Swinney addresses delegates during the STUC conference in the Caird Hall, Dundee, April 21, 2026
STUC 2026 / 21 April 2026
Swinney makes his pitch to the STUC
21 April 2026
The Morning Star fringe at STUC 2026
STUC 2026 / 21 April 2026
STUC delegates pack Morning Star fringe
21 April 2026
STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer during the STUC conference in the Caird Hall, Dundee, April 20, 2026
STUC 2026 / 21 April 2026
Foyer slams ‘political cowardice’ on tax and service
21 April 2026
A view of bank notes
STUC 2026 / 20 April 2026
STUC calls for an end to public service austerity
20 April 2026
School children in a classroom
STUC 2026 / 20 April 2026
STUC calls for education overhaul
20 April 2026