This is intended as a conversation starter. Better-off Scots pay more tax. But do lower house prices, safe & well-rewarded public-sector jobs & olicies like free tuition make Scotland the best place in the UK to be middle class? thetimes.com/uk/scotland/ar…

I am looking for folk who have moved to Scotland from England, Wales or Northern Ireland recently. I want to know why! It's for the paper. Do get in touch!

Who needs Tesco? Orkney shop keeps customers satisfied after 170 years thetimes.com/article/a3de65…

David Leask 👆That’s inadvertently very funny and rather shocking. I wrote here about pidgins and creoles, fwiw thetimes.com/uk/article/oli…

I don't usually waste time posting on this platform but maybe it is the right place to push stories about AI-generated slop about SNP leaders? thetimes.com/uk/scotland/ar…

NEW: Independence or more immigration? Why Scotland can’t have both. My column in The Times and The Sunday Times. thetimes.com/uk/scotland/ar…

In this column I make reference to a fabulous piece in the Sunday Times by David Leask. Here's a link: thetimes.com/uk/scotland/ar…

David Leask And here are the key numbers:

Why Scotland’s stone harbours are at risk of crumbling into the sea thetimes.com/article/de8fdb…

Why Scotland’s stone harbours are at risk of crumbling into the sea Violent storms and years of neglect by cash-strapped councils mean the tiny ports that dot the coastline are increasingly in peril - David Leask thetimes.com/uk/scotland/ar…

Meet the preacher John Swinney used to persuade Trump on Gaza thetimes.com/article/ff74fe…

American styled arguments against the pursuit of free inquiry and research on racism and colonialism are taking hold in UK academia. thetimes.com/uk/scotland/ar…