Nearly two decades after leaving office, the former PM is still trumpeting the same futile militarism and failed free market dogmas. The question naturally arises: why does anyone still listen to him, says ANDREW MURRAY
Flags beat facts in Holyrood again
As has been the case for the last six years the SNP are in charge, there is a pro-independence majority and Labour are in third place behind the Tories. It’s MacGroundhog Day, writes STEPHEN LOW
Nicola Sturgeon in Airdale, Lanarkshire, at the weekend after her election victory
Very modest growth in membership serves to underline the need for a change of recruiting strategies, posits NIGEL FLANAGAN
DIANE ABBOTT debunks claims made politicians drumming up support for an enhanced militarisation of the British economy
The Morning Star’s AGM tour comes at a critical moment for both the British left and the newspaper itself, as it battles political fragmentation and media industry upheaval. Editor BEN CHACKO issues a clarion call to readers to play their part in the coming period
The growing argument that welfare must be sacrificed for ‘security’ is built on nothing but myth, argues MICHAEL BURKE
Esmond Romilly horrified Britain’s Establishment by turning from privileged schoolboy to anti-fascist fighter, writes MAT COWARD
FROM outside Scotland, the SNP getting a fourth term in office looks impressive. All the more so given their record. The SNP have failed to deliver on education, health inequality, care homes, ferries, renewable energy and have slashed local government while boasting of tax freezes for business.
But expecting matters such as these to be of significance is to mistake the nature of contemporary Scotland. We have moved beyond issues of delivery in government, or even accountability. In today’s Scotland, flags beat facts.
To give just one example: Scotland has an appalling track record in tackling drug abuse. Deaths in Scotland are more than three times the UK level. Scotland has a fatality rate worse than any EU country. The scandal reached such a level that Nicola Sturgeon had to sack the relevant minister — Joe Fitzpatrick.
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The new Scottish Parliament looks set to continue a cycle of managerial tinkering while public services face the axe, writes STEPHEN LOW
Every Starmer boast about removing asylum-seekers probably wins Reform another seat while Labour loses more voters to Lib Dems, Greens and nationalists than to the far right — the disaster facing Labour is the leadership’s fault, writes DIANE ABBOTT MP
On the release of her memoir that reveals everything except politics, Sturgeon’s endless media coverage has focused on her panic attacks, sexuality and personal tragedies while ignoring her government’s many failures, writes PAULINE BRYAN