Holyrood Sources

On a special episode of the Holyrood Sources podcast, recorded in the afternoon of Wednesday the 28th October, Calum Macdonald, Geoff Aberdein and Andy Maciver break down John Healey's first ever Budget... what does it mean for Scotland... did it all feel a bit underwhelming? Stephen Boyd, Director of the IPPR Scotland joins the podcast to add his perspective. Later. Geoff, Andy and Calum discuss the Sunday Times report that suggests that the Scottish Government continues to pay salaries worth a total of £27 million of public sector workers whose role's no longer exist.... And ,are free schoolbags a good idea... or are they a waste of money that could be spent on other aspects of education? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The UK government has approved extraction from the Jackdaw gas field near Aberdeen What does this mean for Scotland's economy and the future of North Sea oil and gas?In this episode of Holyrood Sources, Calum Macdonald, Geoff Aberdein and Andy Maciver breakdown the big political stories in Scotland this week, .We speak with Prof. John Underhill, Director for Energy Transition at the University of Aberdeen about what this decision actually means for UK gas supply, scope 3 emissions, domestic jobs, and the new North Sea Energy Wealth Fund. Will Rosebank be next? As Amanda Bland resigns from Reform UK, rendering Labour the second-largest party in Holyrood.. Is Reform's Scottish insurgency already falling apart? Did John Swinney deliver the detail Scotland needed in his conference speech, or was it high on rhetoric and low on public service reform? The BBC Scotland channel is moving online-only, as part of the corporations latest round of cost-cutting measures. What does this mean for Scottish broadcast media, regional journalism, and public service broadcasting? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Calum and Geoff are live from the pub at SNP conference. They take the temperature of the party ahead of John Swinney's speech this weekend and are joined by party representatives, pollsters and experts to diagnose the health of the SNP going into 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Holyrood Sources, Calum Macdonald, Geoff Aberdein and Andy Maciver preview the SNP conference with The Scotsman's Rachel Amery. For the first time ever, John Swinney leads a conference with a mandate as First Minister... how will he shape the event as his own? Will the focus be on independence or we will see deeper policy on other issues in Scottish Politics. What will the talk be on energy? and how strange is it Gillian Mackay, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens is set to make an appearance? Andy Burnham is also set to visit Scotland on Friday, what will his visit entail? Will we see an announcement on local government reform, and how will it differ to the Scottish Government's proposal from a few weeks ago? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's episode of Holyrood Sources, Calum Macdonald, Geoff Aberdein and Andy Maciver dive into the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham.We are joined by Rachael Hamilton MSP, Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives, to react to Kemi Badenoch’s proposed review of the Scotland Act and reported plans to curtail Holyrood's powers—including over education. We discuss "true conservative values," energy bills, public sector reform, and whether the UK Tory vision aligns with Scottish voters.Plus, the team breaks down Nicola Sturgeon’s claims of Labour's "glaring contradictions" on referendums, Andy Burnham's political standing, and the soaring UK welfare bill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.