Skotia Media

In the latest episode of News From Nowhere, Skotia's weekly news podcast, Coll McCail, Rory Hamilton, and Samuel Rafanell-Williams discuss John Swinney's new cabinet and what it means for the direction of his government. Apologies for any audio issues on this recording. These things happen! Support Skotia on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠.Join Skotia's ⁠⁠WhatsApp channel⁠⁠.Join the ⁠⁠Skotia Social Club⁠⁠.

In the first episode of News From Nowhere, Skotia's weekly news podcast, Coll McCail, Rory Hamilton, and Samuel Rafanell-Williams discuss the first week of Scotland's new parliament and the imminent Labour Party leadership contest. Support Skotia on ⁠Patreon⁠.Join Skotia's ⁠WhatsApp channel⁠.Join the ⁠Skotia Social Club⁠.

Following the Holyrood election, Coll McCail is joined on Nest of Fearties by Sean Baillie and Frances Curran to pick through the aftermath of the campaign and discuss what the result means for class politics in Scotland. ⁠Sign up Skotia's mailing list.⁠⁠ Join our WhatsApp Channel.⁠⁠Support Skotia on Patreon.

In the latest episode of Skotia's podcast dedicated to the Scottish Parliament election, Coll McCail, Samuel Rafanell-Williams and Rory Hamilton discuss Thursday's results and what they mean for Holyrood's next session.Support Skotia on Patreon.Join Skotia's WhatsApp channel.Join the Skotia Social Club.

Like many people, Sean Baillie faces a bit of a conundrum as to how to cast his vote at this year’s Scottish Parliament election.  In a special episode of Nest of Fearties, Sean asks who socialists in Scotland should vote for on the regional list on 7 May 2026. With voting only days away, he spoke to two leading figures in left-wing parties standing in every region across the country.First, he caught up with Richie Venton, National Campaigns Organiser for the Scottish Socialist Party, on what the return of the SSP to Holyrood would offer Scots. Then Sean spoke to the Co-Leader of the Scottish Green Party, Gillian Mackay. If you enjoy the podcast, support Skotia on Patreon. You can also subscribe to our regular mailing list, the Skotia Social Club, and WhatsApp channel.

In the latest episode of Skotia's podcast dedicated to the Scottish Parliament election, Coll McCail and Samuel Rafanell-Williams discuss the stories shaping the Holyrood campaign.Election '26 will be published every Monday before polling day on 7 May 2026. Follow us to make sure you never miss an episode. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up Skotia's mailing list.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our WhatsApp Channel.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Skotia on Patreon.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Skotia's YouTube channel.

In the latest episode of Skotia's podcast dedicated to the Scottish Parliament election, Rory Hamilton and Eilidh Keay discuss the stories shaping the Holyrood campaign.Election '26 will be published every Monday before polling day on 7 May 2026. Follow us to make sure you never miss an episode. ⁠⁠⁠Sign up Skotia's mailing list.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our WhatsApp Channel.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Skotia on Patreon.⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Skotia's YouTube channel.

In the latest episode of Skotia's podcast dedicated to the Scottish Parliament election, Coll McCail and Rory Hamilton discuss the stories shaping the Holyrood campaign.Election '26 will be published every Monday before polling day on 7 May 2026. Follow us to make sure you never miss an episode. ⁠⁠Sign up Skotia's mailing list.⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our WhatsApp Channel.⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Skotia on Patreon.⁠Subscribe to Skotia's YouTube channel.

In the latest episode of Skotia's podcast dedicated to the Scottish Parliament election, Coll McCail and Samuel Rafanell-Williams discuss the stories shaping the Holyrood campaign.Election '26 will be published every Monday before polling day on 7 May 2026. Follow us to make sure you never miss an episode. ⁠Sign up Skotia's mailing list.⁠⁠ Join our WhatsApp Channel.⁠⁠Support Skotia on Patreon.

In less than a month, Scotland will elect its next government. Yet beyond the headlines, one can’t escape the sense that this May’s poll is passing voters by. To discuss 'Scotland's Forgettable Election', Coll McCail is joined on Nest of Fearties by freelance journalist Jamie Maxwell and Bella Caledonia's Mike Small. Sign up Skotia's mailing list. Join our WhatsApp Channel.Support Skotia on Patreon.Read Bella Caledonia.Read Jamie's work.

In the latest episode of Skotia's podcast dedicated to the Scottish Parliament election, Samuel Rafanell-Williams and Rory Hamilton discuss the stories shaping the Holyrood campaign.Election '26 will be published every Monday before polling day on 7 May 2026. Follow us to make sure you never miss an episode.Support Skotia on Patreon. Stay in the loop by joining Skotia's WhatsApp Channel.

In the latest episode of Skotia's podcast dedicated to the Scottish Parliament election, Coll McCail, Rory Hamilton, and Sophie Johnson discuss the stories shaping the Holyrood campaign.Election '26 will be published every Monday before polling day on 7 May 2026. Follow us to make sure you never miss an episode.Support Skotia on Patreon.

Scotland's universities are facing a profound funding crisis, with devastating consequences for staff, students and wider society. In March 2026 alone, workers at Strathclyde, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Heriot-Watt universities have taken industrial action. Meanwhile, staff at Glasgow Caledonian University and Edinburgh Napier face redundancy. To discuss Scotland's collapsing higher education sector, Rory Hamilton is joined by  Ross Gibson and Robin McAlpine on Nest of Fearties. Robin McAlpine is the founder of CommonWeal and a former Deputy Director of Universities Scotland. Ross Gibson is secretery of the University and Colleges Union at Strathclyde University. Help make media for a better Scotland by supporting Skotia on Patreon for as little as £5 per month.

In the latest episode of Skotia's podcast dedicated to the Scottish Parliament election, Samuel Rafanell-Williams, Rory Hamilton and Niall Christie discuss the stories shaping the Holyrood campaign.Election '26 will be published every Monday before polling day on 7 May 2026. Follow us to make sure you never miss an episode.Support Skotia on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠.

In the fifth episode of Skotia's new podcast dedicated to the Scottish Parliament election, Samuel Rafanell-Williams and Coll McCail discuss three stories shaping the Holyrood campaign.Election '26 will be published every Monday before polling day on 7 May 2026. Follow us to make sure you never miss an episode.Support Skotia on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠.

In the fourth episode of Skotia's new podcast dedicated to the Scottish Parliament election, Rory Hamilton, Matt Kerr and Coll McCail discuss three stories shaping the Holyrood campaign.Election '26 will be published every Monday before polling day on 7 May 2026. Follow us to make sure you never miss an episode.Support Skotia on ⁠Patreon⁠.

In the third episode of Skotia's new podcast dedicated to the Scottish Parliament election, Rory Hamilton, Dr Rosie Hampton and Samuel Rafanel-Williams discuss three stories shaping the Holyrood campaign.Election '26 will be published every Monday before polling day on 7 May 2026. Follow us to make sure you never miss an episode.Support Skotia on Patreon.

When Archibald Primrose, the 5th Earl of Rosebery, opened Glasgow’s People Palace in 1898, he declared it "open to the people for ever and ever".The building stands as a monument to the men and women whose lives, labour and struggles built Scotland’s largest city.This week, however, Glasgow Life – an arms-length body of Glasgow City Council – announced that the reopening of the People’s Palace, which had been closed since 2024, had been delayed indefinitely. The news mirrors similar – but ultimately unsuccessful – efforts to close Edinburgh’s People’s Story Museum in recent years. This week, Coll McCail is joined by  Jim Slaven and Dan Hutchison to discuss the campaign to protect Scotland’s working-class historyJim is a member of the James Connolly Society and was heavily involved in the campaign to save the People’s Story. He writes the Solidarity Not Charity substack. Dan is a Glasgow City Councillor for Ibrox who joined Your Party and left the Scottish Greens in October 2025.Support Skotia on Patreon.

In the second episode of Skotia's new podcast dedicated to the Scottish Parliament election, Coll McCail, Sophie Johnson and Samuel Rafanel-Williams discuss three stories shaping the Holyrood campaign.Election '26 will be published every Monday before polling day on 7 May 2026. Follow us to make sure you never miss an episode.Support Skotia on Patreon for as little as £5 per month.

In the first episode of Skotia's new podcast dedicated to the Scottish Parliament election, Coll McCail, Frances Curran and Rory Hamilton discuss three stories shaping the Holyrood campaign. Election '26 will be published every Monday prior to polling day on 7 May 2026. Follow us to make sure you never miss an episode. Support Skotia on Patreon.

On Sunday 8 February, Jeremy Corbyn MP joined Skotia's Coll McCail in Dundee to discuss Peter Mandelson, the crisis in the global order and the founding of Your Party Scotland. Support Skotia on Patreon.

Scotland, said the Labour MP Torcuil Crichton earlier this month, is now on the “front line” of NATO’s war with Russia. His comments followed the seizure of the Marinera – a Russian-flagged tanker – in the North Atlantic by US forces, with British military support, as the Trump administration continues to enforce its oil blockade on Venezuela. The apparent legal basis for the operation, which used Scottish Government-owned airports in Wick and Benbecula, was that the vessel was in breach of US sanctions. The Marinera episode, an effective act of state-sponsored piracy on the high seas, has taken place amidst historic shifts – or in Mark Carney’s words, “ruptures” – in the world order. On Nest of Fearties, Coll McCail is joined by Jonathon Shafi and David Jamieson to talk about Scotland and the future of Atlantiscism.Support Skotia on Patreon. Read Conter online.

On 15 January, Reform UK unveiled their new leader in Scotland.  Baron Offord of Garvel was not the only Tory defector to join Nigel Farage's Party this week. He was joined by Robert Jenrick and Nadhim Zahawi. In the first Nest of Fearties episode of 2026, Coll McCail is joined by Taj Ali and Dr Gavin Brewis to discuss the growing support for the far-right among working-class communities in Scotland and across Britain. Taj Ali is a journalist and historian. He is the former editor of Tribune Magazine and is currently writing a book on the history of British South Asian political activism, for which he has recently submitted the manuscript. Dr Gavin Brewis is a research fellow at Queen’s Communities and Place. Support Skotia on Patreon.

A lot has happened over the last 12 months. In London, the UK Government continues to flounder. Despite his sizable majority, Keir Starmer has achieved the impossible: He is now the most unpopular Prime Minister in British history. More unpopular even than Boris Johnson on the day he resigned. In Edinburgh, the result of next year’s Scottish election looks like a foregone conclusion. Recent opinion polling places John Swinney’s SNP at least 10 points ahead of their competitors on both regional list and constituency voting. On the final episode of Nest of Fearties of 2025, Coll McCail is joined by Matt Kerr and Chris Stephens to look back at the year just gone. Matt Kerr is a Glasgow Labour Councillor and the Morning Star’s Scotland Correspondent. Chris Stephens was the MP for Glasgow South West between 2015-2024. Support Skotia on Patreon.

To discuss the genocide in Palestine, its global consequences and where next for the solidarity movement, Coll McCail is joined on Nest of Fearties by Jonathon Shafi and Toufic Haddad.Jonathan is the Co-Chair of Stop The War Scotland, an editor at Conter and a columnist with The National.Toufic is a Palestinian academic and the author of 'Palestine Ltd.: Neoliberalism and Nationalism in the Occupied Territories'. He has worked in various capacities across the Occupied Palestinian Territories as a journalist, researcher, consultant, editor, and publisher. Support Skotia on Patreon. 'Palestine Ltd.' by Toufic Haddad.'Israel in the Cold' by Jonathon Shafi.

In 2011, months after the SNP formed its historic majority government in Holyrood, Alex Salmond declared that Scotland was to become ‘the Saudi Arabia of renewables’. The development of the green economy, so the former First Minister argued, would not only offer skilled employment but underpin the foundations of a future, independent state. A decade and a half later, this promise is yet to materialise. Following the ScotWind auction of 2022, Scotland’s seabed was leased to a selection of large fossil fuel companies, state-owned energy firms and asset managers.The SNP having junked its commitment to establish a national energy company, Ireland's government today owns more Scottish offshore wind than the Scottish Government does.  Meanwhile, of the 1,000 jobs that the UK Government’s much-lauded GB Energy promised to bring to Aberdeen, just 13 have materialised. To discuss the opportunities and challenges of Scotland's offshore economy, Coll McCail is joined by Laurie Macfarlane and Dave Moxham. Laurie is a co-director of Future Economy Scotland, a non-partisan think tank that aims to create a new economy that is democratic, sustainable and just. Dave is the Deputy General Secretery of the Scottish Trade Union Congress, which represents 550,000 workers through 40 affiliated unions. Support Skotia on Patreon Future Economy Scotland: Who Owns ScotWind? STUC report on Scotland’s low carbon and renewable energy economy

As Buildings across Glasgow crumble, gentrification strips the city's working-class neighbourhoods of their core identities. In Scotland's largest city, the legacy of the Thatcher years looms large. For instance, in 2021, if you lived in Pollokshields West, life expectancy was 83 years, while in nearby Greater Govan it was 65 – a gap of 18 years for a mere 3 miles. It's a bleak picture.However, Glasgow's residents refuse to accept the status quo. Workers, tenants, and commuters from Drumchapel to Dalmarnock have taken action over rising rents, damp flats, soaring bus fares, and collapsing services.Now with rent controls won in the Scottish Parliament and the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) moving forward with bus franchising, could ‘The Dear Green Place’ be just around the corner? To answer this question, Rory Hamilton is joined by Paul Shaw of Get Glasgow Moving and Stella Rooney of Living Rent Glasgow. Join Living Rent. Support Better Buses for Strathclyde. If you enjoy the podcast, support Skotia on Patreon.

Scottish politics is paralysed. The SNP govern in suspended animation while dangling the prospect of independence before their supporters’ noses. Scottish Labour is in tow to Starmerism, and the Scottish Greens remain tainted by the Bute House Agreement. In this context, Support for Reform UK grows by the month. Ahead of a sold-out rally in Glasgow, Rory Hamilton is joined by Zarah Sultana, Member of Parliament for Coventry South and Co-Founder of Your Party, to discuss whether a new left-wing political party can offer Scots an alternative — and what it might look like. Support Skotia on ⁠Patreon⁠.

Earlier this year, the 18th June edition of the Daily Record carried the headline “Justice Ministers’ war on yobs: Thugs up in smoke”. The words referred to an intervention from SNP MSP Angela Constence, who had promised to crack down on football fans following the Old Firm League Cup Final in December 2024. The Record’s prejudice, however, speaks to a more general effort to demonise Scottish football fans from this country’s political and media class. At its most serious, this demonisation has resulted in awful legislation like the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act. At its most ludicrous, it has resulted in the mainstream media alleging that fans are carrying and smuggling pyrotechnics into games inside French baguettes. While they’re targeted by the establishment, football fans are simultaneously priced out of games as the cost of tickets has soared. In Scotland, fans are getting organised to fight for better. In the latest episode of Nest of Fearties, Coll McCail is joined by Derek Watson and Paul Quigley to discuss the politics of Scottish football. Support Skotia on Patreon.

At the time of recording, at least 248 journalists have now been killed in Gaza, more than in any other conflict in modern times. Yet many in the mainstream media still can’t bring themselves to condemn the killing of their Palestinian colleagues. From the BBC to CNN, from The New York Times to The Guardian, in their reporting of Israel’s genocide over the last 23 months, outlet after outlet framed their coverage to minimise the severity of the crime. As John Pilger once said, “there is something called censorship by omission. You don’t really discuss what you leave out but it’s left out.”In Scotland, this apathy – and often outright hostility – to the suffering of the Palestinian people has been mimicked by the country’s leading opinion writers. Intent on viewing Israel’s crimes through the lens of the culture war, rather than an attack on our common humanity, all too few in Scotland’s mainstream have called a spade a spade – or a war crime a war crime. To discuss the Scottish media’s capitulation on Gaza, Coll McCail is joined by David Jamieson, the editor of Conter, and Laura Webster, the editor of The National. Support Skotia on Patreon for as little as £5 a month.Read David’s article: ‘Moral Collapse How The Scottish Commentariat Failed on Gaza’Subscribe to The National.

Scotland, according to the independent left think tank Common Weal, is one of the most foreign-owned economies in the world. That’s a staggering fact, but it reveals a fundamental truth: Scotland is being asset-stripped. Coll McCail is joined by Dr. James Foley and Dr. Craig Dalzell to discuss Scotland’s vanishing economic sovereignty.Support Skotia on ⁠Patreon⁠. Attend Scotland's Not For Sale in Glasgow on September 27.

As Donald Trump arrives in Scotland, the severity of Israel’s starvation in Gaza has driven even the Daily Express to declare that the genocide must end. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and First Minister John Swinney have both pledged to raise the question of Palestine in their private meetings with the American President in the coming days. But whether they can be trusted to do so, having capitulated to Trump’s every ask since he took office again, is another question – and one that this episode of Nest of Fearties will seek to address. Coll McCail is joined by Isobel Lindsay, Co-Vice Chair of the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and a veteran Scottish Independence campaigner, and Bill Ramsey, the SNP Trade Union Group convener and sits on the party's National Executive Committee, to trace fresh schisms within Scotland’s governing party over critical questions of foreign policy and ask what hope for Scottish nationalism in next year’s Holyrood elections.Support Skotia on ⁠Patreon⁠.

One year ago this month, Keir Starmer was elected Britian’s Prime Minister with a Westminster majority of more than 150 seats. 12 months later, Sir Keir’s approval ratings are at their lowest point since his election. A recent Find Out Now poll recorded Labour on just 22% of the vote, 8 points adrift of Reform UK. The Starmer Project is bruised, battered and deeply unpopular after a year of disastrous U-turns, constant relaunches, an inability to cut through and an overwhelming failure to deliver on the country’s demand for change. Coll McCail is joined by Matt Kerr, the Morning Star’s Scotland Correspondent and a Glasgow Labour Cllr, and Chris Stephens, the former SNP MP for Glasgow South West, to discuss a host of issues that in many ways embody the first year of Keir Starmer’s premiership. Support Skotia on Patreon.

Bathgate no more, Linwood no more, Grangemouth no more, Larbert no more?Earlier this month, it was announced that the Alexander Dennis bus manufacturing sites in Larbert and Camelon would close, resulting in 400 immediate job losses and an estimated 1,600 in the wider supply chain. This comes as the nearby Grangemouth oil refinery begins its decommissioning process. Meanwhile, John Swinney promises “national renewal” and a long-term plan for “Scotland 2050”. Is this the story of an unjust transition?To answer this question, Rory Hamilton is joined by Dr Ewan Gibbs – Senior Lecturer in Economic and Social History at the University of Glasgow, and author of Coal Country: The Meaning and Memory of Deindustrialisation in Postwar Scotland – and Dr Rosie Hampton, Oil & Gas Campaigns Manager at Friends of the Earth Scotland.Support Skotia on Patreon.

The ‘ferries fiasco’ has plagued the Scottish Government for nearly 10 years of its 18-year time in power.In 2022, Nicola Sturgeon refuted claims that the failures at Ferguson Marine, Scotland’s last remaining shipbuilder on the lower Clyde, were the result of the Scottish Government giving out “jobs for the boys”. Her comments followed Ferguson’s costly, delayed and error-strewn delivery of two new ferries for the Ayrshire to Arran route. Following two periods of administration, during which the contracts for the now-named MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa ballooned to three times their original size, the shipyard was nationalised and eventually in January 2025, the Glen Sannox finally entered service – seven years behind schedule.To take a deep dive into Scotland’s ‘ferry fiasco’, Rory Hamitlon is joined by Jeanette Findlay and Brian Reynolds. Jeanette Findlay is Professor Emerita at the University of Glasgow, and immediate past President of the University and College Union (UCU) Scotland. Brian Reynolds is the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ (RMT) Union Coordinator with CalMac Ferries, the ferry operator for the West Coast routes. Support Skotia on Patreon. 

Moments before polls opened in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, the bookies predicted that the SNP would easily retain the seat. Katy Loudon was their clear favourite while Scottish Labour were deemed outsiders after a chaotic campaign. Indeed, punters were offered 11/1 odds on Davy Russell winning the seat. But he did just that as Scottish Labour’s 8,500 votes saw them top the poll. The SNP fell 500 votes short and lost 16% of their 2021 vote share. In third, and within 1,500 votes of winning the contest, came Reform UK who decisively established themselves as contenders in constituencies across Scotland. To drill down into the by-election result and its wider implications for next year’s Holyrood election, Coll McCail is joined by Brian Leishman, the Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth,  and Jonathan Shafi, the co-editor of Conter, a columnist with the National newsletter and the author of the Independence Captured newsletter. Support Skotia on Patreon.

Writing in 1999, just a couple of months after Holyrood convened in Edinburgh, the great Clydeside trade unionist Jimmy Reid asked if the parliament in which “we Scots have invested such hope is simply to be another gravy train for a well-connected few.”Today, Holyrood has its very own revolving door, propelling politicians and advisors from parliament to influential consultancy firms, private posts and lucrative post-politics jobs. In Scotland, away from the public eye, a small cohort of influential PR firms have carved out a role at the heart of decision-making. Some are run by former Labour politicians and others by ex-SNP advisers. All, however, promise their private clients extensive access to our politicians.South of the border, the arrival of a Prime Minister to Downing Street who pledged to clean up politics has meant nothing of the sort. Their election funded by controversial donations, Labour’s first 10 months in office have been plagued by stories of scandal and sleeze. To ask who really runs Scotland, Coll McCail is joined by Paul Dobson and Ethan Shone. Paul Dobson is a reporter and Journalist Director for the Ferret, Scotland’s award-winning investigative journalism platform.Ethan Shone is an investigations reporter for openDemocracy. He is particularly interested in lobbying and political corruption. He writes the Dark Arts newsletter on Substack. You can support Nest of Fearties – and watch the entire recording of this podcast – by joining Skotia’s Patreon for as little as the price of a pint per month. 

In 'The Condition of the Working Class in England', Friedrich Engels wrote that, “When society places hundreds … in such a position that they inevitably meet a too early and an unnatural death … when it deprives thousands of the necessaries of life places them under conditions in which they cannot live … its deed is murder just as surely as the deed of the single individual … murder it remains… social murder.” Following the UK Labour Government's plans to introduce £6bn worth of cuts to social security, Rory Hamilton is joined by the authors of 'Social Murder? Austerity and Life Expectancy in the UK'.David Walsh is a Senior Lecturer in Health Inequalities at the University of Glasgow and previously the Programme Manager at the Glasgow Centre for Population Health. Gerry McCartney is a Professor of Wellbeing Economy at the University of Glasgow and an Honorary Consultant in Public Health at Public Health Scotland.Support Skotia on Patreon and help to make media for a better Scotland. Order your copy of 'Social Murder? Austerity and Life Expectancy in the UK'.

There was once a time when Scottish nationalism sat at the forefront of the anti-war movement when the SNP relished the opportunity to confront the British state and its militarism. These days, however, are long gone. In recent weeks, as Europe is gripped by the fervour of rearament grips Europe, the SNP have been among the most hawkish elements of Britian’s political class. In the third episode of ‘Nest of Fearties’, Coll McCail is joined by David Jamieson and Sophie Johnson to interrogate this shift and its ramifications. David Jamieson is the editor of Conter. Sophie Johnson is the Secretary of the Stop the War Coalition in Scotland. If you're enjoying 'Nest of Fearties', you can support Skotia on Patreon for as little as the price of a pint per month.

For the second episode of Nest of Fearties - Skotia's new Scottish election podcast - Coll McCail is joined by Ellie Gomersall and Niall Christie to discuss the Scottish Green Party, their time in government and their prospects ahead of next year's election. This podcast is available to watch exclusively to Skotia's ⁠Patreon⁠ subscribers. Support Skotia: https://www.patreon.com/c/skotiaEllie Gomersall is a columnist with The National and the Glasgow Greens' Campaign Manager. Niall Christie edits the Green Left Scotland substack and ran for the party in Glasgow South last July. Subscribe to Green Left Scotland: https://greenleftscotland.substack.comThis podcast was produced by Coll McCail and Rory Hamilton, with sincere thanks to Unity Books for hosting us.

For the inaugural episode of Nest of Fearties - Skotia's new Scottish election podcast - Coll McCail is joined by Matt Kerr and Chris Stephens to discuss the Scottish budget for 2025/2026, the rise of Reform UK and much more.This podcast is available to watch exclusively to Skotia's Patreon subscribers. Matt Kerr is a Glasgow Labour Councillor and the Scotland Correspondent for the Morning Star.Chris Stephens is the former SNP MP for Glasgow South West.This podcast was produced by Coll McCail and Rory Hamilton, with sincere thanks to Unity Books for hosting us.

On Wednesday 30th October, Rachel Reeves laid out Labour's first UK budget for 14 years. Did it mark an end to austerity? Do Labour's plans break with the Conservative's austerity? What does the budget mean for Scotland? To answer these questions and more, Coll McCail talks to Stephen Boyd, Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research in Scotland. ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUPPORT US BUILD MEDIA FOR A BETTER SCOTLAND skotia.media FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA X: X.com/theskotia Instagram: Instagram.com/theskotia Facebook: Facebook.com/theskotia