The Reformer Scotland | Independent Scottish Political Commentary

Jun 24, 2026

THERE IS A GROWING SENSE in Scotland that the judiciary is not always operating purely as the independent constitutional safeguard it is meant to…

The perceived politicisation of the Scottish judiciary and legal profession

Jun 24, 2026

Energy

Scotland’s data centre reckoning part 4: The field nobody measured

Michael Knox

THERE IS A STRUCTURE that will accompany every large data centre built in Scotland, and it does not appear prominently in any planning application.…

Scotland’s data centre reckoning part 4: The field nobody measured

Jun 23, 2026

Energy

Scotland’s data centre reckoning part 3: The water nobody accounted for

Michael Knox

SCOTLAND IS A WET COUNTRY. That is the perception – the hills, the lochs, the rain that defines the national climate and the national…

Scotland’s data centre reckoning part 3: The water nobody accounted for

Jun 23, 2026

Brexit

Brexit at 10: Britain didn’t fail – its political class did

Linda Holt

IT IS TEN YEARS since Britain voted for Brexit, but the Brexit wars still rage on. In Scotland, SNP politicians never miss a chance…

Brexit at 10: Britain didn’t fail – its political class did

Jun 22, 2026

Economy

Andy Burnham inherits Starmer’s sinking ship

Brian Monteith

THE RECENT WESTMINSTER BY-ELECTIONS have not solved the problems that the UK faces. They have merely rearranged the deckchairs on the sinking ship of…

Andy Burnham inherits Starmer’s sinking ship

Jun 22, 2026

Energy

Scotland’s data centre reckoning part 2: Who pays the bill?

Michael Knox

WHEN A DEVELOPER applies for planning permission to build a 500 megawatt data centre in rural Scotland, the application will include an economic impact…

Scotland’s data centre reckoning part 2: Who pays the bill?

Jun 18, 2026

Energy

Scotland’s data centre reckoning part 1: The pipeline nobody voted for

Michael Knox

TWENTY HYPERSCALE DATA CENTRES are currently working their way through Scotland's planning system. If they are all built, their combined electricity demand will exceed…

Scotland’s data centre reckoning part 1: The pipeline nobody voted for

Jun 18, 2026

Politics

The manufacture of consensus: How online debate became managed opinion

James Glen

AARON SWARTZ believed the internet could set knowledge free. That may sound naïve now, after years of bot farms, algorithmic manipulation, political pile-ons and…

The danger of drift: Buchan’s warning for Scottish politics

If I were King of Scotland …

Andy Burnham’s Manchesterism offers no respite from state failure

Scotland’s data centre reckoning part 5: What Scotland can do right now

Latest Discussion

The perceived politicisation of the Scottish judiciary and legal profession

Scotland’s data centre reckoning part 4: The field nobody measured

Scotland’s data centre reckoning part 3: The water nobody accounted for

Brexit at 10: Britain didn’t fail – its political class did

Andy Burnham inherits Starmer’s sinking ship

Scotland’s data centre reckoning part 2: Who pays the bill?

Scotland’s data centre reckoning part 1: The pipeline nobody voted for

The manufacture of consensus: How online debate became managed opinion