Scotland is at a turning point. We're all worried about things from rising costs of household goods and busy hospitals to global challenges like climate change, pandemics, and unfairness in our society. We desperately want and need to see things get better. But the way things are now, Scotland is not able to properly tackle [...]

While the cost of living crisis is impacting everyone across the UK, here in the Highlands and Islands we feel the pinch even more. It's a simple fact: life already costs more here. We face higher standing charges for electricity, inflated prices for everyday essentials in the shops, and let's not even get started on [...]

Scotland faces unique demographic challenges. Unlike other countries in the UK, we are projected to see population decline by 2030, which cannot be overcome by birth rates alone. Put simply, we need more people to move here to live and work. This is especially true in the Highlands and Islands. Since Brexit, and due to [...]

Since the rollout of the free bus travel scheme, I have consistently argued that young islanders should be able to access the same benefits of those living on the mainland, through an expansion to inter-island ferries.  I often find myself making the point to some of my Central Belt colleagues that islanders rely on ferries [...]