Andy Philip
Head of politics at DC Thomson, Scotland | Writes across the Press and Journal, and The Courier | Hosts The Stooshie podcast thestooshie.podbean.com | Plays along with Ardentjohn band
- Highland Council will discuss the Home Office plan to house asylum seekers in an Inverness barracks today. One of the odd parts of this is the lack of transparency on paying for it. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Stirling is going to be a fascinating place to cover in the run-up to the Holyrood election. If you want to come and talk about the big talking points and help shape our campaigns, we're at the Albert Halls on 10th November. All the details below...
- @thecourier.co.uk is hosting a free in-person event at Stirling's Albert Halls on 10th November, and we want to meet you! Join me, @islaglen.bsky.social, @andydphilip.bsky.social, @soneil88.bsky.social and more of the Courier team there. More info and RSVP: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-courie...
- Interesting views here from the streets of Dundee, 45 years since the city was twinned with the Palestinian city of Nablus. www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/dund...
- I grew up near the route of the old Aberdeen-Ellon-Fraserburgh railway - it would have made my life a lot easier. Freight was still using the line after oil was struck, and towns mushroomed. Maybe a pipe dream, but this would be great for the region. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- If it all looks too expensive and never gets off the ground, it is a very big lesson in the very big list of woeful infrastructure decisions.
- 5 years on, the P&J and Courier's 'generation next' crystal ball continues to prove its worth. Here's our profile from 2020 on Guy Ingerson, the Green who has just beaten Maggie Chapman off the top of the North East Scotland list for Holyrood next May. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/education...
- Reposted by Andy PhilipShunned Tall Ship spotted floating near Buckie Harbour after ban from Aberdeen festival
- Back from some mighty fine holidaying, and looking over some great reporting of the big stories across @pressandjournal.co.uk and @thecourier.co.uk . Straight back into the Sandie Peggie/NHS Fife story with a primer here from @alasdairclark.bsky.social www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Meanwhile, @justinbowie1997.bsky.social has been taking a close look at what the shift from oil and gas actually means for communities built on the industry. Here's his report from Portlethen, just outside Aberdeen. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- How it started today: www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- How it ended today: www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Trigger warning: hipsterism, old man, dad posts. Listening to Pulp at Glastonbury on radio telling my kids about being there in 1994 whether they like it or not. I've obviously chucked in stuff about seeing Oasis before they were famous.
- Morning! We're here for day two of full coverage in the Dundee University saga at the Scottish Parliament. You can follow all the updates here as ex-principal Iain Gillespie faces the education committee on what went wrong. www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Yesterday was a full-on four-hour ordeal for three former senior staff. You can catch up on the highlights here too. www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- And here's a bonus story from last night as @thecourier.co.uk reveals how the last principal announced his abrupt departure. Dumped by text, no less. www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- "The party's National Secretary has written to Fergus Ewing to indicate that his decision to stand as an independent candidate against the SNP has invalidated his party membership" My take on a twisting, then sudden, end to a long life in the SNP. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- An interest dynamic brewing in the Inverness and Nairn constituency at next year's Scottish election. Fergus Ewing tells us he'll stand as an independent, in a seat the SNP hope to hold. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- We're expecting a big day in the future of Dundee University today, and @thecourier.co.uk will have it all covered right here. Follow each development and get a handle on all the background with our in-depth analysis, updated through the day. www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Here's the big one: Full report on Dundee University now published, and looks devastating for the leadership group. www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Post Office campaign hero Alan Bates has now joined in with some words of encouragement for Aberdeen Raac residents too. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/business/...
- This is well worth a moment of your time. We put politicians in front of Aberdeen residents caught up in the Raac housing crisis for what turned out to be a brutal Q&A. The P&J has been doing tremendous work on this. Read Lindsay Bruce's report here. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/6780...
- This is well worth a moment of your time. We put politicians in front of Aberdeen residents caught up in the Raac housing crisis for what turned out to be a brutal Q&A. The P&J has been doing tremendous work on this. Read Lindsay Bruce's report here. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/6780...
- Yet another Tory councillor has switched to Reform in Aberdeenshire. That's 6. Plus another in Aberdeen. An ex SNP cllr also joined in Aberdeenshire. Latest here: www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Inspirational stuff.
- We talk through the lows and lows of the upcoming Holyrood by-election in the latest Stooshie politics podcast. But the focus is on our in-depth coverage of what’s happening at St Andrews Uni as the fallout from the rector’s Israel/Gaza comments continues. thestooshie.podbean.com/e/st-andrews...
- We also look at the human cost of tough political choices, in this case the upheaval facing one 85-year-old in sheltered housing in Aberdeenshire. thestooshie.podbean.com/e/st-andrews...
- At the @pressandjournal.co.uk, we've been digging into the human impact of policy choices while budgets are evaporating. This is how it feels to be on the sharp end of potential cost cutting in sheltered housing. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- We've been on each twist and turn of the campaign to reinstate Scotland's last ferry link to the rest of Europe. Much of it has been on the efforts of the project backers. But this time there might be some unexpected help through Starmer's EU reset. www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- The Stooshie politics podcast is out now - Colleges need more love... We look at UHI Perth and Nescol in north-east. - If they can't train the workers of the future, what's the point of a 'just transition'? - Reform/Tory tension in Aberdeenshire thestooshie.podbean.com/e/reform-def...
- Nice work if you can get it! www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- There are very few things a Flaming Lips gig can’t fix.
- 'You don't know how the diseased minds in the Kremlin actually work' - Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael reacts to new Russia travel ban. He's one of four Scottish MPs on a list of more than 20 figures. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- We also covered Arbroath and Broughty Ferry MP Stephen Gethins' reaction to being on the banned list. To hear more on why his support for Ukraine probably saw him sanctioned, you could listen to a fascinating chat on our Stooshie podcast from a few weeks ago👇 thestooshie.podbean.com/e/05-march/
- Spoke to this Dundee Labour councillor about his anger at party policy on welfare changes. Pete Shears’ mum fostered children he grew up with, and he saw first-hand the importance of state support. Now he wants a change of heart from Liz Kendall. www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- This pretty much sums it up. No one seems to agree what to do next. Hydrogen buses unable to get out of the depot, mixed messages on oil and gas, green targets being dropped. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/opinion/6...
- The example of hydrogen highlights a bigger problem. The Scottish Government's energy strategy is years overdue, leaving a question mark where investment should be directed. Yesterday, Tories were calling for an expensive-sounding shift back to nuclear too. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Reposted by Andy PhilipEqualities watchdog will pursue NHS Fife if gender guidance doesn’t change
- Fresh episode of the Stooshie here, with clips from striking lecturers and students at Robert Gordon University as higher education funding problems grow. Also... - John Swinney's government reset - MSP burn-out as election looms thestooshie.podbean.com/e/strikes-at...
- Transgender owner of Carbisdale Castle says Supreme Court ruling on biological women could inflame transphobia. Samantha Kane, an international lawyer, spoke to me after the ruling today. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Lib Dem Highlander MP @angusmacdonaldld.bsky.social sent me his travel notes and pics from the road to Lviv in Ukraine. He was in a convoy of five vehicles full of medical equipment to help Ukrainians suffering in Russia's brutal war. Full story here. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- The P&J was at the Lib Dems conference in Inverness, speaking to a party which thinks it has a chance in the Highlands. Seem to be hedging bets with Conservatives - voters and candidates alike. Full feature with analysis from @ballotbox.scot here too. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- 7 years on from the fire that ended the only ferry link from Scotland to the rest of Europe. A look back at how it all started so positively, until it went up in smoke. And will the campaign to reinstate the Rosyth route be successful? www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Forty years on, the death of Willie McRae continues to get people talking. Anniversary feature here on the puzzling story of his life and death. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/lifestyle...
- It's spring, there are no leaves lying around, but that doesn't stop the Scottish Parliament's dedicated leaf-blowing insanity to crank into action again. I worry this will be the low-level boring gripe that actually defines me as I age into intolerance.
- The councillor who challenged Stephen Flynn tells us why, and explains how she missed nomination meeting on Mother’s Day. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Reposted by Andy PhilipEnd of an era for the Scottish Greens, with Patrick Harvie standing down as co-leader. Under party rules he will now need to hand back the party's collection of waistcoats & will need to sleep on a lower branch in the Scottish Green party's tree, potentially leaving him at greater risk of predation
- Reposted by Andy PhilipNEW: SNP minsters were said to be "volcanic" after Dundee University confirmed up to 700 people could lose their jobs in a letter on Monday. Source: “The one thing we know about the current job loss figures is that won’t be the level of job losses." www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Lib Dems had some success recently in the Highlands and clearly hope they can take on a big challenge against Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes next year. Will be one of the more interesting Scottish Parliament contests. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Reposted by Andy PhilipTwo Fife beaches incorrectly appear on list of UK’s top 60 nudist destinations
- Lots of thought provoking moments here in Neil's interview with former Aberdeenshire councillor Peter Argyle on personal loss, assisted dying, dealing with Trump and more. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/lifestyle...
- Just as a footnote, I covered Aberdeenshire Council - and the whole Trump golf saga - when Peter was on the authority. It really was a chaotic time and I wonder how many would vote for it again.
- "We did not discuss Scottish or US politics but concentrated on golf." Eric Trump after meeting Scottish First Minister John Swinney in Edinburgh today.
- Reposted by Andy PhilipWe've got to tell the truth: British Higher Education is experiencing a rapid unscheduled disassembly, streaking across the sky like a rocket smashing into the atmosphere. www.historyworkshop.org.uk/education/a-...
- Duncan of Jordanstone is one part of the Dundee uni struggle particularly close to my heart. Here's how it's caught up in the restructure. The government really is going to have to spring into action on university funding - lots of pressure going their way. www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/education...
- Ah, some light relief among the chaos with a story about birds. Oh, you want to kill them. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/...
- Full discussion on the crisis at Dundee University here, and clips from our exclusive interview with interim principal Shane O'Neill. Listen to the lot on this week's Stooshie podcast. thestooshie.podbean.com/e/dundee-uni...
