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DOUGLAS Ross is at the centre of a cronyism row after admitting directing thousands of pounds in public funds to a “good friend” when he was previously an MSP. In an interview with the Herald, the Scottish Tory leader confirmed using his Holyrood expenses to pay £7,000 rent on an Edinburgh flat which was half-owned by the pal.  Mr Ross, a part-time football linesman, was the first tenant of the £265,000 property after it was bought by fellow match official Andrew Dallas and another man in December 2016. Had the lease run its course over the last parliament, it would have seen ...

THE Scottish Tory leader has been accused of being “mired in cronyism” after admitting to using Holyrood expenses to pay thousands of pounds of rent on a flat half-owned by a “good friend”. The Herald reports that while working as an MSP, Douglas Ross was the first tenant in the Edinburgh property after it was purchased by refereeing colleague Andrew Dallas and another man in 2016. The lease was cut short by the 2017 snap General Election which saw Ross move to Westminster as the MP for Moray. The arrangement, which saw Ross pay £7000 in rent, was allowed within Holyrood rule...

Scottish independence: Poll shows support for the union narrowly ahead © Andrew MacColl/Shutterstock The future of Scotland’s place in the UK is still dividing voters down the middle a week before the Holyrood election, according to a new survey. A study by Lord Ashcroft, the former Tory chairman, suggests 45% of Scots would vote no to independence while 44% would vote yes. When people who don’t know are excluded from the results, the poll divides 51-49 in favour of staying in the UK. The findings were based on more than 2,000 adults between April 7 and 19. Eight focus groups, including ...

The poll showed that even a third of Tory voters think Nicola Sturgeon has handled the Covid crisis well THE SNP have come out top in a new poll on voting intentions for the Holyrood election with voters saying the First Minister has done a good job during the Covid crisis. The Lord Ashcroft poll surveyed 2017 Scottish adults between April 7 and 19 on a range of issues with results weighted to be representative of all adults. Some 49% of respondents said they would give their constituency vote to the SNP next week. It also showed that support for independence was neck-and-neck with 49...

TONY Blair has said he “frankly doubts” that the people of Scotland would want a second independence referendum, even if they return an SNP majority on May 6. Speaking to ITV News, the former prime minister also claimed that the Union “would already be in tatters” if it weren’t for his party introducing devolution in 1997. However, he said he was “wrong” to think that the creation of the devolved administrations would end calls for independence north of the Border. Blair also said that he believes a No vote would still win any second referendum in Scotland though it ...