Scottish Awareness Weeks 2024
Awareness weeks are a popular means of creating visibility for sectors and campaigns across a collaborative area of work. Parliamentary events and exhibitions are often part of the mix alongside public relations and media work. Here’s our list of some of the Scottish weeks with their dates for 2023 or 2024. If you have any […]
Wales: Key issues heading into the new Senedd term
In a year mired by the cost-of-living crisis, the legacy of Covid-19 and record inflationary pressures, the Welsh Government has been attempting to implement its most ambitious legislative agenda yet in an increasingly difficult economic environment. We wait to hear an official announcement from Mark Drakeford on the result of ministers’ “unusual” meetings throughout the […]
Programme for Government 2023-24 Preview
The Scottish Government will announce its 2023-24 Programme for Government (PfG) in parliament tomorrow. With a change in leadership, the PfG will not only outline the government’s priorities but will highlight Humza Yousaf’s key policy objectives as First Minister. Party dissent and internal investigations into SNP finances has led the First Minster to describe the […]
Land, Sea, Air: Scotland’s Key Transport Issues
Rory MacDonald, Newsdirect’s portfolio lead for transport and connectivity, looks at the key transport and infrastructure issues that are uppermost in the new transport minister’s in-tray, starting with aviation…
Newsdirect highlights: The Referendum that Changed a Nation
In May, the Scottish Election Study launched its latest book, The Referendum that Changed a Nation: Scottish Voting Behaviour 2014-2019. The book examines the motivations driving voting behaviour among the Scottish Electorate in light of the Independence Referendum in 2014, Brexit and the COVID pandemic. Presenting the research findings which helped inform the book at […]
The Future of the Bute House Agreement
When the SNP formed a minority government after the Scottish Parliament elections in May 2021, the party quickly sought to enter into a cooperation agreement with the Scottish Greens. Following a period of negotiations, the SNP and Scottish Greens reached what is known as The Bute House Agreement in August 2021. This set out how […]
Tertiary Education Act – (Nearly) One Year On
As the Senedd enters the final stretch of its time in session before the Summer Recess (discounting the little breaks for the upcoming Coronation and May Day bank holidays, plus the small Whitsun recess), some may be wondering where we’re at on the implementation journey of the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act. Our Senior […]
Newsdirect at the Scottish Festival of Political Communication
Newsdirect was delighted to co-sponsor the inaugural Scottish Festival of Political Communication, convened by the University of Stirling’s Faculty of Humanities and Arts, alongside Laura Westring and Charlotte Street Partners. The event aimed to shed light on the role of communication in politics, highlighting roles and industries that surround Scotland’s democratic institutions and interrogating the […]
