@simeonkerr.bsky.social
Scotland correspondent, former Gulf correspondent - Financial Times
Prices for hotels and Airbnbs in Edinburgh have soared as a run of sold-out Oasis concerts coincides with annual festivals, heaping pressure on a strained accommodation market.
About 200,000 fans are expected to attend Oasis’s three-night run this weekend at Murrayfield stadium
John Gapper:
Aberdeen is trapped between Starmer and Trump
The city that grew rich on North Sea oil wants to transition to renewables but needs a better chance
Kate Forbes to quit Scottish politics
Exit of deputy first minister is blow to SNP ahead of next year’s elections at Holyrood
UK’s largest offshore wind farm receives approval
Berwick Bank consent faced delays following resistance from conservationists
Donald Trump’s Turnberry dream of bringing back the Open
Lossmaking Scottish golf resort is no closer to hosting the tournament 11 years after it was bought by the US president
Trump swings by Scottish oil hubs as UK energy debate flares
US president to meet the UK and Scottish leaders, as trade and renewables policies loom large in push for growth
Donald Trump arrives in Scotland on Friday for a five-day golf trip, during which Sir Keir Starmer will lobby the US president to accelerate deal to cut tariffs on British steel.
UK PM is expected to meet Trump on Monday to press case for closer ties, including cutting tariffs on Scotch whisky.
Edinburgh festivals struggle to lure corporate sponsors after boycott
EIF performances cut by a fifth despite government cash injection following Baillie Gifford’s exit
Gulf expat bubble punctured by missiles - on.ft.com/4k1PxA5 via @FT
24.06.2025 20:24 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
US warns Britain over Chinese wind farm security risks
Mingyang’s plan to build Scottish turbine factory has raised fears about surveillance
Dubai takes control of linchpin of emirate’s consumer economy - on.ft.com/43Vw2mU via @FT
08.06.2025 14:40 — 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 1
Labour’s surprise Scottish by-election win opens up race for Holyrood - on.ft.com/4jGRrGh via @FT
06.06.2025 17:39 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Labour wins pivotal Scottish by-election over SNP and Reform
Hamilton result gives momentum to Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar
South of Donald Trump’s golf resort in Turnberry, heavy articulated lorries trundle relentlessly along Girvan’s narrow one-way thoroughfare.
The gnarly traffic, a bane for many locals, illustrates the logistical trials marring US president’s dream of the Open, returning to the Scottish course.
Roll out the barrel: Scotch makers toast UK trade deal with India
Agreement will halve tariffs on whisky into world’s biggest export market by volume for the spirit
BOOK REVIEW: When Ground Shifts — Reem Al-Hashimy on Dubai’s transformation into a global metropolis
A first-hand account from the UAE’s longest-serving female minister about hosting the World Expo and transforming the emirate into an aspirational destination
Greenpeace reveal 55mx40m sand art with Trump’s face on beach outside his golf course in Scotland, Turnberry, to mark the first 100 days of Trump’s second term with the message: “Time to resist – fight the billionaire takeover”.
30.04.2025 11:23 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
‘Amplified levels of uncertainty’: Trump tariffs compound Scotch sellers’ troubles
Cash-strapped distillers look to sell or raise equity as downturn intensifies
Zonal pricing could undermine #Scottish #energy sector, warns Forbes
Deputy first minister says uncertainty triggered by #electricity market reforms could deter #investment
on.ft.com/4cSgBA3
Scotland stands to benefit from an influx of capital from investors spooked by Donald Trump’s unpredictability, the Scottish secretary said.
The UK renewables sector is likely to attract fresh inward investment thanks partly to the US president’s pivot away from the clean energy policies.
New-build rental homes under construction in Scotland plunged 26 per cent over the past year.
England, by contrast, recorded a “far less significant decline” in construction activity while the number of units submitted for planning rose 6 per cent
Scottish and NI blazes highlight surge in UK wildfires
Fire chiefs warn of climate change driving extreme weather in the wake of weekend infernos
How a cash crisis pushed Dundee university to brink of collapse
Funding shortfalls and management failures have left the Scottish institution’s survival in the hands of the state
Goodbye to Gwen Robinson, Asia correspondent extraordinaire, doyenne of FT oped editors, a one-person nuclear power plant, and a true & beloved friend to so many people all over the world. FT's obituary free to read here. enterprise-sharing.ft.com/redeem/3de26...
31.03.2025 11:51 — 👍 172 🔁 44 💬 14 📌 5
UK government should replace windfall tax “as soon as practicable”, warning the window of opportunity to secure North Sea is “closing fast”.
The North Sea Transition Taskforce said ministers had chosen to “wait too long” to replace “flawed” energy profits levy in 2030.
UK could produce half demand for oil/gas domestically through 2050, reducing reliance on more carbon-intensive imports.
UK on track to produce 4bn barrels of oil and gas equivalent of the 13bn-15bn needed for UK 2050 net zero emissions, but North Sea could produce another 2bn-3bn barrels - OEUK.
UK MPs have written to foreign secretary David Lammy urging Magnitsky sanctions on Dubai officials over long-running detention of UK national Ryan Cornelius.
Cornelius, convicted in 2011 of defrauding Dubai Islamic Bank, has been detained for more than 16 years on charges described as “dubious”
Longer-term proposals include £800mn SAF plant
using waste fats, crops to tap airlines’ growing demand for lower-carbon fuels - but with only a quarter of the feedstock available locally, scaling crop yields would be vital.
Building eight of the projects would require £3.8bn, with report’s “growth case” visualising another £3.45bn for additional capacity and construction of e-ammonia plant.
Overall,£12.9bn for all nine developments to their “full potential,” including Scotland’s wind power to generate green hydrogen.
But the proposals lay bare the scale of investment and regulatory work needed for Grangemouth, raising questions over the UK and Scottish governments’ ability to deliver on this litmus test of the energy transition.
12.03.2025 09:22 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
