Alex Massie's Avatar

Alex Massie

@alexmassie.bsky.social

Columnist for The Times and The Sunday Times, specialising in Scottish affairs. Also, co-host of The Ponsonby & Massie podcast, available on all pod-platforms.

8,691 Followers  |  491 Following  |  969 Posts  |  Joined: 19.08.2024  |  1.9734

Latest posts by alexmassie.bsky.social on Bluesky

Preview
The Mess We're In The government won't tell the truth and voters won't hear the truth either.

The Mess We're In : The government won't tell the truth and voters won't hear the truth either.
open.substack.com/pub/alexmass...

21.07.2025 14:00 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
Post image

It hasn’t rained for a month. Which means it is time, once again, for β€˜Scotland’, by Alastair Reid.

13.05.2025 18:29 β€” πŸ‘ 52    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

S.T.R.A.M.A.S.H

05.05.2025 09:44 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 0

At least you have a train! Two in fact. My Waverley line train just didn’t appear.

04.05.2025 13:26 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

The ruling determines what the law IS and, indeed, what it has always BEEN.

01.05.2025 18:13 β€” πŸ‘ 58    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

Though, yes, getting out the way he did allows for a small uptick in legacy considerations etc.

29.04.2025 12:26 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Sure, but hard to look back on his time in office as a success?

29.04.2025 12:25 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Possibly! Then again, I think it's also fair to say that in every single other scenario that is even vaguely possible, the liberals would have merited a thorough defenestration...

29.04.2025 12:20 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

This "people will kill themselves" blackmail is increasingly popular (now seen in multiple policy areas) and utterly disgraceful.

28.04.2025 12:01 β€” πŸ‘ 36    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 1

Pretty sure Edinburgh has above average productivity too.

27.04.2025 19:13 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Not at all. And if it is an extreme example it is nevertheless one I encountered on the Glasgow-Edinburgh train a few weeks ago.

24.04.2025 14:51 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

This is madness. No way we can trust Ohio State with nuclear weapons.

24.04.2025 14:50 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Complacent and cowardly ministers are still failing Scotland’s women The Scottish government continues to shirk responsibility for its past mistakes with no apology

When β€˜Sorry’ is the impossible word.
www.thetimes.com/article/6b46...

24.04.2025 06:16 β€” πŸ‘ 42    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 3

Well, yes, and there are plenty of others who might do well to do likewise. I mean, John Swinney was saying that of course men can't get pregnant in the same week his government was arguing in court they can and do.

23.04.2025 11:28 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The Vindication of Women The mills of truth grind very slowly but they do grind exceedingly well

The Vindication of Women. open.substack.com/pub/alexmass...

22.04.2025 18:21 β€” πŸ‘ 54    πŸ” 15    πŸ’¬ 7    πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
The Vindication of Women The mills of truth grind very slowly but they do grind exceedingly well

The Vindication of Women. open.substack.com/pub/alexmass...

22.04.2025 18:21 β€” πŸ‘ 54    πŸ” 15    πŸ’¬ 7    πŸ“Œ 1

Please purchase and report back.

22.04.2025 11:59 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Good lord, hasn’t even California suffered enough?

21.04.2025 19:17 β€” πŸ‘ 85    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 2

This is extraordinary given the ideological diversity of the participants.

21.04.2025 12:21 β€” πŸ‘ 66    πŸ” 18    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 1

A respectable sweet spot.

21.04.2025 15:34 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Some, but there are lots who only mouth the words. If you force them to declare whether a TW is just the same as their mother/wife/sister etc then they go rather quiet. Deep down they don’t actually believe it.

21.04.2025 12:35 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Five days after FWS vs Scottish ministers & far too many people still need to be reminded that the govt position was that quotas for women could be filled by men. How can that be anything other than marginalising, downgrading, even erasing, women?

21.04.2025 12:29 β€” πŸ‘ 40    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

as soon as someone attributes an opinion/ attitude to an entire jurisdiction (the people of this town β€œcherish their way of life”) you can stop reading

19.04.2025 21:34 β€” πŸ‘ 242    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 14    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Classic Guardian correction

19.04.2025 14:21 β€” πŸ‘ 218    πŸ” 34    πŸ’¬ 13    πŸ“Œ 7

Longstanding peeve: I do wish people citing Teddy Roosevelt like this understood that β€œbully” in β€œbully pulpit” means β€œvery good”.

18.04.2025 16:33 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 1

Interesting, perhaps, but of zero legal or statutory relevance. However expert, the views of a policy official about what a law is β€˜intended’ to be are as nothing when set beside the ruling of judges who determine what it actually *is*.

18.04.2025 16:13 β€” πŸ‘ 26    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 0

I for one am glad that attacking court judgments seems to be socially acceptable again among people who used to give very tedious lectures on the subject.

18.04.2025 15:13 β€” πŸ‘ 42    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

To some degree, yes. The national question is quiet, Swinney & Sarwar ware each decent people. The govt is trying to avoid starting fires. Dullness is considered a virtue. Bad for newspaper columnists; better for the country.

18.04.2025 14:58 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Straight Outta the Cevennes.

17.04.2025 21:10 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Every time I’m in Paris I have to bring back a couple of cartons of Gitanes (sans filtre, of course) for the old man as they are NO LONGER SOLD in the UK. He’s 86 and takes the view toasted tobacco is significantly less carcinogenic. And even it it ain’t, so what?

17.04.2025 20:51 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

@alexmassie is following 19 prominent accounts