Welcome to The Press and Journal’s morning politics briefing — everything you need to know about politics in your region and across the country, before you start your day.
Top stories
- Alex Cole-Hamilton, the frontrunner to take over the Scottish Liberal Democrats, has slammed a “digital divide” which he claims is holding back Highland and rural communities.
- Dundee and Aberdeen will host “pioneering” research for a project hoping to find out what is in Scotland’s illegal drugs.
- Hybrid working at Holyrood: Are changes here to stay?
- Business leaders in Scotland say individual workplaces should be the ones to decide when employees go back to the office, not the Scottish Government.
- Details of further support for decarbonising the North Sea oil and gas sector will be considered by the UK Government ahead of its autumn spending review, the minister for energy and climate change said on a visit to Aberdeen.
What’s happening today
- Scotland’s high school pupils will find out their exam results on Tuesday, the second time they have been upended by the pandemic.
In case you missed it
- The boss of the Scottish Land Commission (SLC) has vowed to ensure communities are not left behind amid the rapid rise of a new generation of rural property owners who have been dubbed the “green lairds”.
- Scotland’s Net Zero Secretary Michael Matheson has said a new UN report confirms that the upcoming COP26 conference in Glasgow will be the world’s “best chance” to avert the worst destruction caused by climate change.
- John Swinney has signalled that face coverings will be required in Scotland until “at least” the end of winter – and he said he believes “Monday to Friday” office working may be consigned to the past for many staff.
- A group of Scotland’s leading universities, supported by the government and political parties, is set to launch a new Scottish Council on Global Affairs to throw a spotlight on the country’s place in the world and help shape policy.