Modern Scot

Online/Digital
Modern Scot is an independent Scottish publication, owned, edited and published from the Highlands. We write about Scotland as it is lived, governed and made. Our focus is on the practical systems that shape everyday life. We are a small editorial structure, with contributing editors focused on areas including economy, infrastructure, local government and long-form analysis. We often feature guest writers from other Scottish publications. We are Scottish owned and are not aligned with any political party. Our aim is to give readers clear, useful reporting that explains what is happening, why it matters, and who is affected. We do not chase spectacle. We prefer careful reporting, plain evidence and proper context. Modern Scot pays close attention to decisions made by councils, public bodies, companies and government agencies. Many of these decisions do not arrive with much noise, but they can shape communities for years. At its heart, Modern Scot exists to help people understand Scotland more clearly.

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Language English
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Mrs Gunn and the Secret Pink Toolbox

| Modern Scot
I was sitting in the front room on Sunday evening, enjoying the breeze after an unusually warm weekend. I had a book in my hand, one cat settled at my feet and another curled in my lap. The curtains moved gently, the house was quiet, and I had almost reached that rare domestic state in which nothing needed wiped, folded, moved, signed, soaked, charged or explained. Then Mr Gunn crossed the hall carrying my blow dryer.
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THE PRIVATISATION OF HUMAN ACCESS

| Modern Scot
THE PRIVATISATION OF HUMAN ACCESS – They call it artificial intelligence, but it is the gathered knowledge and wisdom of humanity, harvested, centralised and placed under the control of powerful global entities, while ordinary access to human knowledge is quietly reduced through the closing of libraries, the weakening of public institutions and the removal of physical records.
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If I Were Under Sixteen

| Modern Scot
Serving Scotland from the shores of the North Sea.
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WP Nostr Publisher by Bidarka Girl

| Modern Scot
A WordPress plugin for independent publishers who want to send their articles to Nostr without handing private keys to WordPress. WP Nostr Publisher by Bidarka Girl was created for Modern Scot as part of our move towards more resilient, independent publishing routes beyond the large social media platforms.
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Mrs Gunn And The Village WhatsApp Group

| Modern Scot
I did not join the village WhatsApp group so much as become absorbed by it. One minute I was a respectable private woman with a reasonable expectation of peace. The next, my phone was buzzing on the table as though I had been appointed communications officer for matters of terrible local unimportance. It reminded me of the time Mrs MacLeod declared open hostilities over Mrs Fraser’s honeysuckle advancing across their shared fence.
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Sea Shanties, Sheepdogs And Strange Small Joys: Quirky Things To Do In Scotland This Summer

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By Andrew Robertson
| Modern Scot
Scotland’s summer is usually described through its biggest names: Edinburgh, the Highlands, castles, festivals, beaches and road trips. But some of the best things to do between now and the end of August are smaller, stranger and more local. They are the days when a harbour fills with music, a hotel becomes a model railway world, a field becomes a sheepdog arena, or people gather on the coast to watch for whales and dolphins.
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Scotland’s Independent Bookshops Are Becoming Community Infrastructure

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By John Campbell
| Modern Scot
Scotland’s independent bookshops are doing something unusual in a difficult retail age. They are growing. Figures submitted by the Booksellers Association to Westminster show that Scotland had 221 Booksellers Association member bookshops in June 2025, of which 106 were independent bookshops. In January 2017, Scotland had 193 member bookshops, of which 68 were independent. The 2017 figure was described as a low point after earlier decline.
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How the Scottish Government Helped Price Scots Out of Their Own Land

| Modern Scot
Something has shifted under Scotland’s feet. The land has not moved, but the way it is valued, sold and contested has changed. Land that should be part of living, working, farming and building communities now appears to be moving into a larger financial system beyond the reach of many local buyers. Responsibility does not sit only at Westminster. Land reform is devolved.
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Foreign Influence, Scottish Democracy And Hunting For BlackCore

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By Lisa Bruce
| Modern Scot
French authorities say a private Israeli-linked influence firm targeted John Swinney, the SNP and the Scottish Government during Scotland’s election campaign. The allegation raises a larger question: how exposed is Scotland’s democracy to paid, foreign, deniable digital interference? This is not a story about whether voters like or dislike the SNP. It is a story about whether Scotland’s political debate can be entered by hidden foreign or foreign-linked actors posing as ordinary public opinion.
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Scots Are Right To Ask Who Watches The Watchers

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By Andrew Robertson
| Modern Scot
Digital surveillance is no longer a remote intelligence issue. It now sits inside ordinary life, touching phones, platforms, private messages, children, journalism, protest and trust in public authority.
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Modern Scot Journalists

Bruce, Lisa