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With polls suggesting Scottish Labour are struggling to maintain support, what can Anas Sarwar do to turn things around and does he need to distance himself from Sir Keir Starmer?

Martin Geissler is joined by pollster Mark Diffley who lays out the challenges for Labour ahead of the Scottish elections in May 2026 and former political adviser John McTernan tells us what he would do to fend off a rising Reform party.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: [email protected]

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Meet the new Scottish Green leaders’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002j5l7

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham (pictured) has turned up the heat on Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labour Party.

The BBC’s David Wallace Lockhart and Iain Watson tell us what’s gone wrong for the prime minister – and whether some in Scottish Labour may also fancy a change at the top with a Holyrood election looming.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: [email protected]

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like Scotcast - How to save childhood - BBC Sounds

A bill proposed by Conservative MSP Liz Smith (pictured here) which could guarantee all primary 7 pupils a week of outdoor learning has been brought back from the brink.

The Scotsman's education correspondent Catriona Stewart and BBC’s Kirsten Campbell chat with Laura about the bumps in the road it has faced and reminisce about their own school days.

Plus BBC’S environment, energy and rural affairs correspondent Kevin Keane pops by to tell Laura about why she needs to be on the lookout for ticks in her local park.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: [email protected]

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Uncovering a scandal’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0027t8h

Families of elderly residents at one of Scotland's largest care homes have accused its owners of 'cruelty' and 'neglect' after a BBC investigation revealed a series of care failures.

BBC Disclosure reporter Catriona MacPhee (pictured), who worked undercover as a cleaner in Castlehill Care Home in Inverness for seven weeks, tells us what she discovered and how she felt.

Watch Disclosure: Care Home Undercover on BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002k175/disclosure-care-home-undercover

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Gangsters gunned down in Spain’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002cy0r

Steven Lyons and Ross McGill (both pictured) were among four significant gangland figures arrested in Dubai.

The BBC’s Paul O’Hare explains who’s who in a decades-long feud between the Lyons and Daniel gangs which preceded the arrests in the United Arab Emirates.

And Stephen Dempster, producer of the BBC documentary Kinahan: The True Story of Ireland's Mafia, tells us about the Scottish links to Daniel Kinahan’s cartel.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: [email protected]

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Why Lockerbie is back in the news’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00272kt

Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, aka Mas’ud (pictured), who is accused of building the bomb that brought down an American airliner over Lockerbie in 1988, has claimed he was forced into making a false confession.

The BBC’s Dave Cowan tells us what that could mean for his trial.

And with President Trump’s state visit coming to an end – could Scotland be left on the sidelines of one of the major deals?

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: [email protected]

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Is Trump Scotland's friend?’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002745q

John Swinney is on the guest list for a Windsor Castle banquet honouring Donald Trump’s UK state visit.

Political editor Glenn Campbell talks us through an extraordinary turnaround in relations between the first minister and US president.

And as Microsoft heralds a multibillion-dollar investment in the UK AI sector, BBC tech reporter Graham Fraser explains how big a deal it is.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: [email protected]

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Housing crisis: the emotional cost’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002h9zt

Amanda Smith’s (pictured) household is one of a record number living in temporary homeless accommodation.

The BBC’s Chris Clements tells us her story – and explains how the housing emergency developed.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: [email protected]

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘One lawyer quit to become cabin crew’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002d9mx

MSPs are on the brink of voting to abolish the controversial third verdict of not proven in criminal cases.

We ask the BBC’s David Cowan about plans to reduce Scottish courts to two verdicts: guilty or not guilty. And Edith Forrest KC (pictured) tells us why the legal profession has reservations about the change.

And Natalie tells Martin how to cope with unwanted subscriptions.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Natalie Higgins and Laura Miller.

Get in touch: [email protected]

If you’re interested in this episode, you may also like ‘Devi Sridhar on how we can live longer’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002cqnr

Liam Shaw (pictured), author of Dangerous Miracles, tells us why less than a hundred years after the first antibiotic discovery, governments now need to step in because big pharma companies won’t.

Scotcast is the BBC’s Scottish news podcast, with Martin Geissler, Laura Miller and Natalie Higgins.

Get in touch: [email protected]