favorites

JIM SPENCE: Dundee and Fife political rivals deserve huge credit for Eljamel promise

"They are restoring a bit of dignity to the battered and bruised reputation of our political system in Scotland."

previous day 10

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Council secrecy over £1m lights bill for Dundee flats shares worrying trend with Sandie Peggie NHS Fife case

"What’s happened in Scotland, and in plain sight, has been much more insidious and creeping, but equally effective."

17.12.2025 10

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Is Dundee a more attractive city than Aberdeen?

Aberdeen Football Club chairman Dave Cormack suggested that he thinks that Dundee is on the up while Aberdeen is in a downward spiral - including its...

10.12.2025 8

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: My old colleague Kenny Macintyre’s prostate cancer fight shows need for U-turn on disgraceful screening advice

"Men are treated like second-class citizens when it comes to being tested for a disease which often has no symptoms."

03.12.2025 9

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Time for council chiefs to engage in tendering process for stratospheric salaries – or do honourable thing

Council chief executives across the country are in line for a pay rise after a national salary review.

26.11.2025 6

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Abertay University must educate and challenge students – even on emotive subjects like rape

"A university’s job is to educate and challenge students, promote and improve knowledge and further their learning," writes former law lecturer Jim...

19.11.2025 7

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Can Wellgate in Dundee be saved from slow lingering death?

"The respective states of the Overgate and Wellgate shopping centres reminds me of Dundee’s two senior football teams."

12.11.2025 7

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee University principal must come clean with staff about their future

"With Christmas approaching, the workforce deserves to know the truth no matter how grim."

05.11.2025 10

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee Hobbycraft row is reminder staff must leave badges and bias at the door

"This all appears to be part of the recently fashionable idea that folk should bring their 'whole selves to work'."

29.10.2025 10

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee’s SNP politicians cannot remain silent over scandalous Ninewells NICU downgrade plans

'Our local SNP politicians should be shouting from the rooftops about the threat to the Ninewells unit, but if they have, I haven’t heard them do so.'

22.10.2025 60

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: How Dundee can breathe life back into its city centre

'We need to make the town centre a desirable place to live and one which caters for the needs of inhabitants.'

15.10.2025 9

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee has always been treated like land time forgot by national TV broadcasters

"If anything they should be looking to increase investment and jobs in this area, because good journalism requires proper staffing and not shoestring...

30.09.2025 6

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee SNP MP’s Donald Trump jibe was schoolboy error of judgement

'His strong and principled stance on the matter evaporated like sna aff a dyke.'

24.09.2025 3

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Loyal overseas staff deserve recognition as immigration protests reach Dundee streets

'This debate isn’t as clear cut as those on the extremities of politics would have us believe.'

17.09.2025 5

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee’s mindset – not just roads – needs to change to get people cycling

"Persuading of the joys of a potentially sweaty, windy, wet, and possibly dangerous ride up the incline of the Lochee road in January after a day’s...

09.09.2025 4

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: I’m worried for future of Dundee FC as stadium exasperation grows

'Hoping to pressure planners in any public spat is inevitably doomed to failure.'

20.08.2025 10

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Nicola Sturgeon has damaged independence cause and made huge miscalculations

'It was her inability to tell the difference between a man and a woman which has largely led to her calamitous fall from grace.'

13.08.2025 2

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Kate Forbes is jumping SNP ship before it sinks

"Forbes may have decided that the prospects for independence under John Swinney are so distant that there’s little point in pursuing a lost cause."

05.08.2025 4

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Imagine we judged council in Dundee using scoring used to reject Christmas Village bid

'This is a council which doesn’t like to answer difficult questions.'

30.07.2025 7

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Why break-in at my Dundee house made me agree with Nigel Farage

"Communities in Dundee and elsewhere are under increasing threat from organised criminals without scruples or common humanity."

22.07.2025 5

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee University goodwill may dry up as crisis deepens

'I already detect a sea change in attitudes from some people who are generally supportive of the institution.'

09.07.2025 9

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee driver cut in on my brother’s funeral cortege – common decency is at stake

"Old commonly held notions of dignity, decency, and respect, have been slowly disappearing from our increasingly angry society."

01.07.2025 4

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee United are becoming a team of giants

There is a definitive size trend developing in Scottish football.

27.06.2025 5

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Only stronger laws will stop Dundee leadership secrecy

"I fear without stronger legal means the rot is now so deep in our public institutions that many within them feel untouchable."

24.06.2025 3

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee University staff may rush to quit after dreadful treatment

'They’ve been kept in the dark by a management which has treated them very shabbily.'

11.06.2025 9

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: SNP arrogance has fuelled rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform north of the border

'I wrote here last July that Reform had proved Scotland wasn’t immune to Farage’s charms, and the polls are proving that to be true.'

28.05.2025 4

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: BBC licence fee is poll tax that should be scrapped

'Imagine facing sanctions for not buying The Courier,' writes former Beeb journalist Jim Spence.

21.05.2025 4

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee FC should build new stadium at Caird Park if Camperdown plans fall through

'Cairdy v Campy has only one winner in my view.'

14.05.2025 6

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Maggie Chapman’s Holyrood position is utterly untenable after her public rant

'The recently elected Dundee University rector cannot continue in the role if the Scottish Parliament is to retain any shred of credibility.'

23.04.2025 4

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Will Generation Z spark a Christian revival in Dundee?

"It seems that there’s something stirring in the souls of many of our young people as they question whether there is more to life."

15.04.2025 3

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: What John Nelms and Dundee FC must do after public stadium scolding

'It’s highly unusual for any government agency to offer a public rebuke, but that’s exactly what happened to Dundee.'

11.04.2025 5

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Perthshire actor Alan Cumming insulted US hosts at Tartan Week

'They have the solutions for all the ills of the world, except the ones ailing us here at home.'

09.04.2025 9

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Why are Dundonians reserved when it comes to eulogising our great city?

'Glasgow has made more of its heritage than we have simply by shouting about it more loudly.'

02.04.2025 5

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Inside Alex Salmond meeting where he offered me Dundee SNP seat

'With MPs' pay set to rise to three times that of the average worker, I’m starting to think I should've accepted Alex Salmond's offer.'

27.03.2025 9

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Nicola Sturgeon’s legacy lives on in Dundee City Council unisex school toilets debacle

The former first minister is culpable in the ongoing battles over gender and sex which continue to afflict and divide Scottish society.

19.03.2025 10

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee University staff I know are incandescent with rage – and no wonder

Former University of Dundee rector Jim Spence reacts to the devastating job cuts at the institution.

12.03.2025 8

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Success for Dundee schools was reminder of teacher who inspired me

'Teachers are at the sharp end of giving our children and grandchildren the best possible start in life.'

05.03.2025 10

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Why is independence of thinking on key issues regarded with suspicion and hostility?

'In our increasingly fractured society, we’re too often herded towards the view that we should tow rigid party lines.'

26.02.2025 4

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: What is the point of Holyrood if it blocks debate on NHS Fife trans tribunal?

"With almost everyone in the country talking about the case, the Scottish Parliament is refusing to allow questions from some MSPs to discuss the...

19.02.2025 40

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee University rescue plan must not be written by those who presided over disaster

Bosses behind the institution's crisis make Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses look like a financial wizard. writes former rector Jim Spence.

12.02.2025 5

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: My sympathy for Dundee University staff who are pawns in cash crisis

Ordinary staff members are powerless as management try to renegotiate the terms of a multi-million-pound drawdown facility.

29.01.2025 7

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: What is the survival plan at Dundee University?

Have those who managed to take the institution to the brink of disaster got any workable ideas on how to save it?

22.01.2025 10

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Sir Keir Starmer’s speech on grooming gangs and Elon Musk was tone deaf

I would say Sir Keir Starmer has gone from hero to zero in record time if he’d ever actually been seen as a hero. But he was elected as a default...

08.01.2025 5

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Ignoring immigration fears will hand Holyrood seats to Nigel Farage’s Reform

I prefer looking to the future than reflecting on the past, and in that vein I predict the continuing rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform party in 2025 is...

02.01.2025 3

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Nicola Sturgeon now cuts forlorn figure desperately craving attention

Nicola Sturgeon is in danger of joining the ranks of the tin foil hat brigade with her outlandish claims that “forces” were behind the opposition...

26.12.2024 10

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Here’s the basic principle Dundee University abandoned

As Dundee University lurches from one crisis to another, it’s time for a root and branch reassessment of how our educational establishments...

11.12.2024 10

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Every day those in charge of Dundee become more culpable in its civic destruction

Dundee City Council voting to close Caird Park golf course is crystal clear evidence of a council totally out of touch with the people they’re...

04.12.2024 6

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Stark difference in leadership at Dundee’s key educational institutions

The contrast in leadership between two of Dundee’s key educational establishments was laid bare this past week. Simon Hewitt, the principal of...

26.11.2024 10

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee University chief’s salary solution and my eye-opening meeting as rector

In the wake of potential job losses at Dundee University, the principal Iain Gillespie and his senior management team should show some solidarity...

19.11.2024 6

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: SNP critics of Dundee’s Stephen Flynn make fair points – but star players get special treatment

In September I said if I was writing this column with my football hat on, I’d describe the SNP as “3-0 down with full-time approaching”. Despite...

13.11.2024 30

Categories

Sources

Popular

JIM SPENCE: Dundee and Fife political rivals deserve huge credit for Eljamel promise

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Council secrecy over £1m lights bill for Dundee flats shares worrying trend with Sandie Peggie NHS Fife case

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Is Dundee a more attractive city than Aberdeen?

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: My old colleague Kenny Macintyre’s prostate cancer fight shows need for U-turn on disgraceful screening advice

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Time for council chiefs to engage in tendering process for stratospheric salaries – or do honourable thing

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Abertay University must educate and challenge students – even on emotive subjects like rape

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Can Wellgate in Dundee be saved from slow lingering death?

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee University principal must come clean with staff about their future

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee Hobbycraft row is reminder staff must leave badges and bias at the door

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee’s SNP politicians cannot remain silent over scandalous Ninewells NICU downgrade plans

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: How Dundee can breathe life back into its city centre

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee has always been treated like land time forgot by national TV broadcasters

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee SNP MP’s Donald Trump jibe was schoolboy error of judgement

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Loyal overseas staff deserve recognition as immigration protests reach Dundee streets

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee’s mindset – not just roads – needs to change to get people cycling

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: I’m worried for future of Dundee FC as stadium exasperation grows

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Nicola Sturgeon has damaged independence cause and made huge miscalculations

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Kate Forbes is jumping SNP ship before it sinks

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Imagine we judged council in Dundee using scoring used to reject Christmas Village bid

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Why break-in at my Dundee house made me agree with Nigel Farage

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee University goodwill may dry up as crisis deepens

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee driver cut in on my brother’s funeral cortege – common decency is at stake

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee United are becoming a team of giants

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Only stronger laws will stop Dundee leadership secrecy

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee University staff may rush to quit after dreadful treatment

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: SNP arrogance has fuelled rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform north of the border

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: BBC licence fee is poll tax that should be scrapped

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee FC should build new stadium at Caird Park if Camperdown plans fall through

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Maggie Chapman’s Holyrood position is utterly untenable after her public rant

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Will Generation Z spark a Christian revival in Dundee?

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: What John Nelms and Dundee FC must do after public stadium scolding

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Perthshire actor Alan Cumming insulted US hosts at Tartan Week

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Why are Dundonians reserved when it comes to eulogising our great city?

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Inside Alex Salmond meeting where he offered me Dundee SNP seat

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Nicola Sturgeon’s legacy lives on in Dundee City Council unisex school toilets debacle

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Dundee University staff I know are incandescent with rage – and no wonder

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Success for Dundee schools was reminder of teacher who inspired me

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: Why is independence of thinking on key issues regarded with suspicion and hostility?

Jim Spence

JIM SPENCE: What is the point of Holyrood if it blocks debate on NHS Fife trans tribunal?