Neil McIntosh Editor of The Scotsman

Dear reader,

It's been one of those weeks where, looking back across The Scotsman's front pages and online coverage, there's a faint disbelief at all that has gone on - both in terms of volume, and substance.

Boris Johnson must resign

The dominant story has been, of course, the increasingly surreal number of parties being held in No10 Downing Street through the various lockdowns. Downing Street has just apologised to the Queen for the latest to be revealed, which took place on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh's Funeral.

If that didn't shock you enough, we've had tales of suitcases full of booze, amateur DJs leading the dancing off their laptops, a child's swing broken and - worst of all - the sight of a Prime Minister offering up a carefully crafted apology to MPs he had misled only a month earlier. It turned out he'd attended at least one party that, in December, he claimed he was shocked to learn had even taken place.

Somehow, some politicians and commentators feel all this isn't enough to spell the end for Boris Johnson. Others wearily, perhaps cynically, say this shambles is what the public voted for when they swept this Conservative government into power. We disagree, and are willing to be branded naive for expecting better from our leaders. We called for the PM to resign on Wednesday, and nothing we've heard since would change our minds.

Is the party over?

The fallout in Scotland from all this, especially for Scotland's Tories - who mostly also think Johnson should go - adds a Scottish political dimension which we've been careful to explore in detail. Today our political editor, Alistair Grant, explores the potential for a new, centre-right Scottish party to emerge from this crisis.

Among all the potential scenarios, it's clear that the fate of Douglas Ross - the Scottish Conservatives' leader so mocked by Jacob Rees-Mogg - as well as the party in Scotland, and to some extent the future of the Union, is wrapped up in Johnson's immediate future. We will continue to watch, and analyse, carefully.

Had the parties not happened, we'd still have had a busy week in Scotland. On Tuesday, the First Minister announced crowds would be allowed to return to our big venues from next week, having signalled earlier that we would have to try to live with the virus. But Tuesday's announcements drew ire from Scotland's hospitality industry, which bemoaned delays to a fuller opening-up, and there was also concern about a potential extension to vaccine passports.

Policymakers may feel they are damned whatever they do. At least they're debating policy, not parties.

The coming weekend

Aside from all this, we're happy to offer up some distractions in tomorrow's Saturday Scotsman. Ahead of Scottish football restarting, we'll have a fascinating interview with Hearts and Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who's looking to break all sorts of records. In the magazine, we have Outlander star Caitriona Balfe telling Janet Christie about her role in Kenneth Branagh's award-winning film, Belfast. Plus there's all the usual food, drink, beauty, arts, books, music and film to think about.

You can flick through the paper on a tablet or on your mobile if you become a subscriber (Digital+). 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Best wishes,

Neil McIntosh

Editor, The Scotsman