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👋 Good morning! It’s Saturday 28 February 2026. I’m Neil McIntosh, editor of The Early Line, and it’s great to have you here.
📣 You’re reading the weekend edition of The Early Line. Paying subscribers get the full version, with six talking points and film, TV and sporting recommendations for the week ahead.
They also have my huge thanks for making the whole newsletter possible. If you’d like to join their ranks - thankyou! - you can upgrade here.
And if that’s not for you, no problem: see you on Monday when the free Early Line is back at 7am.
Have a wonderful weekend, all!
🌧️ The weekend’s weather: A dreich weekend for Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dumfries but somewhat better in Aberdeen and Inverness. London will be set much of the weekend too. (Here’s the UK forecast).
And here’s all you need to know this morning:
SIX THINGS TO TALK ABOUT
Shockwaves from a by-election upset | Scotland’s tuition fees: time to talk? | AI doomerism is flawed - but moves markets | Trump goes nuclear on Anthropic | Prada’s big show | Funny man’s Scottish mansion
🍸 What do we make of the Gorton and Denton by-election? The Greens’ win has sparked furious analysis, and a lot of speculation about what the “old parties” - Labour, the Conservatives, will do next.
Here’s a selection box from across the political spectrum…
Charles Moore warns that what replaces Labour and the Tories could be much worse. (Telegraph - 🎁 gift link)
Fraser Neilson says the Greens asked the biggest question in politics - “Working hard, what does that get you?” - and voters’ answer sank Labour. (Times - 🎁 gift link
An acerbic Marina Hyde thinks Labour is celebrating its romp to third place “with a word salad”. (Guardian)
Kevin Maguire says it’s a wake-up call for Labour - either they change or the Greens grow (Mirror)
Harry Cole spots the threat of “Balkanisation” hanging over parts of the UK (The Sun)
The Morning Star is pretty happy: Hannah Spencer’s resounding win is a slap in the face for Reform, bad for “Starmer-Labour”, and “good news for the whole left”. (Morning Star)
Upgrade to read the full Party Line, and read more on…
a call for a “national conversation” on Scotland’s tuition fees as another University contemplates big cuts,
a bleak essay on AI’s future moves markets - but one that is economically flawed, say experts,
A spectacularly good show from Prada in Milan,
A look inside Alan Carr’s amazing Scottish mansion.
PLUS: top TV, film and sporting picks for the weekend - including the details on Sunday’s big derby double header!
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