Scotland’s spring blossom is in full bloom across the country – and online – with petal-powered posts and searches rising sharply this season.
According to national tourism and events organisation, VisitScotland, online search terms such as “cherry blossom season Scotland” and “when do cherry blossoms bloom in Scotland” have doubled year-on-year, while entirely new searches like “where to see cherry blossoms in Scotland” have emerged for the first time.
Specific searches for “cherry blossom Edinburgh” have risen by over 400%. Although the blossoms are fleeting – most displays lose their bloom by the end of May – parks and tree-lined avenues continue to attract both visitors and locals.
The rise reflects a growing appetite for seasonal experiences, with Scotland’s towns, cities and countryside offering a rich variety of spring blossom – from ornamental cherry trees to apple, plum and hawthorn lining streets, parks and green spaces.
This growing interest is also reflected across VisitScotland’s own social media channels, where blossom content has seen strong engagement this spring. Vibrant videos shared across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube have gained over half a million views. Featuring everything from city-centre displays to scenic rural spots, the clips show audiences are increasingly interacting with and sharing seasonal imagery, highlighting the widespread appeal of Scotland in bloom.
Across the UK, interest in blossom is also on the rise. Total monthly searches for cherry blossom-related terms now exceed 352,000, while “cherry blossom near me” has seen a significant increase (+3,967%) as people seek out local places to enjoy the season.
The data reflects a growing awareness of global traditions. Terms such as “sakura” and “hanami”, associated with Japanese blossom viewing, continue to see consistent UK search interest, suggesting a broader cultural appreciation of the season.
In Japan, the hanami cherry blossom season has long been a tourism driver. It attracts millions of visitors and is estimated to generate £7-9million for the economy each year.
Jill Walker, VisitScotland Director of Marketing, said: “Spring is one of the most special times of year to experience Scotland, and the growing interest in blossom shows just how much people value these seasonal moments.
“From cherry blossom in our cities to the wider mix of flowering trees across parks, gardens and rural areas, these displays are proving a social media hit and helping to inspire more people to seek them out – often right on their doorstep.
“With only a short window to see the blossoms before the petals fall, their fleeting nature may make them even more appealing to experience and share.
“Extending the visitor season is a core part of our work to grow the value of the visitor economy, and these latest figures show that spring blossom is becoming an increasingly noticeable feature in Scotland’s tourism calendar, with exciting opportunities for attractions and communities alike.”
Find out what Scotland has to offer this Spring here:
MACPHERSON, Ben – Scottish National Party (SNP): 13,630
NEVENS, Kate – Scottish Green Party: 10,559
OWEN, Liss – Scottish Liberal Democrats: 1,895
THOMAS, Oliver Philip – Scottish Labour Party: 7,894
YOUNG, Haris – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party: 1,297.
Ben Macpherson (SNP) has been duly elected as Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith constituency with 13,630 votes.
I would like to draw your readers’ attention to a pressing matter. Every day, despite some of the best medical care available in the world via our NHS, children are traumatised in hospital.
Clinical environments, complex and painful procedures and isolation from friends can all build up to immense levels of stress. The anxiety can be particularly acute for little ones, who find it hard to understand what’s going on.
Healthcare-related trauma experienced in childhood can lead to the avoidance of medical appointments and delayed diagnosis and treatment. It can also affect access to care in adulthood and have a devastating impact on long-term emotional wellbeing. According to our research, 10% of adults in the UK said their childhood experiences of healthcare had negatively impacted their mental health.
Another little-known fact is that play can stop this trauma in its tracks. Starlight provides play resources to hospitals and hospices throughout the UK. We also provide support and high quality training to health play specialists and healthcare professionals to help them support children through play.
We have launched an appeal to reach even more children as soon as they need it because play can be the best medicine for babies, children and young people.
Find out how you can help children like nine-year-old Arlo who has a rare genetic condition and has spent weeks in hospital at starlight.org.uk.
After 12 years of continuous service at Strachan House care home in Edinburgh, much-loved senior nurse Dawn Sharp has decided to retire.
Dawn had worked for the company since 1995 across many of Barchester’s services before spending her last 12 years at Strachan House. The home couldn’t have been happier to have Dawn with us throughout the years providing a steady hand and a calm approach.
Staff and residents at the home sent Dawn off in style with flowers, cards and a huge hug of course. Everyone at the home has very fond memories of Dawn and she will be sadly missed.
During her time at Strachan House Dawn has been a wonderful nurse, someone dependable with Gladys one of the residents saying Dawns wonderful nature was the reason she was her favourite.
Dawn said: “Strachan House is like a family to me and though I’m looking forward to retirement, I’m really going to miss everyone here so much!”
Fran Fisher General Manager at Strachan House said: “Dawn is one of those people who was born to care for others – she has such a huge heart and was greatly loved by the individuals living at Strachan House Care Home. She was an inspiration to her colleagues and we will all miss her. We wish her all the best!”
Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.
First ever Highland Games-inspired Supermarket Sweep
Aldi Scotland challenges Edinburgh shoppers to take on Scotland’s strongest men in its first ever Highland Games inspired Supermarket Sweep
Aldi Scotland is kicking off the 2026 Highland Games season with a first of its kind, high-energy trolley dash, challenging shoppers across the country to take on the world’s strongest brothers in a Highland Games inspired Supermarket Sweep, all in support of CHAS.
Coinciding with the opening games of the season at Gourock, the retailer is inviting duos to apply for the chance to beat the time set by strongmen Luke and Tom Stoltman, in a one-of-a-kind trolley dash, with winners also taking home their haul of goods.
Putting a fresh spin on the much-loved Supermarket Sweep format, the selected pair will be invited to compete in the ultimate in-store showdown, where strength, speed and skill will be put to the test. The challenge includes a range of new Highland Games-style challenges, from haggis hurling to trolley tug o’war. Their final shop total will be donated to CHAS, and if they beat the time set by the Stoltman brothers, they’ll double their haul.
Applications open from 10 May until 10 June, with entrants required to apply as a duo.
Each year, CHAS supports more than 500 babies, children and young people across Scotland with life-shortening conditions, along with their families. In 2026, every penny raised through Aldi’s Supermarket Sweep will go directly to the charity, with £10,000 pledged in support.
Sandy Mitchell, Regional Managing Director, Aldi Scotland, said:“Supporting local suppliers and celebrating Scottish culture is central to what we do, and our first-ever Highland Games–inspired Supermarket Sweep is a fantastic way to bring those together with our community initiative.
“Teaming up with Scotland’s strongest brothers adds a real sense of fun and competition, and we’re looking forward to seeing how challengers rise to the occasion. It is a brilliant way to celebrate national tradition while raising valuable funds for CHAS and the life-changing support they provide to children and families across Scotland.”
Offering advice to future contestants, Luke Stoltman added: “There’s more to it than just strength. Speed, teamwork and a bit of strategy will all come into play.
“We’re always up for a challenge, but this one’s a bit different from what we’re used to. Mixing Highland Games events with Aldi’s Supermarket Sweep is something really unique, and it’s going to be great fun seeing how people get on.
“Most importantly, it’s all for a brilliant cause, and we’re proud to be supporting CHAS and the incredible work they do for families across Scotland”
Entry is free and customers can apply by emailing ‘Highland Sweep’, their names, phone number and chosen store to supermarketsweep@aldi.co.uk before 10 June.
Summerhall Arts’ third and final festival programme announcement – on sale 6th May – includes the UK’s first purpose-built theatre sauna and new shows from Shaparak Khorsandi, Hannah Maxwell, Francesca Moody Productions, Thaddeus Phillips, theatregoose, and much, much more
Summerhall Arts announces the final 30 shows of its 2026 festival and the news that an 80-seat Sauna Theatre – the largest sauna in the UK – will occupy its rear courtyard in August, with a programme of theatre, music, dance, and some of the world’s best Aufguss artists
Award-winning British-Iranian comedian and author, Shaparak Khorsandi, presents a work in progress performance of her debut play, Kismet (قسمت), based on true life experiences of her family following the 1979 Iranian Revolution
Acclaimed Fringe favourite Hannah Maxwell (BABYFLEAREINDEERBAG; Nan, Me & Barbara Pravi) premieres her new show, Turn Your Fucking Phones Off
Francesca Moody Productions (Fleabag; Baby Reindeer) and Global Creatures (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) present ROLEPLAY – a new, NSFW one woman play from actress, comic and podcaster Hannah Reilly (The Deb)
Fringe legend Thaddeus McWhinnie Phillips brings a new Georges Méliès-inspired theatrical blend of micro-cinema, magic and puppetry with ArounD the WorlD in 80 ToyS
Serial Fringe hit makers, theatregoose (Aether; Sisters Three; Her Green Hell)premiere THE PLOT – a new play set around the Gunpowder Plot
Summerhall Arts Surgeries returns with two showcases and support for eight companies, and Summerhall Yoga returns for the duration of the 2026 festival
Four shows from House of Oz, including Concerts of the Future – a VR experience that allows you to play along with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Other highlights include the UK premiere of The Subplot: A hyperfixation on the Titan submersible;part play, part extreme workout, The Distance, from former GB athlete and Archers star Ben Norris; and a new play inspired by Tina Packer’s Women of Will graces the Summerhall stage for a limited run.
Home of boundary-pushing performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, arts charity Summerhall Arts,whichprovides year round support and development for artists as well as an annual exhibition programme hub; has announced the final30 shows of the 2026 instalment of its renowned festival programme and the news that the UK’s first purpose-built theatre sauna will occupy Summerhall’s back courtyard this August.
Adding to the 42 shows already announced, from companies including Xhloe and Natasha, Adam Riches, YESYESNONO, Creepy Boys, Salty Brine, Lightning Rod Special, and Wonder Fools; Summerhall Arts’ third programme announcement continues to exemplify bold, diverse and intersectional work of the highest quality. 50% of these shows are from international artists and companies, and Sauna Theatre will bring some of the world’s greatest Aufguss (an immersive experience using heat, essential oils, towel work and storytelling) artists to perform at Summerhall throughout August.
The Aufguss Master, Meg Hopkinson performs a routine ahead of the shows this summer which will take place in the UK’s first purpose-built Sauna Theatre’s, tickets are now on sale for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme at summerhallarts.co.uk
Tom Forster, Programmer & Producer at Summerhall Arts, commented:“It’s an immense privilege to present Summerhall Arts’ second festival programme in full. 2026 runs from drag kings to ballet, opera to satire, ceilidh to Aufguss.
“It cuts across class, identity, conflict, memory, care, and the digital age. Bold artists, urgent ideas — asking us to sit and sweat it out.”
Summerhall Arts is delighted to announce an exciting new collaboration with director James Grieve and designer Lucy Osborne, who previously designed and launched Paines Plough’s famous Roundabout theatre – a mainstay at Summerhall for so many years – who this year present the first project of their new company, Sauna Sessions Arts Club.
Occupying Summerhall’s back courtyard will be the UK’s largest sauna and the first to be purpose built to showcase theatre, art and culture. Literally the hottest new venue on the Fringe,Sauna Theatre will bring together an ambitious programme of Aufguss, theatre, spoken word, literature and music; all with the soothing heat of the sauna.
The 80-seat Sauna Theatre will host a diverse programme catering to both sauna regulars and culture lovers: ranging from morning raves to mysterious stories of ancient Scotland, the return of Nick Cassenbaum’s acclaimed Schvitz-based show, Bubble Schmeisis (Summerhall, 2016), to Virginia Woolf reimaginings.
The sauna environment increases endorphins, relaxes muscles and encourages blood flow – all helping to heighten audiences’ senses and creating an immersive experience, allowing audiences to focus fully on art without distraction.
Sam Gough, CEO of Summerhall Arts, commented:“We couldn’t be more excited to be bringing this ambitious Aufguss project here. It is a brilliant, brave and fun programme of work delivered in the most beautiful and innovative way and could not be more Summerhall Arts!
“This collaboration came about through our shared love for bold ideas and groundbreaking approaches to the arts, housed within one of Edinburgh’s most innovative and experimental venues. What better way to develop our space, in our second year of reimagining everything we do here. Where is my towel?”
James Grieve, Co-Creator of Sauna Theatre, added:“It is thrilling to be launching this new pop-up space on the very same spot we launched Roundabout in 2014 at a venue and festival that means so much to us.
“We’re so excited to welcome Edinburgh audiences to relax, revive and be inspired in Sauna Theatre at Summerhall Arts.”
Once audiences have showered, changed, and blow-dried their hair; they can venture back into the heart of Summerhall and experience the rest of Summerhall Arts’ boundary-pushing programme.
This year, this includes a work in progress of a new play written and performed by acclaimed comedian and author, Shaparak Khorsandi. Based on her best-selling novel, Nina’s Not Okay, Kismet (قسمت) is about the true life experiences of her Iranian family, scattered around the globe after the 1979 Iranian Revolution – and features original live music by Jean Delkhaste, aka Smiling Beth.
Multi-award-winning storyteller Hannah Maxwell returns to Summerhall after acclaimed turns with Nan, Me and Barbara Pravi (★★★★★- The Financial Times) in 2023 and BABYFLEAREINDEERBAG (★★★★ – The Guardian) in 2025. With dramaturgy by Ursula Martinez and Rachel Mars, Hannah premieres Turn Your Fucking Phones Off – a timely, autobiographical, and interactive work about digital toxification and mis/disinformation.
And the producer of Fleabag and Baby Reindeer, Francesca Moody Productions, teams up with Global Creatures (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) to present ROLEPLAY – a new, NSFW one woman show from actress, comic and podcaster Hannah Reilly (The Deb). Paige Rattray (Fangirls) directs this red-hot interrogation of modern sex, womanhood and the commodification of feminism in the age of the personal brand.
Chaplin-esque legend of the Fringe, Thaddeus McWhinnie Phillips (Zoo Motel; 17 Border Crossings) returns to Edinburgh with a new theatrical journey into the realm of micro-cinema, classic magic, and object puppetry. ArounD the WorlD in 80 ToyS is a haunting and touching homage to the movies inspired by the world’s first film director, Georges Méliès.
Award-winning theatre company theatregoose returns to Summerhall with a fourth show in a row written and directed by Emma Howlett (The Stage’s Fringe Five 2025), after consecutive sell-out hits Aether, Sisters Three, and Her Green Hell. Premiering this year, THE PLOT is a new play set around the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, exploring rebellion, reinvention, and the power of a great story.
Summerhall Arts Surgeries returns this Fringe with 2 showcases providing financial support to 8 artists or companies and the opportunity to showcase their unfinished work to peers, producers and industry. Building on the spirit of experimentation that defines Summerhall Arts, the Surgeries provide a safe, collaborative environment to test ideas, exchange feedback, and discover new possibilities for their work. Open to all forms of live performance, this is the fourth year of the Surgeries, which have now expanded to the Spring as well and have so far supported 40 companies to present work to almost 8000 audience members.
Also in keeping with Summerhall Arts’ commitment to keeping creative juices flowing, as well as maintaining good mental and physical health throughout August, Summerhall Yoga will return for the duration of this year’s festival. Our resident Yogi, Olga, will give morning yoga classes, which are free for our staff and artists, and bookable for everyone else.
Summerhall Arts is thrilled that champions of Australian performance, House of Oz, will present four shows in the programme this year. Co-presented by The Sonicrats and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Concerts of the Future is a cutting-edge participatory VR music experience that gives audiences of all musical capabilities the chance to perform Beethoven’s iconic Symphony No. 7 with one of Australia’s premier orchestras.
Joel Bray Dance presents the UK premiere of acclaimed Aboriginal choreographer Joel Bray’s show, DADDY – a seductive, provocative, and candy-coloured interrogation of colonialism. Theatre Republic presents Emily Steel’s award-winning semi-autobiographical play, How Not To Make It In America – a heartbreakingly funny show about chasing your dreams, the U.S. in the aftermath of 9/11, and which sees one man play twenty-eight different characters.
Acclaimed contemporary dance-theatre company The Farm premiere a powerful, raw and emotional work about two siblings, one of whom has Down’s syndrome. Expressed through dance, theatre and storytelling, Glass Child highlights how their lives and connection are affected by the perceptions of others.
Outwith House of Oz, the Australian contingent continues. Sophie Smyth brings her award-nominated autism and ADHD powered one-woman odyssey of sub, sea, and self: The subplot: A hyperfixation on the Titan submersible. And, winner of this year’s Adelaide Fringe Edinburgh Touring Award: South Australian theatre company The CRAM Collective present their acclaimed exploration of grief and lasagne, Meteors, for its UK premiere.
Another big hit in Australia and the winner of the overall Best Theatre and Physical Theatre award in Adelaide, acclaimed comedian Kirsty Mann returns to Summerhall after a sold-out work in progress run last year. Produced by Impatient Productions, she presents the UK premiere of her award winning show, CORPSE – a real-life ghost story with a difference.
Moving to the theme of endurance, from a starry producing team – Global Creative, Grace Dickson Productions and Nic Doodson Productions – behind a combination of musical (SIX; The Choir of Man) and Fringe hits (Playfight; Lady Killer), comes the world premiere of The Distance. Part play, part extreme workout, this is a sweat-drenched exploration of ambition, identity and letting go from former GB athlete and Archers star, Ben Norris.
Summerhall Arts is excited to welcome Siofra Dromgoole’s brand new play, Women of Will, based on the seminal work by actress, director and founder of Shakespeare & Company Tina Packer. Presented by Women of Will Productions, Paul-Lou Lemieux, in association with Soho Theatre, this new pub-based celebration of Shakespeare’s heroines stars Ella Louden, who was directed by Tina Packer in productions of Titus Andronicus and Cymbeline, and Nigel Gore who starred in the original adaptation.
If audiences still prefer their saunas imagined, they can join the inhabitants of Peckham Pulse Leisure Centre as they cook themselves into a frenzy, with Thermodrama. Presented by emerging theatre company Lovecock Productions, Coco Cottam’s new comic-tragic play tackles the toxicity of wellness culture and how the cult of self-improvement affects society’s most vulnerable.
More exciting Scottish work joins the likes of Autopsy Award winner Althea Young, including BULL / FIGHT – an exciting co-production from emerging Edinburgh-based theatre collective Mythography and Stirling’s Macrobert Arts Centre, about the death and legacy of poet and playwright Federica García Lorca, set during the Spanish Civil War.
Acclaimed Glasgow-based artist, performer, and Instagram reel-based arts sector agitator, Craig Manson presentsBunny! – a darkly comic take on the ‘critically acclaimed solo show’ that fuses live art, cabaret and musical theatre to tell the story of aspiring theatre starlet and serial killer, Bunny. And, new Scottish theatre company Trolley Problem (Mistero Buffalo – The Citz, 2026) premiere Nesting – an experimental, multidisciplinary and magical realist performance that explores assisted dying, neurodegenerative illness and the ethics of care.
Summerhall Arts is delighted that so many artists and companies return to Summerhall after past successes. This year, independent theatre company withintheatre, who cast their theatre ire at authoritarian regimes and had critically acclaimed turns with 1984 (2024) and Julia. 1984 (2025), presents Boogie on the Bones.
Based on the novel by acclaimed Russian screenwriter Yurii Korotkov, this musical political play, set in Soviet-era Moscow, explores how youth cultures resist repression and conformity through jazz, dance, and underground culture. And, acclaimed comedian Derek Mitchell follows his sell-out show Goblin (2025) with a new work in progress performance.
Moving from political history to sexual and gender politics, Emmeline Hartley and Jack Mullings premiere We Had Fun, directed by Olivier and Tony awards-nominated Carrie-Anne Ingrouille (SIX: The Musical) – an un-romantic dark comedy and ‘fascinating exploration’ (Daniel Finkelstein, The Times) of the greyest areas of consent and sexual politics.
Magalie Rouillard-Bazinet presents a touching and humorous solo show about a young woman who loses her orgasm and herself: Homecumming explores taboos surrounding female sexuality and a wider conversation about mental health, shame, and self-worth. And, Katie Hurley and Sarah Hehir in association with Croydonites premiereMan or Bear – a fast-moving, darkly comic new play about fear, friendship and survival inspired by the viral question: ‘Would you rather be alone in the woods with a man or a bear?’
Directed by Ursual Martinez, it blends kitchen-sink realism, music and physical theatre, following three generations of women in the lead-up to an act of violence, focusing on women’s resilience and reflecting on modern day misogyny.
Staying on the politics of our times, acclaimed Philadelphia comedian, performer and writer Lee Minora (★★★★ – The Skinny) premieres Baby Everything – a hilarious, helter-skelter, and razor-sharp interrogation of anxiety in the digital age. Ricocheting between clown, storytelling and theatrical fantasy, audiences follow a hypochondriac protagonist trying to work out if the world’s actually getting worse or if we’re just looking too closely.
Irish theatremakers Oisín Kearney and Gina Donnelly present the UK premiere of their acclaimed play, Good With Faces, which won the Solas Nua New Voices Award at the Dublin Fringe Festival 2025. A taut thriller about a struggle for power between a worried mother and a concerned social worker, the piece is a complex exploration of the state versus the individual and what it means to care.
Multi-award-winning theatre company Chronic Insanity presents a brand new gig-theatre show featuring a live 00s-inspired indie band: Horrorshow explores class disparity, nostalgia, and regional identity, asking who cultural events are really for and who they leave behind. And, Jude Green premieres TOAST – a pitch-black comedy about Proper Jobs, class divides, and starving for your art. Perhaps the funniest show about systemic poverty on the Fringe.
Terracotta Productions brings Sitting (In Silence), the multi-award-winning debut play from emerging theatremaker Kitty Falcon – a tragi-comedy exploring mental health, grief, suicide loss and reconnection, rooted in lived experience and community storytelling. And, Give or Take Productions brings the winner of the Outstanding Theatre Award at Brighton Fringe 2024: funny, honest and deeply devastating, The Trials of Magnus Coffinkey is a dark fairytale in which the power of storytelling is used to make sense of great personal trauma.
Completing the 2026 installment of Summerhall Arts’ renowned festival programme, The Drolly Theater brings a unique, family-friendly ‘light puppeteering’ show. Through the power of puppetry, science and light, Magic Lantern Anthology guides audiences through future folklore and forgotten myths.
These 30 new shows, 9 shows at Sauna Theatre, and the 42 shows previously announced, are on sale now. Summerhall Arts’ festival runs from 6th – 31st August 2026.
Thank you all for being here. We have a lot of work to do so it’s very important we gather here to do that work.
Thank you Louis. That was incredibly powerful, and honest, and courageous. I think it’s really important we heard you speak, in your words, saying how you feel, and what it feels like to be Jewish in Britain right now.
And if recent events haven’t given us pause for thought, that really should.
About the responsibility each one of us has to face this challenge head on. And about what’s at the stake in the conversations we have today.
Last October, at Heaton Park, a deadly terrorist attack shocked the nation.
Similarly, last week’s terrorist attack in Golders Green was utterly appalling. But they were not isolated incidents.
It is part of a pattern of rising antisemitism that has left our Jewish communities feeling frightened, angry, and asking whether this country, their home, is safe for them.
These disgusting attacks are being made against British Jews. But, make no mistake, this crisis – it is a crisis for all of us. It is a test of our values. Values that aren’t guaranteed, they are earned. Every single day. Through our actions.
So, it is not enough to simply say we stand with Jewish communities. Of course we do, but we have to show with action. And that responsibility lies with each and every one of us.
Because it is our fight too. It is about the kind of country that we all want to be.
And that’s what today is about. Because only by working together can we eradicate antisemitism from every corner of society.
I have seen this poison up close. I have seen the damage it does when it takes hold. And I know what it demands to root it out – a coordinated approach, an unwavering resolve and zero tolerance for failure.
[Political content redacted]. And that is what we must do today. My government is using the full force of the state to that end. We have begun, as we must, with immediate protection.
In recent months, as antisemitic incidents have risen, we have acted decisively to strengthen the safety of Jewish communities. And last week, we announced an additional £25 million in funding.
That money is being used to increase police patrols, enhance security at synagogues, schools and community centres, and place specialist and plain-clothes officers in communities to prevent serious harm before it occurs.
That is the right thing to do. But what a sad thing to read out that list of acts to you – protecting synagogues, schools and community centres. I repeat those words.
Because of course, we cannot accept a future where communities feel safer only behind higher walls. Security is essential – but it is not enough. We must also deal with the forces that drive this hatred in the first place.
So, we are confronting them directly. One of the lines of inquiry is whether a foreign state has been behind some of these incidents. We are investigating of course all possibilities. And we are clear that these actions will have consequences if that proves to be the case.
Our message to Iran, or to any other country that might seek to foment violence, hatred or division in society, is that it will not be tolerated. That is why we are fast tracking legislation to tackle these malign threats.
And we are clear eyed about the fact that antisemitism does not have one source alone. Islamist, far-left and far-right extremism all target Jewish communities.
That is why this Government has put in place the first coordinated national plan to strengthen cohesion and confront extremism in all of its forms.
This is not about tinkering around the edges. Our plan is a complete step change in how we protect communities: moving beyond piecemeal responses to a sustained, nationwide effort – one that ensures that people across the United Kingdom can live freely and without fear.
We are strengthening our ability to disrupt extremism – stopping those who spread hatred from entering the country and giving the Charity Commission stronger powers to act against organisations that enable it.
We are holding technology companies to account, requiring them to remove illegal extremist content or face serious penalties. And we have introduced stronger powers to deal with protests, ensuring intimidation is not tolerated on our streets.
And when these vile acts are committed, we are bolstering the response of our justice system – working to speed up sentencing for offences so that consequences are swift and the deterrent is clear.
But it is also important to recognise that so often this hatred does not begin with violence – it begins with ideas, with misinformation, tropes and conspiracy theories, and with attitudes that, left unchecked, can take root and spread. So, in those spaces where the shoots of antisemitism begin to grow, we are stepping in.
We have commissioned independent reviews into antisemitism in education and health services. Across the NHS, we are rolling out antisemitism training for staff.
And in our schools, colleges and universities, we are investing £7 million to tackle antisemitism, while making sure Holocaust education is taught in all schools.
And, today, we are going further. We already expect universities to set out clear disciplinary consequences for antisemitism, and to enforce them. And so we will hold them to account on that.
But today, I can announce that we will lift the bar higher: when abuses take place, we are calling on universities to demonstrate action. We will now expect them to publish the scale of the problem on their campuses, as well as the specific steps they have taken to clamp down on it. There will be zero tolerance for inaction.
In our cultural venues and spaces we will also expect more. Where public funding is being used to promote or platform antisemitism, the Arts Council must act, using its powers to suspend, withdraw and claw back funding.
And, today, we are mandating an independent audit of how allegations are handled. This will be a hard-edged review of where systems are failing and where they need to be strengthened. We will not and cannot accept complacency, delays, or weak enforcement. And where complacency is found, it will be challenged and addressed swiftly.
And we will also address a quieter but no less serious harm: the way rising security costs are forcing Jewish artists and organisations out of public life. That is exclusion – and it is unacceptable.
We will ensure that the Arts Council and Home Office funding can be used to cover protective security costs, so that participation is not determined by fear.
There is, of course, more work to do – and we won’t stop playing our part. But this is not a task that government do alone.
Every part of society has a responsibility to respond with determination and force. Because there are too many people who don’t see antisemitism for what it is: anti-Jewish hatred, racism, pure and simple.
That is why, today, I am asking you – each and every one of you – to reflect. On what form antisemitism takes in the sectors that you lead. In how it may be allowed to fester and spread. And on the work that you are currently doing to stamp it out.
And then, even more importantly, I am calling on you to act. With urgency. To look clearly at where you are succeeding – and just as clearly at where there is still work to be done. And to commit to the tangible action that Jewish people in this country need to feel safe again.
Because stopping antisemitism is not someone else’s responsibility. It is all of ours. That is the test before us. And only by working together will we meet it.
So, thank you for being here today – we have a lot of work to do – and we’re now going to move through to the Pillared Room to discuss that work further. So please come through and join us in the Pillared Room to continue the work that we have started today.
We are looking for volunteers to help us at the 5th North Edinburgh Community Festival on Saturday 16th May. Any time you can give would be most welcome.
We’re looking for help with the following:
SETTING UP
help setting up the festival in the morning pre opening to the public at 12noon. This includes placing tables and chairs in all the marquees, helping set up the food court, putting up signage and other general tasks. 8am-11am.
MANNING THE REGISTRATION DESK
Showing people where to go and general information. 12noon – 530pm.
DISMANTLE AND CLOSE DOWN POST FESTIVAL
Helping to pack down the festival – packing up of tables and chairs, helping with rubbish and litter, and removal of signage.
PARADE STEWARDS
The parade starts outside North Edinburgh Arts, Macmillan Hub and walks towards the park. Route should take about 45 minutes.
If you are keen to get involved, even if its for an hour or two across any of these roles, please email northedinfest@gmail.com
