Category Archives: Nicola Sturgeon

Brexit: Pound falls as general election speculation intensifies – live news

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Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including reaction to PM’s threat to remove whip from Tory MPs who vote against him on Brexit

Rumours of a snap general election have sent the pound tumbling on the international currency markets, as investors brace for further political turmoil as the Brexit deadline edges closer.

Sterling has slumped by almost a cent against the US dollar and sold-off sharply against the euro, sliding below $1.21 and €1.10 as election speculation spreads through the City.

Anyone who thinks that an election will solve the UK’s political crisis has not been paying attention over the past three years.

The pound today. pic.twitter.com/Kdw2MwSTtK

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Corbyn: Westminster should not block second Scotland poll

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Labour leader opposes UK breakup but says not parliament’s place to bar independence vote

Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he believes Westminster should not block a second referendum on Scottish independence, but said he opposed the breakup of the UK.

Corbyn implicitly endorsed remarks by his close ally John McDonnell last week where he said a Labour government would not obstruct a fresh independence vote if there was sufficient support for one in the Scottish parliament.

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Caroline Lucas calls for emergency female cabinet to block no-deal Brexit

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Green MP urges 10 top female politicians to form cabinet of national unity to deliver fresh referendum

The Green MP, Caroline Lucas, has thrown down the gauntlet to 10 high-profile female politicians over blocking a no-deal Brexit, proposing a cabinet of national unity including Labour’s Emily Thornberry, the Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson, and the former Conservative cabinet minister Justine Greening to seek legislation for a fresh referendum.

In an extraordinary proposal that will be viewed with scepticism by rival parties, Lucas offered to broker a deal with female MPs from all the main political parties in Westminster, as well as the SNP’s leader, Nicola Sturgeon.

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Boris Johnson’s UK tour: did he show he could save the union?

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PM set out to prove his pledge to the ‘awesome foursome’ but not everything went to plan

Boris Johnson pledged his commitment to the “awesome foursome” of the UK when he was elected Conservative leader, and has since embarked on a whistlestop tour taking in the north of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. But how successful were the trips? Visits that involved keeping the prime minister away from booing protesters and, in some cases, journalists? Have they allayed fears that Johnson’s hardline Brexit strategy and the continuation of the union could be mutually exclusive?

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‘Dangerous’ UK government intent on forcing no deal, says Sturgeon

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Scotland’s first minister criticises Boris Johnson’s ‘hardline position’ on Brexit

Boris Johnson has been accused by Nicola Sturgeon of intentionally pushing the UK towards a no-deal Brexit, despite his “bluff and bluster” about wanting an agreement with EU leaders.

After meeting Johnson face-to-face in Edinburgh, the Scottish first minister said she believed he was pursuing a “dangerous” hardline strategy with EU leaders, with the likely outcome of no-deal Brexit.

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Tory leadership: Johnson, Hunt, Gove, Stewart, Javid through, as Raab eliminated – live news

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Second round of voting in the Tory leadership contest, plus Boris Johnson and other candidates take part in BBC hustings

Here is more on Nicola Sturgeon from my colleague Severin Carrell.

@NicolaSturgeon says @BorisJohnson asked her recently (paraphrasing) “So Nicola: full fiscal autonomy. Does that buy you guys off?” “I’m going to make that the starting point of our negotiations should he become prime minister” @reformscotland #devo20

Nicola Sturgeon has said that Boris Johnson’s “almost certain” election as the next Conservative leader has proven how sharply Scotland is now diverging from the rest of the UK, increasing the case for independence.

In a speech to mark 20 years since devolution, the first minister said Johnson’s apparent relish for a no-deal Brexit, and his “gratuitously offensive” opinions about women and minorities are in stark contrast to Scotland’s open, diverse and tolerant politics.

It is surely deeply concerning that the Conservative party is even contemplating putting into the office of prime minister someone whose tenure as foreign secretary was risible, lacking in any seriousness of purpose or basic competence and who, over the years, has gratuitously offended so many, from gay people, to Africans, Muslim women and many others.

But while that, for now, is a matter for the Tories it does further illustrate the different political trajectories of Scotland and other parts of the UK. And it raises the more fundamental question of whether the UK and therefore devolution, in its current form is capable of accommodating those differences.

Next up in the @reformscotland Devolution at 20 conversations is First Minister @NicolaSturgeon pic.twitter.com/SulPJWrabM

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Scotland won’t be independent within EU, says Farage

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Brexit party leader dismisses Nicola Sturgeon’s campaign for independence within EU

Nigel Farage has called on “genuine Scottish nationalists” to vote for his Brexit party in next week’s EU elections, as he described Nicola Sturgeon’s campaign for an independent Scotland within Europe as “the most dishonest political discourse anywhere in the world”.

As anti-racist protesters chanted outside the venue, Farage told cheering supporters at a rally in Edinburgh: “If you’re genuinely a nationalist lend your vote to the Brexit party, let’s get out of the EU and then have an honest debate about independence.”

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Brexit: Corbyn says second referendum could be ‘healing process’ – live news

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Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Jeremy Corbyn launching Labour’s Euro elections campaign

Nicola Sturgeon has urged Scottish voters to treat both Labour and the Conservatives as pro-Brexit parties in the European elections, claiming only the Scottish National party has the weight to fight to remain in the EU.

Describing the vote on 23 May as the most important European election in Scotland’s history, the SNP leader and Scottish first minister also reiterated her call for a fresh referendum on Scottish independence before 2021, regardless of whether Brexit happens.

It is striking, I would say depressingly, just how close together Labour and the Tories are on Brexit. On this defining issue of our time, Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May have so much more in common than they like to pretend. They oth want to take Scotland and the UK out of the European Union.

There is no escaping the fact that Labour is a pro-Brexit party, just as the Tories are a pro-Brexit party.

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Scotland should get independence vote by May 2021 if Brexit going ahead, says Sturgeon – live news

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Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including PMQs

Here is the key quote from Sturgeon’s opening statement.

There are some who would like to see a very early referendum, others want that choice to be later.

My job as first minister is to reach a judgment, not simply in my party’s interest but in the national interest.

Asked if she is willing to drop her demand for an independence referendum, Sturgeon says she is genuinely open-minded. If other parties can come forward with another mechanism that will protect Scotland’s interests in the event of Brexit, she will consider that, she says. She stresses that she is “open-minded”.

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People’s vote Brexit rally draws 1 million marchers – video report

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Official figures put the numbers at the people's vote Brexit march on Saturday at over 1 million. People from across the UK travelled to central London to demand a second vote on whether the UK should leave the EU

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May claims it is impossible for government to rule out no-deal Brexit in reply to Corbyn – as it happened

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Labour leader says he won’t meet with PM until she takes no-deal Brexit off table, after May narrowly wins no-confidence vote in parliament

We’re going to close down this live blog now, so thanks for reading and for all the comments. Here’s a summary of the latest events:

Related: Corbyn could face string of resignations if he backs 'people's vote'

The public is “aghast” at the “Brexit pantomime” in Westminster, Sinn Féin’s deputy leader, Michelle O’Neill, has told the Northern Ireland secretary, Karen Bradley, in what the former termed a “frank discussion”.

With each passing day, our business community, our farmers, our community and voluntary sector are growing more concerned at where this shambles will ultimately end up. And it is they who will pay the price of a no-deal crash Brexit.

Unfortunately, that is where we are likely to end up if Karen Bradley’s government pursues a solution by attempting to placate and appease the DUP and the hard Brexiteers.

It is crucial, now more than ever, that the Dublin Government and the EU27 stand firm on the position that there can be no agreement without a backstop that prevents a hard border in Ireland and protects our peace and political process.

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