Former finance secretary who was narrowly beaten by Humza Yousaf in last year’s SNP leadership contest, has announced that she will not standing this time
Swinney has confirmed he is standing for SNP leader.
John Swinney is about to speak at his press conference in Edinburgh.
Continue reading...Spokesperson confirms ‘informal meeting’ has taken place between leadership frontrunners John Swinney and Kate Forbes
The SNP government has headed off Labour’s attempt to force an early Holyrood election, as the frontrunners to succeed Humza Yousaf met for informal talks in an attempt to avoid another divisive leadership contest.
Anas Sarwar’s motion of no confidence in Yousaf’s administration – which would have forced all government ministers to resign – was defeated by 70 votes to 58 on Wednesday afternoon after the Greens voted with the SNP.
Continue reading...Runner-up in the SNP leadership contest last time around says she is still weighing decision on whether to stand
When Hilary Cass published her review of gender identity services for children, saying medical evidence did not generally justify giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children, she said the “toxity of the debate” around trans children was exceptional, and she said she would like to see the issue discussed in a less polarised way.
But that has not stopped her report becoming a political football. The UK government responded to it with a ministerial statement treating it as a landmark victory in a culture war. In Scotland the Cass report arguably contributed to the downfall of Humza Yousaf, because it was the Rainbow Greens who launched the process to end the SNP/Scottish Greens pact, and they were partly motivated by the SNP government’s stance on puberty blockers.
The landmark Cass review is hugely significant for Wales. Regretfully, despite the weight of the findings, we are still yet to see a Labour minister come to the Senedd and give a statement in response.
In the Senedd tomorrow, I look forward to bringing forward a Welsh Conservative debate on the Cass review, and will call on the Labour government to adopt the recommendations of the Cass review.
The Cass review aims to ensure children and young people who are questioning their gender identity or experiencing gender dysphoria, and require support from the NHS, receive a high standard of care that meets their needs and is safe, holistic and effective.
We are committed to improving the gender identity development pathway and the support available for young people in Wales, in line with the commitments in our LGBTQ+ plan.
I’m the first chairman of the ‘22 who has had to operate it while we’ve been in government … And so my view is that that was a mistake to introduce that rule.
I think it’s fine to have the party members voting on the leader when you’re in opposition. But in a parliamentary system where essentially you could only remain prime minister if you enjoyed the confidence of your party in parliament, it seems to me crazy that we now have different mechanisms … The Conservative members of parliament can get rid of the leader by voting no confidence, but then the leader is supplied by the party members.
Continue reading...Previous contest exposed splits on issues such as LGBTQ+ rights and green policy that next leader must tackle
When Humza Yousaf was narrowly elected leader of the SNP last March, it was after a bruising leadership contest that exposed profound divisions in the party over LGBTQ+ rights, Westminster’s veto of Holyrood law, and environmental and economic policy.
Indeed, it could be said the end of the SNP’s partnership with the Greens, and the downward spiral of chaos that ended with Yousaf’s resignation little over a year later, was telegraphed by the fault lines that emerged back then, setting the scene for the myriad conflicts that Yousaf was forced to manage – and ultimately failed to resolve – as leader.
Continue reading...John Swinney emerges as favourite to become leader of party hit by series of damaging crises
Humza Yousaf has quit as Scotland’s first minister to clear the way for a new leader capable of giving the Scottish National party stability after a series of damaging crises.
During a dramatic day largely orchestrated by party managers, Yousaf announced he would step down as first minister just as a veteran former leader, John Swinney, quickly emerged as the favourite to succeed him.
Continue reading...Scotland’s first minister resigns after failing to muster enough votes to survive a no confidence vote this week
Humza Yousaf is holding a press conference at noon, Sky News and the BBC are reporting.
Mandy Rhodes, editor of the Holyrood magazine, says she was due to interview Humza Yousaf this afternoon, but he’s cancelled.
Continue reading...Police Scotland thanks public who helped trace 29-year-old Jamie Ross who escaped from guards while at Edinburgh crematorium
A prisoner who escaped from guards while attending a family funeral in Scotland has been found, police said.
Officers began a search for Jamie Ross after he absconded from custody at about lunchtime on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Former coalition partners’ decision brings Scottish first minister to brink of losing vote, which could make his position untenable
Humza Yousaf could be forced to quit as Scotland’s first minister after the Scottish Greens announced they would back a motion of no confidence against him at Holyrood.
The Scottish National party’s former coalition partners declared they would vote next week against the man who had “betrayed” them, hours after he unilaterally ended their power-sharing deal.
Continue reading...Cabinet votes to leave historic Bute House agreement after government abandons emissions target
The historic power-sharing agreement between the Scottish National party and Scottish Greens is to end after a crisis over the Scottish government’s climate strategy, reports say.
The Bute House agreement was signed by the then SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, and the Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie in August 2021, bringing the Greens into government for the first time in the UK.
Continue reading...Prime minister says that deaths of five people attempting to cross the Channel shows need to stop boats and bill is intended to stop people smuggling
Rishi Sunak has said that the deaths of five people who were crossing the Channel in the early hours of this morning underlines the need to stop the boats.
Speaking to reporters on his plane to Poland, he argued that there was an “element of compassion” in his Rwanda policy because it is intended to stop people smuggling. He said:
There are reports of sadly yet more tragic deaths in the Channel this morning. I think that is just a reminder of why our plan is so important because there’s a certain element of compassion about everything that we’re doing.
We want to prevent people making these very dangerous crossings. If you look at what’s happening, criminal gangs are exploiting vulnerable people. They are packing more and more people into these unseaworthy dinghies.
Continue reading...Scottish NHS boards have spent more than £125m since 2019 to provide temporary cover amid drop in consultant numbers
Mental health campaigners have protested about the significant use of temporary locum psychiatrists in Scotland, alleging that it leads to substandard and harmful medical care.
Peter Todd, a campaigner based in Caithness in the north of Scotland, said the heavy reliance on locum psychiatrists by the NHS was a sign of a growing crisis in mental health services across the country.
Continue reading...The Wyllieum will showcase work of ‘social sculptor’ who used humour to make serious criticisms of climate crisis and capitalism
He was the artist who sailed a paper boat past New York, set a straw locomotive on fire over the Clyde, and inserted a question mark into the word sculpture.
George Wyllie, a prolific, self-taught “social sculptor” who worked with steel, stone, wood and paper, used humour to make deeply serious criticisms of the climate crisis, capitalism and Britain’s industrial decline.
Continue reading...Patrick Harvie said party faces biggest crisis in its history after rebellion over climate policy
The co-leader of the Scottish Greens Patrick Harvie has admitted his coalition deal with the Scottish government could collapse after a rebellion by party activists over climate policy.
Harvie said the Scottish Greens faced the biggest crisis in their history after members forced the leadership to hold an emergency meeting on whether to remain in government with the Scottish National party.
Continue reading...Navigation buoy sails 4,000 miles across Atlantic, joining storied history of wrecks upon shores of tiny Scottish island of Eriskay
From Bonnie Prince Charlie’s ill-fated 1745 landing, to the shipwreck of a whisky-laden cargo freighter two centuries later that inspired a bestselling novel and blockbuster movie, the tiny Scottish island of Eriskay has a rich and outsized history of notable maritime events.
Now, the arrival of a visitor from Florida following a 4,000-mile solo voyage across the Atlantic has added another curious chapter. It is a navigation buoy that slipped its mooring in the Florida Keys and rode the Gulf Stream to the British Isles, coming ashore in Eriskay and discovered by one of its 143 residents.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak’s authority suffers blow as several Conservatives vote against bill, which clears first Commons hurdle with 383 votes to 67
At 12.30pm a transport minister will respond to an urgent question in the Commons tabled by Labour on job losses in the rail industry. That means the debate on the smoking ban will will not start until about 1.15pm.
Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, is one of the Britons speaking at the National Conservatism conference in Brussels starting today. The conference, which features hardline rightwingers from around the world committed to the NatCons’ ‘faith, flag and family’ brand of conservatism, is going ahead despite two venues refusing to host them at relatively short notice.
The current UK government doesn’t have the political will to take on the ECHR and hasn’t laid the ground work for doing so.
And so it’s no surprise that recent noises in this direction are easily dismissed as inauthentic.
Any attempt to include a plan for ECHR withdrawal in a losing Conservative election manifesto risks setting the cause back a generation.
Continue reading...Supplier mistakenly charged direct debit customers at rate meant for those who pay when they get bills
Scottish Power is to pay £1.5m in refunds and compensation after overcharging nearly 1,700 households at the height of the energy crisis and in previous years, paying out an average of £294 to each customer.
The energy regulator, Ofgem, said it agreed the redress package with the supplier after it confirmed that, between 2015 and 2023, it mistakenly charged 1,699 direct debit customers at a higher rate that should only apply to those who pay when they receive their bill.
Continue reading...Constituent reported tweets liked and shared by Wilma Brown, who was to stand in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
Labour has suspended a parliamentary candidate pending an investigation after she was found to have liked and shared a number of “racist” and controversial social media posts.
Wilma Brown, who was running in the target seat of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, once held by the former prime minister Gordon Brown, has since deleted her account on X after a string of tweets were reported to the party.
Continue reading...Gusts of more than 70mph recorded on Irish Sea coast, as temperatures rose above 30C in mainland Europe
Storm Kathleen brought strong winds to Ireland and the UK at the weekend, causing travel and power disruption. The storm, named by Met Éireann, developed in the Atlantic on Thursday, deepening explosively as it pushed northwards to the west of Ireland.
Peak wind gusts of 40-60mph (65-95km/h) were recorded quite widely across Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and western parts of England and Wales on Saturday, with some Irish Sea coastal regions experiencing gusts above 70mph. A gust of 72mph was recorded at Drumalbin, Lanarkshire.
Continue reading...Flood and wind warnings remain in place, with Sepa warning of ‘real danger to life’ on coastal roads and paths
Scotland will continue to face the threat of power cuts and travel disruption as high winds and heavy rain from Storm Kathleen persist into Sunday.
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) has 18 regional flood alerts and 43 flood warnings in place in Scotland. They have been in force since Saturday.
Continue reading...First minister calls for end to vexatious reports after far-right agitators attempt to ‘overwhelm’ official systems
Neo-Nazi and far-right agitators are exploiting Scotland’s new hate crime law to make vexatious complaints en masse in an attempt to “overwhelm” police systems.
A prominent figure in England’s white nationalist movement is among those urging followers to spam Police Scotland with anonymous online reports, the Observer has found.
Continue reading...