Category Archives: Scottish politics

Reeves’s growth plans ‘exactly what economy needs’ say UK business groups – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here

Reeves says the supply side of the economy has been held back.

Politicians have lacked the courage to confront the factors holding back growth.

They have accepted the status quo. They have been the barrier, not the enablers, of change.

Without economic growth, we cannot improve the living standards of ordinary working people, because growth isn’t simply about lines on a graph. It’s about the pounds in people’s pockets, the vibrancy of our high streets and the thriving businesses that create wealth, jobs and new opportunities for us, for our children and grandchildren.

We will have succeeded in our mission when working people are better off.

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MPs call for greater criticism of Israel’s policies over Gaza – UK politics live

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Palestinians trapped in a ‘doom loop of hell’, MPs told

At the end of last week Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary and runner-up in last year’s Tory leadership contest, said the child abuse grooming scandal started with “mass migration” and “importing hundreds of thousands of people from alien cultures, who possess medieval attitudes towards women”. In response Samuel Kasumu, a former Tory adviser on race issues, said that comments like that could lead to people being killed, while Kemi Badenoch defended her colleague.

In an inteview on the Today programme this morning, asked if Kasumu’s comments made him reconsider his views, Jenrick replied:

That’s complete nonsense. MPs have been killed in this country in recent times by a jihadist and by a neo-Nazi. They were killed because of the views of those individuals, not what anything an MP has said. We have to fight extremism in this country, wherever we find it, and you fight that by standing up to the extremists, you don’t fight it by shying away, by turning a blind eye, by looking the other way.

I’m not going to tiptoe around this issue. Millions of people in our country are listening to your programme this morning, and they are appalled by what is happening to young girls, and they are shocked that there might be girls in that situation today. We have to stop this.

I think some people who come from that country do. I’m not saying everybody.

NR: Did Sajid Javid’s family [the former Tory chancellor] come with a medieval culture to this county?

RJ: I’m saying some people do.

Robert Jenrick’s attempt to exploit this appalling scandal for his own political gain is completely shameless. He didn’t lift a finger to help the victims when a minister, now he’s jumping on the bandwagon and acting like a pound shop Farage.

Kemi Badenoch should sack him as shadow justice secretary and condemn his divisive comments, instead of letting him run a leadership campaign under her nose.

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Swinney to warn opposition of fuelling populism if Scottish budget not passed

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Scottish Labour, Greens and Lib Dem MSPs accuse first minister of ‘creating false narrative’

John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, will warn opposition parties that they will fuel populist forces if they prevent his budget from being passed this month.

In a keynote speech in Edinburgh on Monday to mark the new year, Swinney will say Scottish voters would be astonished and public services damaged if MSPs fail to allow the budget to go through.

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‘Eyewatering’ £100m spent on repairs in Scotland’s ‘ferry fiasco’ over past decade

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Government plans for publicly funded operator CalMac have been mired in controversy, with replacement vessels delayed and costs spiralling

Almost £100m has been spent over the past decade on repairs for eight of the largest publicly owned ferries in Scotland.

The figure has been described as “eye-watering” by Sue Webber, transport spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives, who obtained details of the repair bill from ferry operator CalMac.

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Two-child benefit cap ‘will be scrapped’ in Scotland, vows SNP

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Scotland’s finance secretary, Shona Robison, reveals plans in budget to end ‘pernicious’ policy

The Scottish government has unveiled plans to scrap Westminster’s controversial two-child benefit cap to lift thousands of “children out of poverty”.

Scotland’s finance secretary, Shona Robison, said her budget for the coming year “offers hope for Scotland’s future”, announcing that the two-child cap on benefits would be scrapped in Scotland as she pledged record spending for both the NHS and councils.

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Russia imposes travel ban on cabinet ministers, calling it retaliation for ‘Russophobic’ policies – UK politics live

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Kremlin bans UK cabinet ministers including Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Yveette Cooper from entering country

The Federation of Small Businesses applauds the ambition in the government’s Get Britain Working, but says that overcoming the “pervasive poverty of ambition” about employment in the public sector won’t be easy. This is from Tina McKenzie, the FSB’s policy chair.

This is a start – but only a start – in fixing the pervasive poverty of ambition in the Jobcentre, health and other state systems when it comes to getting people back into work. Increasing employment is ultimately the most sure-fire way to drive up living standards and economic growth.

Ministers have a huge job to persuade public institutions that work is good for health and that everyone who needs work should be helped to get a job or start-up in self-employment – not least getting rid of the idea that the only good work is in graduate jobs, the public sector or volunteering.

The ambition behind the 80 per cent employment target is both clear and important ..

To deliver on this policy agenda, government and small businesses must work in partnership to drive real change through the whole employment system and make sure the country is helping those who most need work.

It is right to ensure that young people who are seeking work are helped to find a job or training. Positive early experiences in the jobs market are vital for young people’s future life chances. They must be supported to take part, not faced with self-defeating sanctions.

Success will also depend on ministers making the investment that’s needed in health services and quality training. Jobcentre staff must have a central role in redesigning their services, and devolution must never come at the cost of staff terms and conditions.

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Starmer says most farmers won’t be affected by inheritance tax change as Clarkson tells rally it’s a ‘hammer blow’ – UK politics live

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Jeremy Clarkson tells Westminster protest that government should admit plans weren’t ‘thought out and are a mistake’

In an interview with the BBC, Steve Reed, the environment secretary, defended imposing inheritance tax on some farms when Labour said in opposition that it was not planning to do that. Asked why the government changed its mind, he replied:

After we won the election, we discovered that the Conservatives have left a £22bn black hole in the public finances. And if we want to fix our National Health Service, rebuild all schools, provide the affordable housing that rural communities and across the country rely on, then we’ve had to ask those with the broader shoulders to pay a little bit more.

I’m sure we all feel betrayed because of the state that the Conservatives left the economy in. A £22bn pound black hole isn’t a small problem. It’s massive, and fixing that is necessary if we want to stabilise the economy and rebuild our public services.

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We can hit UK’s big carbon cut without disruption to people’s lives, says Starmer – UK politics live

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PM confirms target of 81% emissions cut at Cop climate summit but says ‘I’m not going to tell people how to live their lives’

Leadbeater introduces the next speaker, Nat Dye, who has terminal cancer. She says she thinks his views are the most important for people to hear at this press conference.

He says he has known “positive” experiences of death. His fiance and his mother both had relatively peaceful deaths. He says palliative care can work for some people.

Imagine I am dying and palliative care hasn’t improved. Well, I have no choice whatsoever: I die in pain or I die in pain.

I see this as a chance just to act with kindness and a choice for people at their darkest hour.

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Employment rights bill will cost firms £5bn per year but benefits will justify costs, government says – as it happened

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Analysis from business and trade department says bill will significantly strengthen workers’ right. This live blog is closed

In the past the weirdest budget tradition was the convention that the chancellor is allowed to drink alcohol while delivering the budget speech. But since no chancellor has taken advantage of the rule since the 1990s (and no one expects Rachel Reeves to be quaffing on Wednesday week), this tradition is probably best viewed as lapsed.

But Sam Coates from Sky News has discovered another weird budget ritual. On his Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast, he says:

Someone messaged me to say: ‘Did you know that over in the Treasury as they’ve been going over all these spending settlements, in one of the offices, its full of balloons. And every time an individual department finalises its settlements, one of the balloons is popped.’

There couldn’t be a more important time for us to have this conversation.

The NHS is going through what is objectively the worst crisis in its history, whether it’s people struggling to get access to their GP, dialling 999 and an ambulance not arriving in time, turning up to A&E departments and waiting far too long, sometimes on trolleys in corridors, or going through the ordeal of knowing that you’re waiting for a diagnosis that could be the difference between life and death.

We feel really strongly that the best ideas aren’t going to come from politicians in Whitehall.

They’re going to come from staff working right across the country and, crucially, patients, because our experiences as patients are also really important to understanding what the future of the NHS needs to be and what it could be with the right ideas.

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Alex Salmond normalised concept of Scottish independence as he led SNP to power

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Former first minister established party as a political force but questions later emerged about influence he wielded

Alex Salmond cemented his place in British political history in May 2011 when he and the Scottish National party did something extraordinary.

They won an overall majority at Holyrood, under a proportional system designed to promote coalitions, not one party’s domination. With the SNP winning 69 of Holyrood’s 129 seats, the result delivered two things that defined Salmond’s legacy.

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Tributes paid to Alex Salmond’s ‘colossal contribution’ to Scottish and UK politics

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First minister John Swinney says predecessor, who died on Saturday, ‘had a huge impact on our public life’

John Swinney has paid tribute to Alex Salmond’s “colossal contribution” to Scottish and UK politics, as allies of the former first minister mourned his sudden death on Saturday.

Swinney, the incumbent first minister, said Salmond had had a huge impact on public life by forging the Scottish National party into a force capable of winning successive elections and then by bringing Scotland “incredibly close” to independence.

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Political and media figures pay tribute to former first minister Alex Salmond

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Ex-leader of the SNP, who has died at 69, described by Keir Starmer as a ‘monumental figure of Scottish and UK politics’

Politicians and commentators in the UK have been paying tribute to Alex Salmond after the death of the former first minister of Scotland on Saturday.

Keir Starmer called Salmond a “monumental figure of Scottish and UK politics”.

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Alex Salmond, former first minister of Scotland, dies aged 69

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High-profile politician reported to have collapsed after delivering speech in North Macedonia on Saturday

Alex Salmond, the former first minister of Scotland who led Scotland to the brink of independence, has died at the age of 69.

Salmond served as first minister of Scotland from 2007. He stood down from the role after failing to secure independence in the 2014 referendum, handing over to his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon.

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Jenrick denies privately telling Tory MPs he would pivot back to centre if he became leader – as it happened

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Tory leadership also suggests it was a mistake for him to order murals at a children’s asylum centre to be painted over

Keir Starmer was “appalled” by reports that Israel deliberately fired on peacekeepers in Lebanon, Downing Street said this morning.

Asked about the prime minister’s reaction to the story, a Downing Street spokesperson said:

We were appalled to hear those reports and it is vital that peacekeepers and civilians are protected.

As you know, we continue to call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to suffering and bloodshed. This is a reminder of the importance of us all renewing our diplomatic efforts.

All parties must always do everything possible to protect civilians and comply with international law. But we continue to reiterate that and call for an immediate ceasefire.

The very hard Brexit forced through by Boris Johnson means that we are for now driving with the economic handbrake on – we can’t let that handbrake off. It is what is, It is difficult to see this being reversed within the next decade.

The truth is it could be a conversation that starts in 10 years’ time. It could be longer, but the beginning of a conversation is not the end of that; it’s not the resolution of our relationship to the European Union.

I think it’ll be very hard to persuade people in the European Union to revisit, to reengage and start getting into another negotiation about Britain’s membership of the European Union, for a long time to come. I’m sorry to say that but they have had up to here with us.

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Cleverly, Badenoch and Jenrick stay in Tory leadership race as Tugendhat knocked out – UK politics live

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Trio face one more round of voting by MPs before party members have their say on final two

The prison system in England and Wales was “teetering on disaster” when Labour came to power, James Timpson, the prisons minister said today.

Speaking at his first Prison Governors’ Association conference in Nottingham since he took on the role, Timpson said:

It has not been easy to rehabilitate offenders in a system teetering on disaster.

We have to take the tough decisions bringing changes to release to ease the pressure on our prisons. It was quite frankly a rescue effort. If we had not acted our justice system would have grinded to a halt – we would have faced a total breakdown of law and order.

Unison said it has given notice to Perth and Kinross Council for strike action by members in schools and early years centres.

The union, which is the largest local government trade union in Scotland, hopes targeting the action in Swinney’s constituency will “bring home to him the importance of finding a fair settlement” to the council pay dispute.

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Scotland could extend winter fuel allowance, Scottish Labour argues

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Further devolution next year will bring allowance under Scottish control just months before Holyrood elections

Scottish Labour believes access to the winter fuel allowance could be widened in Scotland as it tries to fight off its opponents’ attacks before the next Holyrood election.

Scotland will be able to decide which pensioners get the allowance from October next year under further devolution of benefits to Holyrood, eight months before a Scottish parliamentary election that Labour sees as critical to its revival.

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Labour has ‘big hill to climb’ to win next Scottish election, says Ian Murray

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Scotland secretary says Labour must show it deserves power in Holyrood by delivering on promises to electorate

Labour faces big challenges to win the next Scottish election because of the “dire” economic situation and the country’s volatile electorate, the Scotland secretary has said.

Ian Murray said the Labour government and the wider party had to accept they had “a big hill to climb” to regain power in Holyrood in elections scheduled for May 2026.

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Priti Patel knocked out of Tory leadership race with Robert Jenrick securing most votes in first round – UK politics live

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Former home secretary finishes behind Mel Stride after only securing 14 votes

PMQs is starting soon. Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.

Kemi Badenoch is the clear favourite of Conservative members for next leader, and will be very hard to beat if she makes it into the final ballot of two, according to a survey by ConservativeHome.

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Scottish government announces spending cuts worth £500m – as it happened

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Shona Robison, Scottish finance secretary, says current financial situation facing Scottish government is ‘not sustainable’

Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister, is launching his campaign for the Tory leadership. There is a live feed here.

Tugendhat started by saying that he did not actually want the job, because he does not want to be leader of the opposition. He wants to be prime minister, he said.

Politics is not a game, and we all know the cost when government isn’t sober and serious. We saw it in the lives lost in Afghanistan and then in that wasted chaos of that withdrawal. We saw it during Covid, not just in the lost years of education that cost so many or the opportunities missed, or even in the grief for lost loved ones or those left to cope alone, but through the disrespect.

That’s why I’m standing before you today, because this country can change. We must change, and Britain deserves better, and we need a different government.

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Stand Up to Racism plans counter-protest to Glasgow anti-immigrant rally

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Campaigners warn against ‘false sense of security’ and say asylum seekers in Scotland are fearful of the far right

Anti-racism campaigners have vowed to show the far right they are not welcome in Scotland after an anti-immigration rally was organised in Glasgow.

But they warned against a “false sense of security” as the disorder witnessed across England and Northern Ireland earlier in the month has not been seen in Scotland.

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