Gillian Mackay bids to be Scottish Greens co-leader
Green MSP Gillian Mackay has announced her bid to be co-leader of the party. Mackay, who successfully spearheaded the bill creating buffer zones at abortion clinics, said on social media she believes she can "take the party further and deliver great election results" if elected co-leader.Patrick Harvie, who has been in the role since 2008, previously said he is not standing to continue in the post.Fellow co-leader Lorna Slater, who has been in the job since 2019, is standing again.
Scottish Green Party members elect co-leaders every two years, with at least one to be female.Results of the leadership contest are expected in August.Mackay said on social media: "At a time when politics is dominated by the egos of men, it is all the more important we have women with big voices and ideas in politics."
The Central Scotland MSP successfully brought forward a member's Bill at Holyrood creating buffer zones around abortion clinics, preventing any protests or vigils taking place within 200m (656ft).She said that during four years at Holyrood, she has "shown I can deliver on the causes I champion and bring people together behind them".She added: "I believe I am the person who can not only take the party further and deliver great election results, but deliver fantastic things for Scotland and our communities."US Vice-President JD Vance criticised the bill earlier this year, falsely claiming people who live within safe access zones had been sent letters by the Scottish government warning them about praying within their homes.Mackay later said Vance's claims were "total nonsense and dangerous scaremongering."
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- BBC News
Sheku Bayoh: Hearing to decide whether chair should resign begins
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Sky News
5 hours ago
- Sky News
Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledges 'largest settlement since devolution' for Scotland
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Aberdeen-headquartered Great British Energy and Great British Energy - Nuclear will invest more than £8.3bn over the parliament in homegrown clean power, alongside establishing a new government campus for energy. Ms Reeves stated: "These are investments to make sure the towns and cities which powered the last industrial revolution will play their part in our next industrial revolution to reduce our reliance on overseas oil and gas and protect working families from price shocks." Scotland will also receive £452m over four years to continue the delivery of City and Growth Deals across the nation. In addition, the Scottish capital will also become home to the UK's most powerful supercomputer. 2:58 Ms Reeves had earlier revealed up to a further £750m would be allocated to the University of Edinburgh project. The funding reinstates a scheme that was scrapped last year by Labour as it had not been funded by the outgoing Conservative government. It is hoped the cash injection will "kickstart economic growth" and is part of efforts to strengthen "Britain's position as an AI-maker and research power". The supercomputer will aid scientists in cutting-edge research, whether that's personalised medical treatments, sustainable air travel, or modelling climate change. The government said the new supercomputer will "vastly exceed" the capacity of the UK's current national supercomputer, ARCHER2. The Brand Scotland programme will receive £2.25m between 2026-2029 to continue promoting the nation's investment opportunities and its globally celebrated products around the world. 'Game-changing' review Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar praised the spending review as "game-changing", adding: "The plans set out today will bring billions of pounds of investment to Scotland, on top of the record budget settlement delivered in the budget. 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"This all comes on top of the UK government's failure to fully fund their employer national insurance increase, depriving us of hundreds of millions of pounds in funding, and their proposed cuts in support for disabled people that will push 250,000 people into poverty, including 50,000 children." Ms Robison also said that "despite apparent briefing to media in advance", the Scottish government was still "awaiting clarity" on funding for the Acorn carbon capture project. The finance secretary added: "We made extensive representations to the UK government on our priorities for the spending review, including calls for an end to spending that bypasses devolution, but there has been limited opportunity to engage with them. "It appears that the continuation of local growth funding - which fails to match the European structural funds it was supposed to replace - will come directly from Whitehall, yet again bypassing devolved governments. 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Telegraph
5 hours ago
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Trump plans memorial to his mother on new Scottish golf course
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