Former SNP Westminster deputy leader Mhairi Black quits party
Ms Black said while she still supported Scottish independence there had been 'too many times' when she did not agree with decisions made by the party.
She told The Herald newspaper: 'Basically, for a long time, I've not agreed with quite a few decisions that have been made.
'There have just been too many times when I've thought, 'I don't agree with what you've done there' or the decision or strategy that has been arrived at.'
Ms Black said she was 'still just as pro independence, absolutely' but claimed the party's 'capitulation on LGBT rights, trans rights in particular' had been an issue for her.
She added: 'I thought the party could be doing better about Palestine as well.'
The former MP said: 'If anything, I'm probably a bit more left wing than I have been. I don't think I have changed all that much. I feel like the party needs to change a lot more.'
Ms Black was catapulted into the political limelight when she was elected to Westminster at the age of just 20 and became the youngest MP since 1832.
She was elected as the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, ousting the former Labour cabinet secretary, Douglas Alexander, with her victory there coming as the SNP captured all but three of the seats in Scotland in the 2015 general election – the first since the independence vote in 2014.
She later became her party's deputy leader in the House of Commons when Stephen Flynn took over as group leader, but stepped down at the 2024 general election, blaming the 'toxic' environment at Westminster.
She was also diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during her time at Westminster, saying previously that the condition was picked up after she became unwell with 'burn-out' during her time as an MP.
An SNP spokesperson said: 'The SNP is the largest political party in Scotland, united under John Swinney's vision of creating a better, fairer Scotland for everyone.
'After a year of disappointment and let-downs from the UK Labour Government, it's clear that real change will never come from Westminster and that independence is essential for a better future.'
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Miami Herald
30 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
A clash over a promotion puts Hegseth at odds with his generals
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Sims is expected to retire in the coming months after 34 years in the military, officials said. Through a spokesperson, Sims and Caine declined to comment. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on Hegseth's role. The standoff over his promotion reflects an ongoing clash between Hegseth's highly partisan worldview, in which he has written that the Democratic Party 'really does hate America,' and the long-standing tradition of an apolitical military that pledges an oath to the Constitution. Hegseth's actions could shape the military's top ranks for years to come. His insistence on absolute loyalty, backed with repeated threats of polygraphs, also creates uncertainty and mistrust that threaten to undermine the readiness and effectiveness of the force, officials said. The tension between top military officers and their civilian leaders has been persistent since the earliest days of Trump's second term, when senior administration officials ordered the removal of Milley's portrait from a Pentagon hallway. Caine, who pressed Hegseth on Sims' behalf, got the job of Joint Chiefs chair after Hegseth and Trump fired Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., his predecessor. Hegseth accused Brown, who is Black, of prioritizing diversity over the combat effectiveness of the force. Also removed during the first months of the new administration were the first woman to command the Navy, Adm. Lisa Franchetti; the first woman to command the Coast Guard, Adm. Linda Fagan; Hegseth's senior military assistant, Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short; and the U.S. military representative to the NATO military committee, Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield. All were dismissed as part of a campaign to root out diversity, equity and inclusion from the military and restore what Hegseth has described as a 'warrior ethos.' Hegseth also recently withdrew the nomination of Rear Adm. Michael 'Buzz' Donnelly to lead the Navy's 7th Fleet in Japan -- its largest overseas force -- amid reports in conservative media that seven years earlier the admiral had allowed a drag performance to take place on the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan. The decision not to promote Sims, who is white, seems unrelated to any issues of race or gender. Rather, the general's career seems to have become tangled up in broader suspicions about leaks and a mistrust of senior military officers that have defined much of Hegseth's first six months on the job. Hegseth, a former Fox News host and an Iraq War veteran, came to the Pentagon with little managerial experience. Since his arrival, a series of firings and resignations in his inner circle have left him with only a skeleton staff of civilian aides to run his office. He has been without a permanent chief of staff since late April. Ricky Buria, a recently retired Marine colonel who has forged a close relationship with Hegseth, has been serving in the critical role. But White House officials, who have concerns about Buria's competence and qualifications, have blocked Hegseth from formally appointing him to the job, officials said. Buria, meanwhile, has clashed repeatedly with many of Hegseth's closest aides and some officers in the Pentagon. This spring, Eric Geressy, a retired sergeant major who served with Hegseth in Iraq and now advises him in the Pentagon, threatened to quit after an argument with Buria, according to people with knowledge of the situation. 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The infighting, investigations and personnel churn have strained Hegseth's ability to manage critical operations in the Pentagon. Hegseth found himself in the crosshairs this month after Democrats and Republicans in Congress blamed him for pausing critical shipments of interceptors and other arms to Ukraine without sufficiently consulting with the White House or the State Department. The suspension was particularly jarring because just days earlier Trump had said he was open to selling more weapons to Ukraine after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in The Hague. It also left the impression that Hegseth and his top aides had failed to keep the president and senior White House officials in the loop. As aides to Hegseth traded blame, and then tried to play down the impact of the pause, Trump dramatically overruled the Pentagon, saying he was unhappy with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. In a further twist, Trump endorsed a plan for NATO countries to send Patriot antimissile systems to Ukraine and replace them by purchasing new arms from the United States. It was an approach conceived by NATO countries. Hegseth has delegated responsibility for working out details of the arms transfers to senior U.S. military officers in Europe. The frustration with Hegseth is seeping out. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who cast the deciding vote to confirm Hegseth, this month called him ill-suited to lead the Pentagon. 'With the passing of time, I think it's clear he's out of his depth as a manager of a large, complex organization,' Tillis told CNN. For now, Hegseth's missteps do not seem to have hurt his standing with the person who matters most: Trump. Like Trump, Hegseth had a career in television before joining the administration and relishes the performative aspects of his job. As defense secretary, he regularly posts videos that show him exercising with troops. The photo ops -- known inside the Pentagon as 'troop touches' -- are a central part of almost all his public appearances, current and former aides said. Several officials have complained that the photos and videos -- including one that he posted from Omaha Beach in Normandy in which he joins Army Rangers carrying a soldier on a stretcher as part of D-Day remembrances -- are distractions that serve primarily to bolster his image. Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said that Hegseth retained Trump's 'full confidence' and cited the 'critical role' he played 'in ensuring the flawless execution' of the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June. Current and former military officials said that Trump largely bypassed Hegseth in the days leading up to the strikes and instead relied on Caine and Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the head of Central Command, for counsel. But officials with knowledge of the president's thinking said Trump especially admired his defense secretary's combative response at a news conference to reports questioning the effectiveness of the attack. Today Hegseth is managing the Pentagon with a smaller immediate staff than when he started in January. Several top aides were forced out or quit. In late April, three top aides were fired and escorted from the building. Hegseth has repeatedly accused them, without offering evidence, of leaking classified information to the media. The fired aides, who have not been charged with any wrongdoing, were recently told that an investigation into the allegations against them was in its final stages and would soon be shared with the Pentagon's senior leaders, officials said. In the wake of their dismissal and a series of negative stories about Hegseth's performance in the job, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, offered a window into how Hegseth views the department he now runs. 'This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change you are trying to implement,' she said. That same spirit seems to animate the Pentagon today. Only a few months ago, Sims' promotion to four stars seemed to be a given. Of the last 21 officers to hold his current position, 19 were promoted to four-star rank. 'He's the type of person you would want your kids serving under -- extremely dedicated, selfless and loyal,' said Brynt Parmeter, who stepped down in June as the Pentagon's chief talent management officer and has known Sims for more than three decades. The Pentagon gave a more muted assessment. In a statement, Sean Parnell, the Pentagon's chief spokesperson, thanked Sims for his 'decades of service.' 'We wish him well in his future endeavors,' Parnell wrote. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Copyright 2025
Boston Globe
41 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
US and European Union announce a trade framework
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European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, was seated next to Trump at his golf resort on the Scottish coast and called for a rebalancing of bilateral trade worth billions of dollars between the vital partners. Speaking to reporters before their private meeting began, she and Trump both put the chances of reaching an agreement at 50-50. Advertisement That is important because the White House says higher tariffs will kick in on Friday if both sides cannot find consensus. 'This is bigger than any other deal,' Trump said, suggesting they could hammer out an agreement in just a short time. The president also pledged to change what he characterized as 'a very one-sided transaction, very unfair to the United States.' 'I think both sides want to see fairness,' Trump said. Von der Leyen said the U.S. and EU combined have the world's largest trade volume, encompassing hundreds of millions of people and trillions of dollars. 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Time Magazine
an hour ago
- Time Magazine
Trump Tries to Woo Skeptical Europe
President Donald Trump is on the second day of a trip to his family-owned golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, on a private visit as he prepares to meet Sunday with the European Union (EU)'s President Ursula von der Leyen for tense trade negotiations. Trump landed in Scotland Friday, and the negotiations come just days before Trump's delayed tariff deadline is set to kick in on Aug. 1, after multiple setbacks. The EU is one of Washington's top commercial partners, and is the largest trading bloc in the world, but trade negotiations have been tumultuous in Trump's first months as President, with Trump repeatedly calling the European Union 'difficult to deal with.' During his first term as President, Trump even said that the bloc was 'formed in order to take advantage of us on trade', something he has often repeated since taking office again. The EU is currently facing the prospect of tariffs on 70% of its exports, including 50% on steel and aluminium, 25% on automobiles, and baseline 10% on most exports as a whole, which Trump has threatened would increase to 30% next month without a deal. Still, earlier this month, the European Union suspended its retaliatory measures against Trump's tariffs in hopes of forming a deal, and Trump and von der Leyen seem optimistic about their chances. Read More: E.U. Delays Retaliatory Measures Against U.S. In Hopes of Reaching a Deal by Aug. 1 After Trump Announces 30% Tariff 'Following a good call with [Trump], we have agreed to meet in Scotland on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong,' von der Leyen said in a post on X on Friday. Trump said Friday prior to leaving America that there is a '50-50' chance that a deal will get done with the EU, something he repeated to reporters from the golf course on Sunday. Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security at the European Commission, said on social media Sunday he is going to join von der Leyen in her discussion with Trump. During his visit, Trump is also set to speak with Scottish First Minister John Swinney, and, on Monday, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer. As Trump arrived on Friday, though, he made clear that trade with the United States is not the only place where his thoughts on the region lie. 'Stop the windmills. You're ruining your countries,' Trump said, addressing Europe as a whole on the airport tarmac in Glasgow Friday. 'You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds.' He also criticized the continent on their immigration policy, 'On immigration, you better get your act together. You're not going to have Europe anymore,' he continued. As Trump criticized Europe's policies, protests have raged on in Scotland as a response to Trump's arrival. Demonstrations outside of the U.S. consulate in the country's capital of Edinburgh included protests around Trump's recent embroilment with the Jeffrey Epstein controversy, the cost of Trump's visit on Scottish taxpayers, and his immigration policies in the U.S. As he played golf on Sunday morning, a handful of pro-Trump supporters chanted their support for the president and waved an American flag. As the huge security operation worked on the golf course to keep both media and onlookers at bay, reports from local media shared that Trump's golf cart could be heard blaring music, to drown out noise from protesters, says Sky News. Despite the fact that Scotland is the birthplace of Trump's mother, he is not particularly popular in the country, with one recent poll done by marketing and public opinion research company Ipsos finding that 71% of people in Scotland have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, as opposed to 57% of people in the United Kingdom overall.
