The SNP: All news, interviews and updates

Yahoo

2 days ago

The Scottish National Party (SNP) are a centre-left and socially democratic party.
The SNP have been in power since the 2007 election, after which they formed a minority government.
Over the last 18 years, the country's leading party has been championing Scottish independence from the United Kingdom.
Read on for all the latest SNP news, interviews and updates on the party.
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First Minister John Swinney is the current leader of the SNP and the MSP for Perthshire North.
The party's group leader at Westminster is Stephen Flynn, who is tipped to be a future leader of the SNP.
The SNP are the biggest party in the Scottish Parliament, with 61 MSPs in Holyrood.
They have nine MPs in the Westminster Parliament, a significant drop from the 2019 General Election when they returned 48.
The MPs are: Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North), Dave Doogan (Angus), Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South), Stephen Gethins (Arbroath and Broughty Ferry), Chris Law (Dundee West), Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey), Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East), Brendan O'Hara (Argyll and Bute), Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire).
The MSPs are: George Adam (Paisley), Karen Adam (Banffshire and Buchan Coast), Clare Adamson (Motherwell and Wishaw), Alasdair Allan (Na h-Eileanan an Iar), Tom Arthur (Renfrewshire South), Colin Beattie (Midlothian North & Musselburgh), Keith Brown (Clackmannanshire & Dunblane), Siobhian Brown (Ayr), Stephanie Callaghan (Uddingston and Bellshill), Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley), Angela Constance (Almond Valley), Graeme Dey (Angus South), Natalie Don (Renfrewshire North and West), Bob Doris (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn), James Dornan (Glasgow Cathcart), Jackie Dunbar (Aberdeen Donside), Annabelle Ewing (Cowdenbeath), Fergus Ewing (Inverness & Nairn), Jim Fairlie (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire), Joe FitzPatrick (Dundee City West), Kate Forbes (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch), Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North), Jenny Gilruth (Mid Fife & Glenrothes), Mairi Gougeon (Angus North and Mearns), Christine Grahame (Midlothian South Tweeddale & Lauderdale), Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts), Emma Harper (South Scotland), Clare Haughey (Rutherglen), Jamie Hepburn (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth), Fiona Hyslop (Linlithgow), Bill Kidd (Glasgow Anniesland), Richard Lochhead (Moray), Gordon MacDonald (Edinburgh Pentlands), Fulton MacGregor (Coatbridge and Chryston), Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Beardsen), Ben Macpherson (Edinburgh Northern and Leith), Ruth Maguire (Cunninghame South), Gillian Martin (Aberdeenshire East), Michael Matheson (Falkirk West), Mairi McAllan (Clydesdale), Ivan McKee (Glasgow Provan), Paul McLennan (East Lothian), Stuart McMillan (Greenock and Inverclyde), Marie McNair (Clydebank and Milngavie), Jenni Minto (Argyll and Bute), Audrey Nicoll (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine), Angus Robertson (Edinburgh Central), Shona Robison (Dundee City East), Emma Roddick (Highlands and Islands), Shirley-Anne Somerville (Dunfermline), Collette Stevenson (East Kilbride), Kevin Stewart (Aberdeen Central), Kaukab Stewart (Glasgow Kelvin), Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow Southside), John Swinney (Perthshire North), Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East), Maree Todd (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross), David Torrance (Kirkcaldy), Evelyn Tweed (Stirling), Elena Whitham (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley), Humza Yousaf (Glasgow Pollock).
Earlier this year, the SNP forced a vote, supported by MPs, demanding compensation for women born in the 1950s who were affected by changes to the state pension age.
The forced vote was presented by the SNP's group leader, Stephen Flynn, who demanded that the Labour Government compensate the Waspi women.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn (Image: PA) Last March, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) had recommended compensation between £1000 and £2950 per person due to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) communication failures.
However, the Labour Government announced before Christmas that no compensation would be given.
MPs voted by 105 votes to 0 for the UK Government to issue compensation.
The Scottish Greens were kicked out of power in 2024 by Humza Yousaf, who was the first minister at the time.
Yousaf sacked Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater as ministers, dramatically bringing the SNP's power-sharing deal with the Greens to an end after they were brought into government anywhere in the UK for the first time by Nicola Sturgeon in 2021 with the Bute House Agreement.
Yousaf said the Green membership's upcoming vote on the Bute House Agreement threatened the stability of his government.
This decision triggered a crisis in the government and directly led to his resignation as the first minister.
Speaking at a press conference in Bute House on April 29, 2024, Yousaf said he "underestimated' the level of hurt he caused by ending the power-sharing deal.
He said: "Unfortunately in ending the Bute House Agreement in the matter I did I clearly underestimate the level of hurt and upset that caused Green colleagues.
'For a minority government to be able to govern effectively trust when working with the opposition is clearly fundamental.'
Earlier this year, Sturgeon said his decision to end the deal was 'catastrophic'.
She told the Institute for Government think tank: 'I think crashing that agreement was catastrophic and – politics aside – totally the wrong thing to do for stable government.'