Latest news with #Branchform
Scottish Sun
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
John Swinney accused of secrecy over Operation Branchform
One rival said the failure to be open was 'typical' of the SNP's approach JOHN Swinney has been accused of 'secrecy' over cops' SNP fraud probe. Rivals blasted the First Minister — nicknamed Honest John — for refusing to say when and how he learned Nicola Sturgeon was in the clear. 1 Scottish Tory finance spokesman Craig Hoy said the failure to be open was 'typical' of the SNP Credit: Alamy Detectives previously arrested her and ex-Nats treasurer Colin Beattie. But both were told in March they were no longer under investigation. Her estranged husband Peter Murrell has been charged with embezzlement. Mr Swinney's officials said publishing any communications about Ms Sturgeon's position would 'risk' justice being 'seriously impeded'. But ministers previously shared an email from a top civil servant to then First Minister Humza Yousaf informing him of ex-SNP chief Mr Murrell's arrest in 2023. Scottish Tory finance spokesman Craig Hoy said the failure to be open was 'typical' of the SNP's approach to transparency. He said: 'It is typical of the secrecy we've come to expect from the SNP Government that they won't reveal what John Swinney knew and when. 'Whenever there's an awkward story or scandal, their first instinct is to disclose as little information is possible – and this policy seems to extend to their quangos too.' The Scottish Government said: 'It would not be appropriate to comment as there are live criminal proceedings.' Police and the Crown were asked for comment. John Swinney says he's not been asked by cops for Branchform chat We previously told how the FM was accused of overseeing an 11-year "fiasco" amid a fresh delay to one of two new ferries for islanders. Swinney faced jeers as it emerged delivery of the MV Glen Rosa to CalMac had been put back nine months until next year.
The Herald Scotland
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Keir Starmer won't campaign in Hamilton by-election
He was speaking at a rally to launch his bid to put Labour into power at Holyrood as the main political parties ramped up their campaigning a year out from the next Scottish Parliament elections on May 7 2026. Mr Sarwar made the comments at Pollokshaws Burgh Hall in Glasgow after he was asked by The Herald if the Prime Minister would be visiting the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency in the coming weeks, and if so what type of reception the Prime Minister would get on the doorstep. READ MORE: Poll: Farage's Reform UK could be main opposition to SNP in Holyrood next year First Minister John Swinney announces peak train fares in Scotland to end Colin Beattie has been reselected as SNP candidate after Branchform probe "I'm sure people will be delighted we have a UK Labour Prime Minister," said Mr Sarwar as he encouraged Labour MSPs, activists and members sitting in the audience at the Scottish Labour event to head out to the area to campaign. "I'm doing our campaign here in Scotland. I'm the candidate for First Minister. I'm the one that wants to beat the SNP and change our country direction. I hope that starts in Hamilton house in four weeks." He added: "So we don't expect the Prime Minister do the campaigning in Hamilon, Larkhall and Stonehouse. "He wasn't in the by elections down the road. We are leading this campaign in Scotland. It's a Scottish labour campaign to elect the Scottish Labour MSP, as part of a pathway of delivering a Scottish Labour government next year." The Herald pointed out to Mr Sarwar that the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was planning to campaign in the Hamilton by election and asked him if he was worried about the rise of Reform. Mr Farage's party last week won the previously Labour held seat of Runcorn and Helsby, won a second mayoral contest, and took control of a string of local councils in England. "We can't be complacent about that style of politics anywhere," he said. "But ultimately, if we are going to stop pushing people towards divisive politics and divisive politicians, then we need a Scottish Government that's actually going to deliver for people and the answer to people's challenges, whether about the inability to get a house, whether it be inability to get a hospital appointment, inability to get a job and the answer to those issues is to confront those challenges cusing the powers we have, rather than deflecting from those issues and talking about politicians like Nigel Farage. "John Swinney is obsessed with him. [Nigel Farage] doesn't care about Scotland. I'm focusing on the issues that matter, and ultimately, the next choice is a third decade of the SNP, or me as First Minister, the SNP have destroyed our NHS. They're ruining our public services. A vote for Reform only helps the SNP. If you want to get rid of the SNP, the way we can do that is by voting Scottish Labour."
The Herald Scotland
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
MSP Colin Beattie arrested in Branchform probe reselected
He beat Kelly Parry, the leader of SNP led Midlothian Council, in his bid to be re-elected as the SNP MSP for the constituency, gaining more than 50% of votes among branch members. After the results of the ballot was announced after 6pm tonight, Mr Beattie told The Herald: 'I would thank all the SNP members in Midlothian North who have again placed their trust in me as their candidate. That trust will be respected and I will work hard to again win in Midlothian North." The backbench MSP and former banker was arrested as part of the long running Police Scotland investigation Operation Branchform into SNP finances in 2023. Mr Beattie was released without charge in April that year and in March this year it was announced he, along with former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, was no longer under investigation. Read more: SNP MSPs face de-selection as contests end after independence and Branchform rows Swinney's 'new' plan on child poverty was made a legal requirement in 2017 Swinney's Programme for Government missed the mark - but maybe it was supposed to First Minister John Swinney announces peak train fares in Scotland to end However, during the local campaign to select the party's candidate for the 2026 Holyrood elections, some members questioned how effective he was in his role as national treasurer and sources told The Herald on Sunday he could be vulnerable. "People are wondering if it may be time for a change and whether he may be such a good fit?" said one observer. Meanwhile, former SNP social security minister Ben Macpherson and fellow backbench SNP MSP Collette Stevenson also faced challenges from rivals in their intentions to stand again. The Herald has not yet been told the results of those two contests. Mr Macpherson, who has represented Edinburgh Northern and Leith since 2016 and held a number of ministerial roles from 2018 to 2023, was challenged by Councillor Adam Nols-McVey, the former leader of Edinburgh city council with the latter backed by former Edinburgh East MP Tommy Sheppard. Ms Stevenson, who has represented East Kilbride since 2021, was challenged by local activist Caroline Belch. Ms Belch was backed by the former MSP for East Kilbride Linda Fabiani, who served as deputy presiding officer in Holyrood from 2016 to 2021. First Minister John Swinney is tomorrow expected to unveil the party's full list of candidates for the 2026 Holyrood elections at an event in Edinburgh. The SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn will be among the party's contenders to win a seat in the Scottish Parliament. Mr Flynn's bid got off to a rocky start last November when he declared he hoped to stand as the candidate for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine. His announcement was met with anger in some quarters of the party and left many SNP MSPs wondering what was going to happen to their highly regarded colleague Audrey Nicoll. Ms Nicoll, a former senior police officer, has been convener of the criminal justice committee since 2021 and has won praise for expertly guiding huge and complex reforms through the parliament including controversial legislation relating to the early release of short term prisoners and on how sexual offences are prosecuted. She initially said she wanted to stand again in the seat at the next election, though later announced that she had decided against. Mr Flynn won the party's nomination when rival, Anouk Kloppert, an SNP councillor in Aberdeenshire, pulled out of the race at the end of March. He is to be joined by fellow MP Stephen Gethins, and former Westminster colleagues Allan Dorrans, Patricia Gibson and Alan Brown, all of whom have already been confirmed as candidates.
BBC News
20-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
What next for the SNP? Moving out from under the Branchform shadow
Nicola Sturgeon understandably says she's relieved to no longer be the focus of a police feeling will be shared by many in the has been a damaging period for the party and one that senior figures accept contributed to its collapse in last year's general Sturgeon says she's ready to move on with her life - but will her party be able to do likewise and rebuild its political fortunes? She described Operation Branchform as a cloud which has been hanging over her for years and that is absolutely the case for her party is still a difficult day - the Crown is pressing ahead with charges of embezzlement against her husband Peter Murrell, a man who was critical to the running of the SNP for 20 chief executive, he played a key role in transforming it into an election-winning he is not a household name the way Ms Sturgeon is. She's arguably the most famous woman in Scotland, indelibly linked to her party. Ms Sturgeon resigned in February 2023 and the Branchform investigation unfolded rapidly while Humza Yousaf was trying to get his feet under the table as her felt as though every time he was lining up an event or a statement to set out his leadership there would be a fresh development in Operation meant the public was largely introduced to Mr Yousaf as the man being doorstepped by reporters, saying things like "of course I'm surprised one of my colleagues has been arrested".The "optics" were also frankly disastrous when it came to a blue police tent being set up outside the home of Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon, and officers carrying stacks of boxes out of the party's police, incidentally, will forever defend the decision to deploy that famous tent. With the suburban street jammed with photographers and camera crews, they feel they had a duty to shield their sensitive work from view. In any case, senior figures in the party acknowledge that the investigation was a contributing factor to the huge losses they suffered in the 2024 general Yousaf's self-inflicted exit from office, via a row with the Greens, was another. And then there was the UK-wide context of Labour sweeping the Tories from these have also provided the chance for a clean break under John was extremely close politically and personally to Ms Sturgeon. As both SNP leader and first minister, he will hope Thursday's news is a chance to move has already begun to rebuild the SNP's position in the polls, helped by Labour's struggles in adapting to government at has helped that he has not been dogged by daily updates from Operation Branchform the way his predecessor was. Mr Swinney has had a clearer shot at setting the agenda on his own now hoping to head into the 2026 Scottish election campaign without constant questions about police inquiries. Ms Sturgeon is not even a while being very careful of the legalities, he's also starting to reframe this from something which potentially, allegedly, happened within the SNP to something which potentially, allegedly, happened to SNP has, in its decades in power, proved to be a master of a group happy to do budget deals with the Tories under Alex Salmond, to one allied with lefty Greens under Ms Sturgeon. Mr Swinney will hope he can craft yet another new - post-Sturgeon - identity, in order to retain power next year. Today was a reminder that, even in an investigation which has been running for four years now, sometimes things unfold very over a week ago Nicola Sturgeon was announcing that she was going to step down from Holyrood next year, closing a 27-year chapter of her Tuesday she released the cover and title of her memoirs, realising her lifelong dream of becoming an fact she can now look ahead to publication day without this investigation hanging over her will be an enormous there is still a way to go for her estranged husband, and by extension her case against Mr Murrell is going ahead, and remains of huge significance - the allegation of embezzlement by the chief executive of the party of government is obviously a serious marriage to Ms Sturgeon is over, but she will still of course be feeling the impact of this - not least due to the prospect of a potential trial where she could be called as a remains to be seen where the case goes from here. Mr Murrell has not yet made any plea or declaration, nor would he be expected to at this stage in the legal Crown theoretically has 18 months to move the case along to the next stage, so it is entirely possible this drags out beyond next May's Holyrood Sturgeon is keenly looking forward to a new chapter. But it may be months or even years before the book is finally closed on Operation Branchform.
The Guardian
14-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
We know Nicola Sturgeon will stand down next year. But don't write her off just yet
Nicola Sturgeon must be sick of the sight of her own obituaries. Since she confirmed on Wednesday that she will not seek re-election as a MSP at next May's Holyrood elections, ending a 27-year career in frontline politics, the Scottish media has overflowed with assessments of the legacy and greatest hits of the country's first female and longest serving first minister. Although the decision came as no surprise, given her increasingly infrequent appearances at the Scottish parliament, her departure seems a good time to consider what she did and the imprint she has left on the recent history and future trajectory of her country. Having reported on Sturgeon for over a decade, I remember the deafening roars of the crowd at Glasgow's 12,000-seater Hydro arena, which she sold out in 2014 – like Lady Gaga and Beyoncé – a few weeks after her election as SNP leader. I remember a round table on energy policy, where she made sure that the only young woman in the room got a chance to speak. I remember her reddening face and wobbly lip last year as she struggled to contain her emotion under questioning at the UK Covid-19 inquiry. An introvert with down-to-earth charm, she was – and still is among many in the SNP and the wider Scottish public – adored, a progressive ally and advocate in private as well as public. Her greatest gift is the ability to speak human when all around her just look to be touting for votes. At the age of 54 – with eight years on our prime minister and still relatively young in terms of political careers – talk of legacy can feel premature. It is certainly fluid, with the Branchform inquiry into SNP finances, which saw her arrested a few months after she resigned as first minister in 2023, ongoing and her soon to be ex-husband, Peter Murrell, charged with alleged embezzlement. Since her announcement, posted on her current favoured social media platform, Instagram, the Holyrood opposition has taken the opportunity to cast her legacy as one dominated by division and failure. But that is less than half the story. Certainly Sturgeon benefited electorally from the Yes/No split that followed the 2014 referendum, with independence voters uniting behind the SNP, and supporters of the union split between other parties. It took another 10 years for the link between constitutional preference and ballot box to uncouple, resulting in the SNP's catastrophic defeat in last July's general election at the hands of a resurgent Scottish Labour. (Since then, Labour has squandered its advantage and the SNP is leading the polls for Holyrood again.) But her own political standing suffered because of that same division – those who loved her were unwilling to hold her to account, while those who loathed her refused to acknowledge her many assets. It was this capacity to polarise that Sturgeon herself identified as one of her reasons for stepping down as first minister. But it was plain that she was also spent after a gruelling run of challenges, including the Covid pandemic, the Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish government's handling of sexual assault allegations against her predecessor Alex Salmond, and the controversy around her flagship gender recognition reforms. Throughout the pandemic, Sturgeon was admired across the UK for her straightforward and reassuring communication, yet the UK Covid inquiry exposed a significant lack of transparency behind this, bypassing cabinet decision-making and mass deletion of informal messages. It underlined her hyper-controlled, presidential style of leadership and its brutal self-imposed toll, with Sturgeon unable to allow herself even a day off. With the Salmond inquiry – as with her husband and former SNP chief executive Murrell – some felt a woman was being unfairly held responsible for the alleged actions of a man – but self-evidently this woman was also in charge of her government and at the epicentre of party decision-making for decades. Likewise, both she and Murrell failed to recognise the almighty potential conflict that having a married couple at the head of a governing party represented. She was badly hurt by accusations of betraying feminism over her gender recognition reforms, which she could not have foreseen would coalesce around a global culture war when she first proposed them as a natural progression from the introduction of equal marriage. But her refusal to entertain those, even within her own party, worried about the potential scope of self-identification left her exposed. Sturgeon herself has said the introduction of the Scottish child payment, the expansion of free childcare and support for youngsters in care are among her proudest achievements. Critics point to failures to tackle the attainment gap or drug deaths, timidity in taking on vested interests over NHS reform, and also her unwillingness to build on the broad coalition gifted by the Yes movement after the referendum. Something that even admirers of Sturgeon have always wrestled with was the space between rhetoric and reality in the SNP government – or, as an anti-poverty campaigner said to me: 'Does it matter that witches have been pardoned if you don't know what you're going to feed your child tomorrow?' Despite some excellent policy progress on violence against women and child poverty, for example, third sector leaders would highlight a significant implementation gap: like the extended childcare, which ended up a postcode lottery, with extra hours at work-unfriendly times. Speaking to younger activists, it's clear that the sheer symbolism of Sturgeon's tenure inspired generations. Her legacy is as much in what she made visible and normal. She proved it was possible to govern in an entirely different tone of voice from the Tory bombast at Westminster: speaking out against Trump, happily describing herself as a feminist, championing the transformative power of reading. She spoke too about miscarriage, the menopause, fostering – and while having a political leader talk about those topics on Loose Women is not a silver bullet to systemic inequality, it mattered. Perhaps it was inevitable that the first of her kind would end up unable to fulfil the weight of expectation. It is worth keeping in mind too that the party she led is united by its desire for independence, not centre-left social policy. For now, Sturgeon's Instagram followers can see her enjoying the 'ordinary stuff that most people take for granted', which she referenced in her resignation speech as having become increasingly out of her reach. Although for Sturgeon this involves hanging out with the tartan A-list, DJing with Hollywood star Alan Cumming and hosting books events with her old pal and crime-writing doyenne Val McDermid. Meanwhile, those obituary writers – me included – await the publication of her 'deeply personal' memoir later this year with some anticipation about the revelations it may contain. I doubt these will be the last words to be written about a woman who continues to fascinate, infuriate, inspire and challenge even as she steps – for now – out of the limelight. Libby Brooks writes on Scotland for the Guardian
