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The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Precedent from SNP's 2011 win would break ‘logjam' to indyref2
The precedent set by the SNP's 2011 election victory would break the 'logjam' towards a second independence referendum, John Swinney has said. The First Minister said there should be a 'legal referendum recognised by all' on Scottish independence if the SNP secures a majority at the Holyrood elections. Previously, he has said a 'democratic majority' of pro-independence MSPs after next year's Scottish Parliament elections should pave the way to a new vote on the constitutional question. In a newspaper column published on Monday, the SNP leader called for the May 2026 Holyrood elections to be 'a springboard for Scotland taking charge of our own destiny'. He spoke to journalists further at the Kelpies statues near Falkirk, saying: 'The necessity of independence is absolutely paramount and we've got to make that case in the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections. 'But there's a logjam and we've got to break that logjam. 'We demonstrated how we break the logjam in the past, by electing a majority of SNP MSPs in 2011, and that led to an independence referendum in 2014.' He invited supporters of independence to back his party in the constituency vote and to 'demand independence' in the regional vote. Asked whether an SNP majority was a high bar to clear, he said: 'The way we break the logjam is to rely on the precedent that happened in 2011.' Mr Swinney also said recent opinion polls had shown rising support for independence. Since the Brexit vote in 2016, repeated prime ministers have rebuffed the SNP's calls for another Scottish independence referendum. Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: 'John Swinney is like a broken record. In a bid to silence internal critics of his weak leadership, he has thrown diehard nationalists some more red meat on the one issue they all agree on: independence. 'Ordinary Scots are sick and tired of the SNP's obsession with breaking up the UK. 'The public want John Swinney to focus on fixing the damage his Government has done in decimating essential services such as schools and the NHS at the same time as making Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK.' Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: 'This SNP Government has lost its way and ran out of ideas – while one in six Scots suffer on an NHS waiting list. 'Despite that, John Swinney can't end his own obsession with division and today has confirmed he'll put Scots second to appease his own party. 'From the crisis in our NHS to the violence in our schools, the SNP has left every institution in Scotland weaker. 'This is not as good as it gets and in 2026 Scotland will have a chance to put a stop to SNP decline and vote for a fresh start.' Alex Cole-Hamilton, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said: 'At last year's election the SNP took an almighty beating because people were tired of them obsessing over one issue. It seems like John Swinney is a glutton for punishment. 'Perhaps rather than focusing on what the SNP membership cares about, he should focus on what the country needs. 'The health service and the state of our schools has been neglected for too long because all the SNP care about is breaking up the UK.'
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Michelle O'Neill: ‘The British state killed local people. Those moments contribute to who you are'
As Michelle O'Neill walks in her home village of Clonoe, east Co Tyrone , there is not a person she passes who does not say hello or a driver who fails to wave from a passing car. O'Neill greets them all in return. Eventually, The Irish Times inquires as to whether she has adopted her own special wave like Queen Elizabeth II's ? 'They do tease me about that,' she says with a laugh. Clonoe is where the First Minister of Northern Ireland and Sinn Féin vice-president spent her formative years and where she still lives. As O'Neill shows us around, it is evident how her family, her village and her community have shaped the person she is and the politician she has become. READ MORE 'I'm Michelle who's from this area. There's no airs and graces, but sure, this is my home. This is where I feel comfortable.' At the heart of this staunchly republican village is Clonoe O'Rahillys GAA club with modern pitches and a redeveloped clubhouse, which also houses the community centre. A plaque commemorates its official opening by the then MP for the area and O'Neill's 'mentor', Martin McGuinness , in November 1998. Michelle O'Neill standing by the pitch at Clonoe O'Rahillys GAA club near where she grew up in Co Tyrone. Photograph: Alan Betson Was she here that day? 'Absolutely.' She was 'a young mummy, my child was four … it was, 1998, the Good Friday Agreement , such a moment of hope and opportunity for people, and the club being opened captured, in a very local way, that new beginning and that new hope'. Outside, she shows off the Gaelscoil, the village's business park and her favourite walking route along the canal path. 'This is part of my mindfulness, my relaxation, keeping myself right, going out walking with friends … get a bit of head space to talk about things that aren't in the political sphere,' she says. 'Because we're all human at the end of the day, even those of us in politics, so I like that – I need that, actually, to keep doing what I'm doing.' She was born in Fermoy, Co Cork , in 1977. The family returned to nearby Coalisland when O'Neill was a baby, then to her father's homeplace of Clonoe to a new row of bungalows her father helped build and where her mother, Kathleen, still lives. In 1968, discrimination in the allocation of housing in east Tyrone helped spark the first civil rights march, from Coalisland to Dungannon. 'When we got the opportunity to move, my mummy didn't believe my daddy, actually. She said to Daddy, 'Brendan, we're not the kind of people who can buy a home' and he said, 'Yes, we can'.' O'Neill speaks warmly of a 'good family life' with 'strong role models around us', including her mother who gave up work so Michelle could go back to school after she became pregnant at 16. O'Neill has spoken previously about how she was prayed over by some at her Catholic grammar school, how she sat her GCSEs a few days after giving birth and then the 'huge fuss' made about her returning for A-levels. Michelle O'Neill: 'Partition failed my community, failed every community across the island.' Photograph: Alan Betson 'It was difficult,' she says, but also says 'I suppose it does make you more resilient' just as 'being a young mummy shapes who you are, being responsible for this beautiful little being and wanting the world to be better for her'. From an early age, O'Neill was aware she 'grew up in a family, in a society, in a community that was discriminated against, that was treated with inequality on a day-to-day basis'. There was 'a lot of loss in the community, many moments when the British state killed local lads, local people, local people that weren't much older than me … all those moments contribute to shaping who you are'. Among them was her cousin, Tony Doris, one of three members of the IRA's East Tyrone Brigade who were on 'active service' when they were shot dead in a SAS ambush in nearby Coagh in 1991. O'Neill was 14. 'It was horrendous for his immediate family, obviously, and all these things have lasting impacts, and that's the same for every family that lost. My experience, unfortunately, was felt by far too many people.' O'Neill's father, Brendan Doris, was an IRA prisoner and local councillor. 'He was such a community activist. He was a man who was very much wedded to his community, and I liked what he did. I liked how he helped people. So I suppose, maybe it was always organic that I would go down the route that I took in terms of going into politics.' Even then, her goal was 'Irish unity. I think partition failed my community, failed every community across the island', she says. 'But I'm somebody who was gifted the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. I had just turned 21 and that gave me that precious gift of peace. 'It made me determined that I am going to go out and I'm going to work this because this is a democratic pathway towards the unification of this island and I am going to grab it. That's really been my journey ever since.' O'Neill joined Sinn Féin in her early teens. In 1998 she officially started working for the party. She was elected a councillor in 2005, then to Stormont in 2007. Michelle O'Neill with fellow Sinn Féin politicians Francis Molloy, left, and Martin McGuinness following their election in 2007. Photograph: Eric Luke A former minister for agriculture and then health, in 2017 she replaced McGuinness when he stood down as deputy first minister. Last year, she became First Minister, making history as the first nationalist to do so. As she walked down the grand staircase into the Great Hall at Parliament Buildings and then into the Chamber, she allowed herself a smile. 'There's no doubt it was a moment of pride, personal pride, pride for my community, for my family,' she says. 'I suppose I felt the weight of the moment of history on my shoulders, I felt the expectation on my shoulders, but that in itself is a motivator. 'You know you have to go out and give it your 100 per cent and I hope that's what people can see. I give it my 100 per cent every day.' O'Neill's maiden speech, delivered shortly afterwards, was about setting the tone for her term. She promised to be a 'First Minister for all' and 'inclusive and respectful' of everyone regardless of background or identity. 'I've fulfilled that pledge,' she says. She lists examples, including her attendance at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral and King Charles III's coronation, a PSNI graduation and the official Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Belfast last November. Michelle O'Neill shakes hands with Liz Truss, left, then British prime minister, in September 2022 during at a service for the late Queen Elizabeth II at St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast. Photograph: Liam McBurney/Getty Was this difficult, given her own experience? 'Personally, given the experience of my community at the hands of the British state, then, yes, from that perspective it is. 'But is it the right thing to do to try and reconcile the people on this island? Yes, it is. 'So, for me, that outweighs any personal feeling.' But equally she says: 'I go to republican commemorations because that's who I am. I've never shied away from that. I don't distance myself from that.' Can she understand why this is difficult for many, particularly those who lost loved-ones to the IRA? 'I do think about it,' she says. 'I understand there are many people out there that have a different narrative than me and I respect that that's their view. It's also perhaps their lived experience, but mine's different.' But, she says, part of reconciling is 'actually understanding that it's okay – we may have different narratives, but we need to respect that is actually the case. 'That understanding is what allows me to say what I can say – what I said whenever I became First Minister – because I absolutely am sorry that anybody lost a loved one. I'm so sorry we lived in a society that [had] a conflict. 'But the job of leadership of 2025, the job of leadership since the Good Friday Agreement, all of my life's work, is about building on what was achieved then [in 1998] and continuing to drive us into the next 25 years.' For O'Neill, this means a united Ireland. She stands by Sinn Féin's aim of a Border poll by 2030, but is 'less fixated on a date' for unity, 'more interested in that the actual planning and preparation is done and that we get it right'. She says: 'The Irish Government really, really need to treat this with urgency … give people the tools in which to make an informed decision.' How is this to be achieved, given that neither the Irish nor the British government – which must ultimately call the poll – have given any indication they intend to do so in the near future? 'Well, governments say many things … then they're forced to take a position just because of the public demand for it. We will continue to make the case,' O'Neill says, arguing that even her own election as First Minister 'speaks to the change that's happening around us' and, coupled with potential of elections ahead, 'all these things can become the tipping point for Irish unity'. She believes there are 'many people' – including unionists – 'open to being persuaded … and they'll be convinced because it's in their best interests. The argument to be made is that there is something better for all of us.' UK prime minister Keir Starmer will not, she says, have 'the luxury of burying his head in the sand and ignoring the call for constitutional change'. In the meantime, as the joint head – with the Deputy First Minister, the DUP's Emma Little-Pengelly – of the four-party Northern Executive, there is much work to be done. Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and First Minister Michelle O'Neill speak to the media last February after Stormont ministers agreed a programme for government. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA 'Emma and I are completely different characters, completely different backgrounds, completely different outlook, but also very understanding of the fact that we have to work together to try and lead the Executive.' Challenges facing Stormont include the crisis in the health service, the worst waiting lists on these islands, and a lack of funding almost across the board. Often, the public perception is that little practical is achieved amid much political point-scoring. 'There are lots of things we work on together and there are differences, but you have to manage those things. That's just the nature of it.' O'Neill is critical of the 'lack of leadership in political unionism, particularly when it comes to issues of bonfires' and its 'faux outrage at times around particular issues'. 'The constant attacks on the GAA tell people who support the GAA and people from an Irish national identity that they're not welcome in this place. Political unionism would need to think about that.' But O'Neill defends the Executive's record: 'We're 18 months in … we have a programme for government, the first in over a decade. We've prioritised health waiting lists and we've put finances in that direction. We've been able to deal with public sector pay.' She also cites 'a whole new economic strategy … advances on childcare, advances on a strategy to end violence against women and girls'. On two major infrastructure projects, the rebuilding of Casement Park and the upgrade of the A5, she says they will be built. 'I've said they'll be built on my watch. I will stand over that.' There is also the matter of the Irish presidential election. O'Neill bats away the names of any potential candidate – Mary Lou McDonald , Gerry Adams , her own – with the same response. Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald with Gerry Adams and party vice-president Michelle O'Neill during a pro-unity group event in Belfast. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA 'The party is still deliberating. We're actively having conversations. We've seen others enter into the field and we'll make our position known very shortly.' Will McDonald lead Sinn Féin into the next general election? 'Absolutely,' she says. Is O'Neill a future leader of her party? 'Well, there's no vacant position,' she says with a laugh. One day? 'I also love being vice-president … and working alongside Mary Lou. She's described me before as her wing woman. That's very much who I am.' The role of First Minister 'is my priority, and that's where I need to be focused … I'm more than content with where I am'.
Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Former Scottish First Minister and his wife plead for Gaza aid
Former Scottish First Minister and his wife plead for Gaza aid NewsFeed Scotland's former First Minister Humza Yousaf and his wife say their relatives in Gaza, including a baby, are being deliberately starved. In an Instagram video, the couple plead for borders to open and aid to reach Palestinians. Video Duration 00 minutes 41 seconds 00:41 Video Duration 01 minutes 43 seconds 01:43 Video Duration 01 minutes 17 seconds 01:17 Video Duration 03 minutes 07 seconds 03:07 Video Duration 00 minutes 54 seconds 00:54 Video Duration 03 minutes 18 seconds 03:18 Video Duration 00 minutes 40 seconds 00:40
BBC News
18-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
John Swinney's independence pitch could be key to SNP fortunes
John Swinney has outlined his strategy for achieving independence in The National headline promises a "renewed" approach, but much of it feels familiar to what the first minister has been saying since he took over his party last year.A three-pronged strategy has been proposed by the SNP of all, he wants to see a campaign to build "the highest levels of support possible for independence".There have been voices in the SNP for some time saying that an independence vote should be a rubber stamp on the "settled will" of the people of Scotland. What is John Swinney's independence strategy? Previously, when pressed on what demonstrable support looks like, Swinney has cited the 1997 referendum on devolution. In that vote, 74% of Scots wanted a Scottish the first minister has written that he wants to build "public pressure around Scotland's fundamental national rights".Elsewhere in the article Swinney confirms that an "agreed democratic referendum" is the route to Supreme Court has previously ruled that this power lies with the UK government. So he wants to pile pressure on ministers in London to give the Scottish Parliament a say on when (and if) another vote would he achieve that? See point Swinney says an "emphatic" SNP win in next year's Holyrood election would help the ultimate cause of the this probably has a lot to do with why the first minister is outlining his proposals now. The SNP's voter base is vastly in favour of independence (no shocks there).He needs them to turn out and back his party next year. And he doesn't want them looking towards other pro-independence options – such as the Greens or is this an aggressive enough independence strategy for those who are impatient for constitutional change?A broad plan has been outlined. The exact mechanics are still up in the his predecessors have been stung by offering too much on this Sturgeon previously set a date for a second referendum. She also pledged a general election could be a "de-facto" vote on of those promises came to fruition. Is independence still an SNP priority? Humza Yousaf promised independence would be "page one, line one" of the SNP's 2024 general election manifesto. He was out of the job by that point, but that pledge SNP then had a disastrous result, losing 39 has to try and inspire his followers on the independence question, but he also doesn't want to he has a balancing act to manage. He doesn't want to be accused of focusing too forcefully on the constitution at a time when there are plenty of day-to-day issues to be does feel as though the independence issue has slipped down the agenda in recent Keir Starmer even went as far as claiming recently that the first minister had not brought it up with him as a "first priority".He also indicated another vote would not happen while he was in Downing Street. What makes an independence mandate? There are signs that people on both sides of the argument are coalescing around a position – that support for independence has to get to higher levels if a second vote is to is a position that was even outlined by former Conservative minister Michael Gove is significant that Swinney is outlining his independence approach with an election looming. But there are still plenty of unanswered level of support does he think independence needs to get to? How exactly will he convince a UK government to relent on a second referendum?What represents an "emphatic" election win? If the SNP loses seats (which current polling suggests they will) could they really claim a mandate to move independence forward?Swinney makes clear that independence is what he's in the job to not the first SNP leader to say are voices in his party telling him to move quicker. And he will have others advocating a slow and steady of his success – or failure – in next year's election will depend on how he navigates this issue.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Awkward moment Eluned Morgan was asked to rate Keir Starmer
Wales' First Minister was asked to rank the performance of the UK Government. She was being interviewed by Sky News' political editor Beth Rigby as part of the Electoral Dysfunction podcast. In a videoed clip, the journalist asked her to score the UK Labour government's performance in its first year out of ten. The news channel had asked a Welsh focus group to rank the performance of Keir Starmer's administration out of ten. Before Beth Rigby told her the answer, she asked the First Minister what she would rank them, but she declined to answer. "Oh My God. That's a big question isn't it. It's tough. Oh My God. It's a difficult question and I'm not going to answer it because I'll get into all sorts of trouble if I do that," she said. READ MORE: First-ever tax on visitors to Wales officially set to become law READ MORE: New poll shows Reform UK's chances of winning Welsh election, and it's not good news for Labour She went on to say that Wales has benefitted from having a UK Labour Government. "That's really good news, I think there's lots of areas for them to improve on. We can all improve on what we do," she said. When she declined to score, she was asked what Welsh voters had scored the administration. The answer was 5.5. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here "I think they think there's a lot of room for improvement, particularly on welfare reform and winter fuel. I am utterly relieved that they have changed their minds on those two things," said Eluned Morgan. She admitted she was "absolutely cringing" at being asked the questions in the podcast. Labour is trailing in the polls ahead of the Senedd election in May 2026. Three consecutive polls have now shown Labour would come behind Reform UK and Plaid Cymru next year. Polling for Sky News released this week showed a better figure for Labour - at 23% - but still way behind Plaid Cymru and Reform UK. The poll, by More in Common for Sky News is the second to project Reform would be the biggest party in the Senedd. In terms of Senedd voting intention, the poll shows Reform in the lead with 28% of the vote, followed closely by Plaid Cymru, on 26%. Labour is third with 23%. The Conservatives would go from being the official opposition in the Senedd to having 10% of the vote. The polling, of 883 people carried out between June 18 and July 3, shows less than half (48%) of Labour's 2024 voters would back the party in a Senedd election if it were held today. Their largest losses for Labour are to Plaid Cymru (15%), followed by Reform(11%). However, a significant proportion of Labour's 2024 voters (13%) are undecided about how they would vote in a Senedd election. A YouGov/ITV Cymru Wales poll in May put Labour in third and Plaid top. A different poll, by Find Out Now, put Reform UK top.
