Latest news with #HumzaYousaf
Telegraph
a day ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Can Reform win big in Scotland? The establishment is terrified
Something that the progressive Left always feared but never took very seriously seems to have happened: the accusation of 'racist' has lost much of its power to silence opponents. Take Scotland. There has been an avalanche of media and political condemnation, bordering on hysteria, against Nigel Farage and the prospect that his party, Reform UK, will do well in this week's by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse. The First Minister himself, John Swinney, used the R-word to describe Farage at an election rally at the weekend. But to what effect? Yesterday, Swinney's predecessor as first minister, Humza Yousaf, took to the stage at an event organised by Stand Up To Racism to inform us that Scotland, on whose behalf Yousaf claimed to be speaking, does not welcome Farage or his party. We'll discover the truth of this assertion when the votes are counted on Thursday, but all the polling and anecdotal evidence from the campaign trail suggests that at least a significant proportion of this decidedly working-class constituency does not share Yousaf's views. Worryingly for the main parties, recent front page splashes by Scottish tabloids and dire warnings of Scotland being engulfed in the shadow of 1930s Germany seem to be having far less of an impact than what might have been the case in days gone by. That is not to say that Scots in west central Scotland are relaxed about the arrival of a 'far-Right' party in the Scottish Parliament and in town halls, or the consequences of that party's policies on race relations. It's more that they seem to have grown somewhat cynical about repeated cries of 'Wolf!' and the subsequent non-appearance of said sheep-bothering predator. After decades in which ordinary people across the country were warned that criticising high levels of immigration was the equivalent of goose-stepping along Nuremberg High Street, such colourful 'lessons from history' are taken significantly less seriously than in the past. Partly this is down to fascism fatigue: when everyone to the Right of Ed Miliband is a fascist, then no one is. And when commonly held opinions on immigration or gender ideology are considered by many to define the new fascism, the best response is to accept the new definition with a resigned sigh and get on with your life. Commentators often seek answers as to the perceived increase in the kind of political disillusion that has led to the relative success of Reform UK in recent opinion polls: they should look no further than how the definition of 'far-Right' has shifted in the last few decades, from violent bullying of political opponents and the subversion of democratic norms, to believing that you cannot change your biological sex. Much, though not all, of these culture war shenanigans have penetrated the previously comfortable political settlement in Scotland, where anything outside centre-Left opinion, as represented by the SNP, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens, is seen as beyond the pale. The Scottish Conservatives are tolerated at Holyrood because they have never seriously challenged for office, nor are ever likely to, and they provide a handy contrast by which for lazy progressives can signal their many virtues. It's a cosy consensus just waiting to be blown apart, and Reform UK may be just about to do that. It was arrogant – but expected – for Yousaf to declare that Farage is unwelcome in Scotland. And of course, as has happened south of the border, all this attention given to Reform by politicians who sound increasingly desperate in their shrill warnings has done little to deter voters from supporting this most disruptive of new political forces. Has it ever occurred to the leaders of the SNP and Scottish Labour, I wonder, if they might consider their own policy and rhetorical failures as part of the reason that disgruntled voters might be turning to Reform? Rather than hosting 'anti-Right-wing summits' to warn poor, stupid, ignorant voters of the drawbacks of Farage and his party, might it be appropriate to try to recapture those voters' support by addressing their priorities? For some grandstanding MSPs and MPs, the rise of Reform is an excellent opportunity to remind voters which side they would have been on at Cable Street, even if the natural response to such assertions is: 'And?' And so a political class that already stands accused of forgetting how to talk like ordinary voters, who are no longer seen as concerned with the public's priorities, are compounding their mistakes by using hysterical language about a party that many Scots – by no means a majority or even a plurality, it has to be pointed out – might be considering flirting with at the ballot box. No one can say with any confidence who will win the Hamilton by-election on Thursday, although if I had to place hard-earned money on the outcome I'd say the SNP followed by Reform in second place. It could be any other combination of the leading three parties on the night. The point is that, at least for now, Reform is one of those leading parties, and I would caution any politician who, in Thursday's aftermath, might feel attempted to accuse local voters of racism or support for fascism. Worried politicians of the establishment parties love to attribute the rise of Reform to either the devilishly populist and dishonest rhetorical skills of Farage himself or to the ignorance of voters who never got a university degree, and are therefore uniquely vulnerable to Reform's message. Perhaps there needs to be an injection of honesty: the culprit who is guilty of the disillusion that has led to a public appetite for new solutions, new language and perhaps a new party, is staring back at them from their own mirrors.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
John Swinney news, interviews and updates on the First Minister
John Swinney became Scotland's First Minister in May 2024. He replaced Humza Yousaf, who resigned after ending the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens. Before this, Swinney had stepped down from his role in the Scottish Government following Nicola Sturgeon's resignation. He is the seventh person to hold the position. Read on for all the latest John Swinney news, interviews, and updates on the first minister. As reported by The Herald, here is a selection of the latest John Swinney news stories. Sarwar and Swinney accused of 'inaction on child poverty' Nigel Farage to campaign in Scotland in by-election visit Farage returns to Scotland for by-election campaign John Swinney expressed concerns about the potential societal impact of Reform UK. He told The Herald's Unspun Live podcast that he does not want to regret not doing enough during his time in office to counter their rise. He highlighted that Nigel Farage's party's campaign for the upcoming Holyrood election could "undermine... cohesion in our society." Swinney: 'Reform will have an undeniable presence - I want to stop that' John Swinney has served in both Westminster and Holyrood. The politician first stood as the MP for Tayside North from 1997 until 2001. (Image: PA) He was then elected as the MSP for North Tayside in 1999 and held both positions until stepping down from Westminster at the 2001 general election, where he was replaced by Pete Wishart. He has remained an MSP ever since. However, following boundary changes, he now represents Perthshire North. Before entering politics, Swinney was employed as a strategic planning principal with Scottish Amicable and was a business and economic development consultant for five years. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a degree in politics and first joined the SNP in 1979. John Swinney was elected as the First Minister of Scotland in May 2024 after Humza Yousaf resigned. Swinney, who had previously led the SNP from 2000 to 2004, was legally sworn in on May 8. Despite speculation after Yousaf's resignation, Kate Forbes (below) did not contest Swinney for the SNP leadership and now serves as the Deputy First Minister. Kate Forbes (Image: PA)Swinney made his statutory declarations and was granted his official title of First Minister and Keeper of the Scottish Seal. He described his induction as an "overwhelming moment" and an "extraordinary opportunity to change lives for the better". He told reporters after the ceremony: 'I look forward to dedicating my future to serving the people of Scotland." All pupils in Primary 1 to 5 in Scottish Government-funded schools or schools run by local councils receive free lunches during term-time. The SNP pledged to expand this to include free breakfast and lunch for Primary 6 and 7 pupils in their 2021 manifesto. However, last September, John Swinney confirmed that the government would not be continuing with this plan when he laid out his Programme for Government. Instead, the provision will only extend to Primary 6 and 7 pupils who qualify for the Scottish Child Payment. This decision, according to Swinney, was due to the need for the government to manage its spending. He attributed this financial restraint to "the austerity agenda" supported by Tory MSPs. He said this forced the Scottish Government to make cuts to its spending. John Swinney's extensive political career began in 2007 when he was tasked with the finance and sustainable growth brief. In November 2014, he was appointed as deputy first minister and Scotland's finance, constitution, and economy secretary. He served as education secretary from 2016 until 2021 before being named Scotland's secretary for Covid recovery from May 2021 until March 2023. He also served as acting finance secretary during Kate Forbes' maternity leave. After Nicola Sturgeon's resignation, Swinney decided to take a step back from his Scottish Government duties. However, following a year on the backbenches, he was once again re-elected as leader of the SNP and First Minister of Scotland. John Swinney was born in Edinburgh in 1964 and is 61 years old. He married BBC Scotland journalist Elizabeth Quigley in 2003. The couple have one child together, and Swinney is a father of three. Quigley, a well-known BBC Scotland reporter, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000. John Swinney with his wife Elizabeth Quigley and son Matthew (Image: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)Speaking at the 2024 SNP conference, Swinney thanked his wife for the 'sacrifices' she has made to allow him to serve as First Minister. John Swinney has described himself as 'a man of deep Christian faith.' He said this to the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme in 2023 after Kate Forbes, his Deputy First Minister, revealed she would have voted against gay marriage if she was an MSP at the time. Swinney told the broadcaster that he "profoundly disagreed" with Forbes despite his "deep religious faith".
Scotsman
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
Why Scotland must stop North Sea oil fields, like Rosebank, from being used to exploit Gaza citizens
Humza Yousaf, the former first minister, argues against allowing Ithaca Energy's owners to press ahead with Rosebank in the North Sea. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... 'We survived.' That is the message we wait for every morning from Sally, my wife Nadia's cousin, who lives in Gaza with her husband and four young children. I say 'live', but in reality, their daily goal is simply to survive the barbaric Israeli onslaught that has so far claimed the lives of over 50,000 Gazans, including around 17,000 children. That is before we are even able to begin counting the bodies trapped under rubble. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Displaced Palestinians flee Khan Younis, Gaza, amid the ongoing Israeli military offensive in the area | AP There are no words left to describe the scale of inhumanity we are witnessing in Gaza. Many seasoned diplomats and humanitarian workers who have been to numerous conflict zones over the decades all, to a man and woman, say the same thing; Gaza is the worst humanitarian catastrophe they have ever seen – and of course it is entirely man-made. The situation is now beyond urgent. Tom Fletcher, UN humanitarian chief last week warned that thousands of babies in Gaza could die if more aid is not allowed in. And he asked the question to world leaders and all of us - are we 'doing all we can' to stop the suffering? We have heard stronger language from the UK government, with the Foreign Secretary calling Israel's actions 'monstrous' and 'intolerable' in a recent Commons statement. However, what we need, and more importantly the people of Gaza need, is to ensure that rhetoric transforms into meaningful action that will hopefully stop the scale of devastation we are witnessing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The most immediate, and probably effective step the UK government could take is to stop all arms sales to Israel. How on earth can the UK government continue to legally, let alone morally, justify selling arms to a government headed by a man wanted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity? While responsibility for arms export licenses lies with the UK government, we can also use whatever influence and power we have in Scotland to oppose the onslaught faced by the people of Gaza, at the hands of the Israeli Government. It is easy to feel powerless, but we can start by looking at the role this country – and our resources – are playing in funding the suffering the people of Gaza are facing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Profits from Scotland's oil and gas reserves are right now flowing to a company linked to human rights violations in Palestine, and hundreds of millions of pounds more could follow in the near future. Few have heard of Ithaca Energy, but it is on track to become the largest North Sea oil and gas producer. It holds stakes in seven out of ten of the basin's largest fields and is part of the two largest, most controversial undeveloped fields in the basin: the Rosebank and Cambo oil fields off the west coast of Shetland. Extinction Rebellion activists campaign against the Cambo oil field development. When I publicly opposed the UK government's approval of the Rosebank oil field as first minister, I did so for environmental reasons and the impact continuing to develop new oil and gas fields will have on our climate. And of course, these concerns remain. However, information about Ithaca Energy's owners, Delek Group, only give further rise to concerns I have. Ithaca is majority-owned by the Israeli fuel conglomerate, Delek Group, which has been flagged by the UN for human rights violations in Palestine. Delek operates in illegal Israeli settlements across the Palestinian West Bank and is known to provide fuel to the Israel Defense Forces, via a subsidiary. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There is near-universal agreement across the world that settlements are illegal under international law. We have, over the past 19 months, seen an increase in settler violence against innocent Palestinians. By their very nature, settlements are a tool used by the Israeli state to occupy more and more Palestinian land. This is why countries like Ireland are now taking steps to ban trade with Israeli businesses in occupied territories. We also know Delek's activities in illegal settlements was one of the reasons Norway's largest pension fund, KLP, divested from Delek Group in 2021 citing an 'unacceptable risk of the company contributing to or being responsible for serious breaches of ethical norms'. A company that is cited by the UN for possible human rights violations, and which has a contract with the IDF who are responsible for the mass slaughter of tens of thousands of children in Gaza, should not be allowed to profit from Scotland's resources. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad If the UK government allows the development of the Rosebank oil field, it's estimated it will see more than a quarter of a billion pounds in profit flow to Delek. A map showing the location of the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields | Kimberley Mogg/NationalWorld If Ithaca is allowed to continue to expand in the North Sea by developing Rosebank, the answer to the question posed by Tom Fletcher - 'are we doing all we can?' - would be an emphatic no. We cannot allow oil fields signed off in Westminster to be used to bankroll injustice across the world. I am certain that one day those who are responsible for the war crimes we are witnessing in Gaza will be held to account. We must ensure we are in no way complicit; Scotland must not allow our natural resources to become a revenue stream for companies tied to the oppression of the Palestinian people.
The National
3 days ago
- General
- The National
Glasgow Jet2 flight forced to make U-turn after taking off
Jet2 flight EXS049A departed Glasgow Airport at around 12.15pm on Saturday, May 31, set for Leeds. READ MORE: 'Scotland is not an island of strangers', says Humza Yousaf at Stop Reform summit According to Flight Radar, after the aircraft took off, it travelled towards South Lanarkshire, circling over Lanark, before heading west and back to Glasgow. (Image: Flight Radar) The plane then landed back at Glasgow Airport at around 1.10pm. At the moment, the exact reason why the aircraft was diverted is unknown.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Bute House Agreement: How did the SNP-Green partnership go wrong?
The Scottish government has dropped plans for a new national park in Dumfries and Galloway - the latest in a series of policies driven by the Scottish Greens to have been scrapped by the idea was originally taken forward by Lorna Slater, when she was a government minister under the Bute House Agreement between the two since she and Green co-leader Patrick Harvie were kicked out of their ministerial offices by Humza Yousaf, the majority of policies included in the pact have been marine protection areas to climate targets, changes how homes are heated and a ban on conversion therapy, the agreed programme has mostly been torn the partnership worth it, looking back? And where does it leave the SNP and Greens heading into next year's Holyrood election? Things have changed enormously in Scottish politics since Nicola Sturgeon brought the Greens into government in departed Bute House the following year, and her successor Humza Yousaf barely lasted a year as first it was his decision to end the Bute House Agreement (BHA) which ended his tenure.A big motivation for the SNP in going into the pact was that it would provide stability against votes of no confidence, so it was somewhat fitting that the threat of such a vote forced Mr Yousaf out of office days after he ended the Swinney has since taken the administration off in a different direction with Kate Forbes as his decision on the Galloway national park is just the latest in a procession of policies which underpinned the partnership to have been consigned to take a look through the original agreement documents to check on the fate of some others. Changing climate measures Cracks had started to appear in the pact prior to Mr Yousaf's decision to end it, particularly when the government announced it was dropping its climate BHA had called for a "credible pathway" to hitting the admittedly ambitious 2030 interim target for cutting carbon after watchdogs underlined that this was looking increasingly unlikely, the government decided to do away with the interim goals and move to a system of carbon wasn't the last climate measure to be scrapped either, with ministers also conceding that a target of reducing car use by 20% by 2030 wasn't going to bone of contention at the time was Mr Yousaf's abrupt announcement of a council tax freeze - something the Greens the original agreement was that there would be a citizen's assembly on council tax has never materialised, and the longstanding promises to change how local taxation works have been kicked off into the next parliamentary term (again). One of the biggest pieces of work the Greens undertook in government was Patrick Harvie's heat in buildings bill, which aimed to move more homes to greener systems like heat pumps rather than bill was shelved earlier this year after acting net zero secretary Gillian Martin said it would "make people poorer", voicing concerns that it could increase fuel poverty.A revised version of the bill has since been published, but it stops short of a legal requirement to replace heating systems by 2045. 'Watered down' Mr Harvie was also the minister for tenant's rights, with the Greens central to plans to cap rents and ban evictions during the cost of living the party takes a fairly dim view of the "watered down" system of rent controls currently being considered in the Housing (Scotland) Bill, saying they are not nearly strong proposed bill was the ban on conversion therapy, which the Greens remain keen on - but which SNP ministers would really rather the UK government deal decision to kick that into the next parliamentary term compounded the rift over gender reforms, which the two parties had cooperated over while passing the Gender Recognition Reform Bill in Mr Yousaf decided to drop legal challenges to defend the legislation after it was blocked by the UK government, and Mr Swinney's administration have been clear that they will not be bringing it back. Ending the headaches These policies follow a pattern of the Swinney government being happy to drop particularly controversial same thing happened with a plan to designate 10% of Scotland's waters as highly protected marine areas, which sparked opposition in coastal fairness, a few things had been delivered before the Greens left new National Planning Framework had been finalised, including the BHA requirements for 20 minute neighbourhoods and greater priority for onshore wind it should be noted that Green hopes for an energy strategy which would support offshore wind and marine renewables remain unrealised, given Mr Swinney's government still hasn't published its long-awaited energy strategy. The Scottish government also boosted the Scottish Child Payment, something enshrined in the agreement - although given it is a flagship policy for the SNP, it is likely that would have happened same could probably be said of the £500m just transition fund for the North East and Moray, given it was in the SNP successes included the Fair Work First guidance, which requires public sector bodies which get government grants to pay the real living wage, and a pledge to replace the Scottish Qualifications Authority.A National Register of Ancient Woodlands is being produced, with a target date of 2027, and the promised Natural Environment Bill – aimed at improving biodiversity - has been do feel like relatively small wins, though, compared to what was promised and ultimately abandoned. 'Totemic policy' The decision to end the partnership agreement couldn't have been much more damaging for Humza Yousaf, given he ended up has had consequences for the party's broader policy platform too SNP had also been relying on Green support for one of its flagship policies for the term, the National Care BHA committed the parties to driving forward what it called a "totemic policy", but the Greens eventually joined other opposition parties in rallying against the proposal put down on paper by ministers.A vote at the party's conference went overwhelmingly against the proposal, underlining that it could not make it through parliament - although it was already clear by then that it would be undeliverable in any case, given opposition from key partners like unions, councils and health boards. The future Looking back over the wreckage of the Bute House Agreement may be instructive when we think ahead to the next Holyrood Swinney has sought to build bridges now, with a view to operating in a fractured parliament of minorities next would the Greens work with the SNP again in future?For all that they ultimately got out of the agreement, the smaller party may reflect that they may be able to deliver more by remaining in opposition and driving hard bargains when budget votes are was a budget deal which secured one of their favourite policies which still remains – free bus travel for Greens may also be happy to have more clear water between the parties on policy when voters go to the polls, given they are competing with the SNP for a similar slice of the there is one topic we know the parties do still agree on, which may remain of outsize Bute House Agreement included a pledge to secure a referendum on Scottish that didn't happen this term - but depending on the result of the election, building a "pro independence majority" may well be something which puts the SNP and Greens back on similar ground next May.
