Latest news with #Nationalists
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Presiding officer accused of 'blatant bias' after throwing Tory MSP out of debating chamber
Holyrood's Presiding Officer is facing claims of 'blatant bias' after former Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross was thrown of out the chamber without a warning. Mr Ross said it was 'absolutely' clear that former Green MSP Alison Johnstone was favouring Nationalist politicians over Unionist ones. It followed a stormy First Minister's Questions in which several Tory MSPs demanded clear answers from John Swinney on his Government's Net Zero policies. Mr Ross, who has been ticked off for heckling on previous occasions, shouted 'Deflection from Swinney again' when Mr Swinney digressed onto Brexit. The part-time football referee was immediately given the red card. 'Mr Ross, you have persistently refused to abide by our standing orders,' Ms Johnstone said. 'I ask you to leave the chamber; you are excluded for the rest of the day.' Mr Ross appeared not to grasp what was happening and had to be asked to leave again. It was the first expulsion of an MSP from the chamber in five years. A Conservative spokesman said: 'The Presiding Officer has shown a consistent pattern to favour certain parties at the expense of others. 'We will be seeking discussions to reiterate that the Presiding Officer should not show blatant bias.' Mr Ross, a Highlands & Islands MSP, later said Ms Johnstone was having a 'controlling effect' on the chamber and there was a constitutional factor involved. He said: 'You've got to look at Alison Johnstone formerly being a Green Party member, saying that she would leave her party allegiances at the door, but taking very different approaches to Nationalist politicians who step out of line compared to Unionist politicians who step out of line.' He cited her letting Mr Swinney call the Tory party 'a disgusting organisation' earlier this month, a phrase Tory leader Russell Findlay was not allowed to repeat, and added: 'Since then she's done nothing to prove to me that she is going to be neutral.' Mr Ross stopped short of demanding an apology, but said Ms Johnstone should 'reflect' and 'regret her immediate kneejerk reaction' and the lack of warning. He said: I'm looking at all the options, but the ball is in the Presiding Officer's court'. A Parliament spokeswoman said: 'The Presiding Officer has warned Mr Ross on repeated occasions recently about his behaviour in the Chamber. 'Due to his persistent refusal to respect the rules of Parliament, the Member was asked to leave the Chamber.' Mr Swinney's spokesman said the FM did not think Ms Johnstone was biased. Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said Mr Ross had been 'provoking' the PO for weeks, hoping to get thrown out 'in a cynical bid for relevance', adding: 'She was quite right to eject him.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spain returns artwork seized during Civil War
MADRID (Reuters) -Spain on Thursday returned paintings belonging to a former Madrid mayor that were seized for their protection during the 1936-39 Civil War and never returned under Francisco Franco's dictatorship. The seven paintings had been kept in several museums throughout Spain, including the Prado Museum in Madrid, where the handover ceremony to the family of Pedro Rico, Madrid's mayor as the Civil War broke out, took place on Thursday evening. In 2022, the Prado published a list of artworks that had been seized during the war and set up a research project to track down their legitimate owners. The government has identified more than 6,000 items, including jewellery, ceramics and textiles, as well as some paintings, sculptures and furniture, which were safeguarded during the war by Republican forces fighting Franco's Nationalists and never returned by Francoist institutions when he came to power. "It's a very important moment of justice and reparation that the Spanish government is doing for their families," said Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun. The paintings returned to Rico's family nine decades later were mainly scenes of everyday life by 19th-century artists such as Eugenio Lucas and his son Lucas Villaamil. Francisca Rico said she was very moved by the restitution of the paintings belonging to her grandfather, who was mayor between 1931-1934 and then in 1936 and who died in exile in France. "(They're ) finally doing what should have been done long ago," she said.
Straits Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Spain returns artwork seized during Civil War
Ernest Urtasun, Minister of Culture, gives a speech during a ceremony held by the Spanish government returning paintings stolen during the Spanish Civil War from Pedro Rico, former mayor of Madrid, to his family, at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain, May 22, 2025. REUTERS/Ana Beltran A person looks at paintings, stolen from former mayor of Madrid, Pedro Rico, during the Spanish Civil War, displayed before being returned to his family during a ceremony held by the Spanish government at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain, May 22, 2025. REUTERS/Ana Beltran A person looks at paintings, stolen from former mayor of Madrid, Pedro Rico, during the Spanish Civil War, displayed before being returned to his family during a ceremony held by the Spanish government at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain, May 22, 2025. REUTERS/Ana Beltran Francisca Rico, granddaughter of Pedro Rico, former Mayor of Madrid, attends a ceremony held by the Spanish government returning paintings stolen during the Spanish Civil War from Rico to his family, at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain, May 22, 2025. REUTERS/Ana Beltran Ernest Urtasun, Minister of Culture, gives a speech during a ceremony held by the Spanish government returning paintings to the family of Pedro Rico, former mayor of Madrid, stolen during the Spanish Civil War, at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain, May 22, 2025. REUTERS/Ana Beltran MADRID - Spain on Thursday returned paintings belonging to a former Madrid mayor that were seized for their protection during the 1936-39 Civil War and never returned under Francisco Franco's dictatorship. The seven paintings had been kept in several museums throughout Spain, including the Prado Museum in Madrid, where the handover ceremony to the family of Pedro Rico, Madrid's mayor as the Civil War broke out, took place on Thursday evening. In 2022, the Prado published a list of artworks that had been seized during the war and set up a research project to track down their legitimate owners. The government has identified more than 6,000 items, including jewellery, ceramics and textiles, as well as some paintings, sculptures and furniture, which were safeguarded during the war by Republican forces fighting Franco's Nationalists and never returned by Francoist institutions when he came to power. "It's a very important moment of justice and reparation that the Spanish government is doing for their families," said Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun. The paintings returned to Rico's family nine decades later were mainly scenes of everyday life by 19th-century artists such as Eugenio Lucas and his son Lucas Villaamil. Francisca Rico said she was very moved by the restitution of the paintings belonging to her grandfather, who was mayor between 1931-1934 and then in 1936 and who died in exile in France. "(They're ) finally doing what should have been done long ago," she said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Scotsman
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Low tax approach will help bring greater benefits for all of us
Sir Tom Hunter commissioned the report by Oxford Economic through his foundation The usual critics have been quick to pounce on a study commissioned by Scotland's most successful entrepreneur, Sir Tom Hunter, to find ways to kick-start Scotland's flagging economy. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, 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... As the Oxford Economics report focused on a direct comparison with Singapore, leftwingers inherently suspicious about business interests were quick to dismiss comparisons because, as everyone knows, Scotland isn't Singapore. Nor are we Denmark or Finland, or Ireland for that matter, but that doesn't stop Nationalists using their economic records as a justification for ending the union, a far more successful arrangement than the EU will ever be. But Sir Tom and Oxford Economics were not just interested in Singapore, because two years ago they collaborated on a similar study looking at, guess where, Ireland, and they came to the same conclusion; a much more competitive approach to taxation, both personal and corporate, would yield better results and ultimately bring greater benefits for all. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ireland's 12.5 per cent corporation tax on profits produced average annual economic growth of 8.9 per cent from 2012-2022, compared to Scotland's 0.9 per cent. Ah yes, but corporation tax is UK-wide, and it went up from 19 to 25 per cent in April 2023 under the Conservatives, our critics will say, and not without justification. But that doesn't mean the low tax approach is wrong, just that the political reality of high state expenditure to cope with an ageing population and accelerated by the very necessary emergency measures to save thousands of jobs in the pandemic, means that delivering the low tax, go-getter economy that Sir Tom wants, and we in the Conservative Party would like to see, is far from easy, even for a party which believes in reducing the burden of the state. Not easy, but still worth striving for, and decisions taken by the SNP and Labour, under nothing like the pressure of the immediate aftermath of Covid, have repeatedly shown that cutting the tax burden is the last thing they want to do. Between the two of them, Scotland has been hit by higher income tax, property transactions tax, council tax, employers' national insurance contributions and business rates, so it's no wonder Scotland has struggled to spring back from the grim pandemic era. The SNP's income tax policy is a disincentive for people on low wages to earn more, as if their boast that a majority don't pay more income tax than in England is something to be proud of, when that's everyone on less than £26,500 a year, according to figures from the Institute of Fiscal Studies. No-one argues that poverty shouldn't be tackled, not even in Singapore, but the problem in Scotland is that the SNP pays lip service to the need for a thriving economy to provide sustainable solutions and instead hikes up tax to fund a spiralling welfare system which disincentivises work. With around a quarter of working age Scots inactive, the burden on the other 75 per cent will keep growing and with it the incentive to stop. 'To build Scotland's economy and the future for the next generation of Scots we need a low tax regime, a new model for health and social care, and a housing and planning policy that works in an accelerated manner,' wrote Sir Tom. He's no Tory supporter, but we've been saying this for years. Sue Webber is a Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothian
Daily Record
20-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
'Absurd' SNP accused of supporting Nigel Farage by opposing UK-EU trade deal
The SNP Government has "tied themselves in knots to set themselves against this deal", according to the Scottish Secretary. SNP opposition to a new UK-EU trade deal which could thousands of new jobs has been branded "absurd". Rachel Reeves today accused Nationalists of attempting to follow the example of Reform UK and the Tories in criticising a "reset" of relations between Westminster and Brussels. It comes after John Swinney yesterday accused the UK Government of having "surrendered" the fishing industry to satisfy European demands for long-term access to Scottish waters. He claimed the deal showed Scotland was an "afterthought" in Westminster decision-making. Scots fishermen hit out at the reset, which allows a further 12 years of access to UK waters for boats from the EU, with the Scottish Fishermen's Federation (SFF) describing it as a 'horror show'. Reeves, the UK Chancellor, mocked SNP MP Dave Doogan after he told the Commons today a 'growth-threatening Sword of Damocles' has been placed over the fishing industry. He said: "What changes will the Chancellor introduce in the spring statement to compensate for the growth-threatening Sword of Damocles she has just placed over the Scottish fishing industry? 'She should know, but probably doesn't, that 70 per cent of revenue from fishing and agriculture comes from Scotland. 'She should know, but probably doesn't, that the fishing industry in Scotland is 50 times larger for Scotland's economy than the UK. Reeves replied: 'I was very pleased that the Scottish Salmon Association welcomed the trade deal that we secured with the EU yesterday, and 70 per cent of the fish that is caught in UK waters is sold into European markets.' She added: 'The SNP are now in an absurd situation where they support Reform and the Tories in opposing the deal with the EU.' Ian Murray, the Scottish Secretary, said the deal between the UK and EU provides '12 years of certainty and stability' for fishermen. 'It gives 12 years of certainty and stability for the industry, it doesn't change any of the deal that was put in place in 2019, which is 25 per cent more quotas for UK and Scottish trawlers and it gives wide access, of course to the new markets of the EU, in terms of pushing away all that red tape that was there before. 'Not one more fish will be taken out of Scottish waters by an EU trawler as part of this deal and that provides that stability and certainty.' The deal has also angered the Scottish Government, which said it had not been consulted on the fishing aspect of it despite the issue being devolved. The UK Government asserts the agreement related to international trade, which is reserved to Westminster. Murray claimed SNP ministers had "tied themselves in knots to set themselves against this deal". Angus Robertson, the SNP's external affairs minister, said today Westminster had failed to consult the devolved administration and had cancelled a number of meetings. He said: 'The fact that this agreement, not least on fisheries, was reached without the explicit engagement of the devolved governments on the negotiating detail is not just an affront to devolution, it has put at risk and will continue to put at risk the benefits of any commitments for the people of Scotland.' Labour's Neil Bibby claimed Robertson was expressing 'faux outrage' while business groups including the CBI had welcomed the deal. The MSP said: 'The UK Government is getting on with the job of rebuilding our economy, meanwhile the SNP are all over the place on this issue and seem to be opposing this deal alongside Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch.'
