Hard Labour: Starmer’s uphill battle for political survival
The received wisdom is that Labour, and in particular Keir Starmer, is toast. Reform are now attracting sustained opinion poll leads as Labour presides over the same sort of scandals, division and incompetence that they chastised the Tories for. Consequently, Labour’s numbers, and the personal approval ratings of the Prime Minister, have plummeted. Adding insult […]
Programme for Government (Diet Version)
This was no ordinary Programme for Government. In recent times, it was customary for the First Minister of Scotland to stand at the dispatch box, unveil a raft of ‘bold’ and ‘ambitious’ measures, as well as a litany of lofty and somewhat unattainable targets, and throw extra cash at various societal problems. Not this year. […]
John Swinney’s re-shuffle: it turns out continuity can cut it
‘Can I just shock you? I like wine, despite what I said earlier.’ That was Alan Partridge as he grovelled to keep his job the BBC, willing to do or say anything to make it happen. What has that got to do with Scottish politics you may ask? Replace the word ‘wine’ with ‘continuity’ and […]
Will the end of the Bute House Agreement spell the end of Humza Yousaf’s tenure as First Minister?
The Bute House Agreement was terminated with immediate effect in an unceremonious parting of ways between the SNP and their former political bedfellows, the Scottish Greens. It was an arranged marriage brought about by the former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon which the current (and at the time of writing) First Minister endorsed during the leadership […]
Scottish Government Reshuffle: Who’s In, Who’s Out
Following the resignation of the Cabinet Secretary for Health Michael Matheson given the long running scandal over his £11,000 iPad expenses – subject to a parliamentary investigation which is likely to be damning – the First Minister Humza Yousaf undertook a reshuffle. This wasn’t the first resignation of the week as the Minister for Alcohol […]
Humza’s First Programme for Government: Let’s Get Down to Business
MSPs returned from summer recess to the showpiece of the parliamentary term: the unveiling of the new legislative plans for the year ahead. This was Humza Yousaf’s first Programme for Government and while he has been in the job for only five months, many still don’t know what he truly stands for. Is he merely […]
Humza Yousaf’s first reshuffle – who’s in, who’s out, and the overall verdict
Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf has today unveiled his Cabinet with a mixture of new and familiar faces and said his team would undertake “a radical, ambitious and progressive policy agenda”. But who are those entering and leaving the Scottish Government? And what does it tell us about the likely nature of Humza Yousaf’s governance? […]
Scotland’s New First Minister – What Happens Next And What To Expect From A Humza Yousaf Government
After a bruising and bitterly fought contest, and one that at times seemed never-ending, the Cabinet Secretary for Health Humza Yousaf was today declared the new leader of the SNP. He will become Scotland’s next First Minister tomorrow. He triumphed in a ballot of 72,000 members, securing 52% of the final vote against the Cabinet […]
SNP Leadership Contest – Who is running, who isn’t, and what happens next?
The Scottish National Party are holding their first fully contested leadership election in nearly twenty years following the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon as party leader last week. As the runners and riders begin to set out their pitches, we can expect an intriguing yet bitterly fought race. What are the latest developments and implications for […]
Is the UK Government moving beyond ‘devolve and forget’?
The Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack earned the sobriquet ‘Viceroy Jack’ for his recent use of Section 35 of the Scotland Act to prevent the Scottish Government’s controversial Gender Recognition Reform Bill from becoming law. This marked the first time this negative statutory instrument has been used by the UK Government to strike […]