John Swinney: IndyRef anniversary can reawaken optimism in Scotland

September182024

John Swinney has urged independence supporters not to live in the past as he celebrated the 10th anniversary of the independence referendum as a moment of “reawakening” for the yes movement.Speaking to a crowd of campaigners in Edinburgh 10 years to the day since Scotland voted 55% to 45% to remain part of the UK, the SNP leader said: “We have had a long, dark decade – a decade of austerity, of Brexit, of a cost of living crisis and a global pandemic.”“As a nation, we can’t just regret the things that we cannot do – it is time for us to start focusing again on the things that we can,” he said.“And that is exactly what we are going to do.It starts by reawakening the sense of optimism, of hope and of possibility that was so prevalent throughout Scotland in 2014.

” The former first minister Nicola Sturgeon predicted on Wednesday that Scotland would become an independent country as part of a “wider shake-up” of the UK, as senior figures across Scottish politics reflected on the anniversary of the referendum,With support for independence stabilised at just below 50%, the former SNP leader told BBC Scotland News: “I believe that, perhaps as part of a wider shake-up of UK governance, the reunification of Ireland, perhaps, more autonomy in Wales, that I think we will see Scotland become an independent country,”Sturgeon, who led the Scottish National party’s part in the yes campaign as party deputy in 2014, succeeded Alex Salmond as leader when he resigned after the referendum defeat,She expressed frustration at the impasse reached with Westminster in the intervening decade over whether Holyrood has the right to call a second poll on independence,“I came up against a brick wall of Westminster democracy-denial in refusing the right of the Scottish people to choose their own future,” she said.

“Do I wish I had found a way around that? Yes, but that was the situation I faced.Had that right to choose been secured, I believe Scotland would have voted yes.”However, the UK trade minister Douglas Alexander, who was part of the pro-union Better Together campaign in 2014, said the general election result proved that Scotland “genuinely has moved on … from a debate where we think the only way to see the changes we want is further devolution”.Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland, Alexander said: “To be fair to the 45% [who voted yes in 2014], a number of them genuinely and sincerely believed a vote for independence was a way to secure change, and what we actually saw on 4 July was an overwhelming desire for change being channelled into [a] vote for the Labour party not the SNP.”While 18 September 2014 was “a hinge of history”, Alexander said: “Many of us want to leave behind the rancour, the division, the polarisation that has characterised a lot of the last decade and get on with the practical changes most of us want to see rebuilding our health service, improving our education system and getting the economy back on track.

”Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionAlthough support for independence has remained relatively steady, the SNP has suffered a steep decline in popularity amid a series of financial scandals and perceived failure to focus on public priorities, resulting in a general election rout that left them with only nine MPs.The former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who also campaigned for Better Together a decade ago, said Sturgeon has squandered an opportunity to secure a second referendum by seeming to capitalise on the chaos of Brexit too quickly.She told BBC Scotland News: “Her appetite to go so fast, so hard and so early took that opportunity away from her.”

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Unite aims to force vote on winter fuel payment at Labour conference

Unite will attempt to force a vote at the Labour party conference to reverse the winter fuel payment cuts, in what could be an embarrassing row for Keir Starmer’s first conference in government.Unite, a strong critic of Starmer, is hoping to attract the backing of the largest union, Unison, for the motion to condemn the cut. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said the measure and others were necessary because of the state of Labour’s economic inheritance.The cut for all but the poorest pensioners receiving pension credit caused widespread disquiet among Labour MPs when it was voted on in parliament last week. A total of 52 Labour MPs did not vote on the motion, but government sources said that all but 12 of these had been given prior permission to miss the vote

September182024

Starmer urged to appoint ‘mould-breaking’ outsider as civil service head

Keir Starmer is being privately urged to appoint a new cabinet secretary from outside the civil service who can “break the mould” of the traditional role, as internal battles continue over Simon Case’s replacement.The outgoing chair of the John Lewis Partnership, Sharon White, who is also a former chief executive of Ofcom, is thought to be among the favourites to head the civil service, along with Minouche Shafik, a former president of Columbia University in New York. However, there are others in No 10 who are wary of the outsiders who have been tipped.Oliver Robbins, the former Brexit negotiator who had been close to Starmer’s chief of staff, Sue Gray, had long been tipped for the job but is now in the frame for national security adviser.Others within the civil service who have been named by insiders as contenders are Tamara Finkelstein, the permanent secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Jeremy Pocklington, the permanent secretary at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

September182024

UK must stop being naive over resetting relations with EU, thinktank says

The UK must stop being “naive” about negotiations to reset relations with the EU and show more flexibility in its approach to Brussels, a trade policy thinktank has said.As EU leaders question how much has changed in the UK despite the new government, the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) has outlined a plan to bring the two sides closer after a series of reports that the EU doubted Keir Starmer’s commitment to a reset.“Emotions around the UK’s departure from the EU are far from healed, and this scarring is damaging the prospects of both,” the plan’s author, David Henig, a former civil servant and trade policy expert, said.“The UK-EU relationship will always be time-consuming for governments, but requires change for these efforts to bring positive results.”The Labour government has repeatedly stated its desire to strengthen ties with Europe, but diplomats have been saying for some weeks that they need to see this translated into specifics before they embark on a reset

September182024

NGOs call Home Office ‘unethical’ over £15m offer to help resettle deportees

The Home Office has been accused of “cynical” and “unethical” behaviour after offering millions of pounds to refugee charities to help settle newly deported people.A government contract put out to tender earlier this month offers to pay £15m over three years to NGOs who work with people being removed from the UK to 11 countries, including Ethiopia, Iraq and Zimbabwe.In August, Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, announced a plan to increase removals of those who have had their asylum claims rejected to 2018 levels over the next six months, meaning more than 14,000 deportations by the end of the year.The contract, entitled Home Office Reintegration Programme, asks for bidders from “non-statutory sector organisations that are charities and non-profit making organisations” to help with temporary accommodation, food, and cash assistance once they arrive in their country of origin. Other countries covered by the contract will be Albania, Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Nigeria, Pakistan and Vietnam

September182024

Sue Gray’s £170,000 pay prompts fury among Labour advisers

Sue Gray has been given a salary of £170,000 as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff – more than the prime minister – prompting fury among Labour colleagues who have taken lower pay since entering government.Gray was given a pay rise after the election despite other political special advisers being unhappy that their salary was reduced compared with their previous jobs at the Labour party.The BBC first reported that Gray was paid £3,000 more than Starmer’s salary of £166,786.One source told the broadcaster: “It was suggested that she might want to go for a few thousand pounds less than the prime minister to avoid this very story. She declined

September182024

Tom Tugendhat’s call for review of Huw Edwards’ sentence backfires after experts tell him law doesn’t allow it – as it happened

Another Tory leadership candidate, Tom Tugendhat, has also been on X today raising an issue that he thinks might help with his campaign. But, arguably, his tweet has backfired.This morning he posted online a copy of a letter he is sending to to the attorney general urging him to review the decision not to jail Huw Edwards for viewing child abuse images. Tugendhat said the attorney, Richard Hermer, should use the unduly lenient sentences scheme to do this.Huw Edwards won’t be going to jail for possession of indecent images of children

September182024

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