Swinney is releasing the docs...
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
We need a Scottish Parliament election thread
(1355 posts)-
Posted 3 years ago #
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“in the next five years”
Posted 3 years ago # -
Things happening quite quickly now
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-56259056
Posted 3 years ago # -
Posted 3 years ago #
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"Scotland's top civil servant may have destroyed notes of meeting with Nicola Sturgeon linked to Alex Salmond probe"
https://twitter.com/jackiebmsp/status/1366509148200964096?s=20
Posted 3 years ago # -
"The SNP's former director of comms Kevin Pringle, and QC Duncan Hamilton, have both written to the Holyrood inquiry to corroborate Alex Salmond's account that the identity of a complainer was revealed to them in March 2018."
https://twitter.com/DanVevers/status/1366813408662806528?s=20
Posted 3 years ago # -
So who's next FM if NS goes?
AS has a popularity rating in Scotland worse than BJ. I don't think these events will improve it.Posted 3 years ago # -
"who's next FM"
Who is next in line in SNP who isn't implicated in any way? Will be them.
Posted 3 years ago # -
“So who's next FM if NS goes?”
Initially whoever is deputy.
Is that still Swinney?
He decided he didn’t want a no confidence vote yesterday
I don’t think she’ll (have to) resign.
That is based on not a lot, apart from feeling that she’d look a lot more worried if she thought she’d done anything wrong.
(That’s not the same as actually having done anything wrong of course!)
Of course denial and being ‘responsible’ seem to be big parts of the problem of ‘modern’ politics.
Which is not to suggest that things were fine in the past. Less scrutiny perhaps.
Also levels of loyalty that is seen as a strength/weakness of the SNP, which, these days, is relatively rare for political parties.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Scottish Government statement suggesting NS shouldn't resign because "we're in the middle of a pandemic". Not sure that holds up really as Scottish Government seems also to be suggesting (hypothetically at least) that a change of leadership is ok in May (of course no one expects that in reality).
Daily Mail - I'll save the links - suggesting NS broke Ministerial code 38 times.
London news anchors according to Twitter now making the drive to Scotland, budget seems to have been forgotten about.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Yesterday was interesting, didn't 'watch' all of it, much just listened to.
Nothing new really yesterday, NS quite content to say I don't know, or I wasn't directly involved in that process for most of the day.
The SNP MSPs unsurprisingly never had much to question NS about.
The Labour MSP was really the only person who managed to cut through NS, clear they don't like each other.
One line of questioning arround FMQs last week had NS say she had no knowlege of the issue being questioned, but NS slipped up later in questioning when she conceeded she'd had a meeting earlier in the day where she was breifed on it. JB ran in for the kill on that one, which had NS visibly swear under her breath.Clear there was no conspiracy to 'Get AS', though NS conceded why it may look like that to some.
What's not so clear is whether there was a conspiracy to cover up the rule2 show of a legal case which the Govt should have conceded much earlier.Arround the 29th March/2nd April meetings NS all but admitted she broke Ministerial code by not informing the Perm Sec about meeting, but that she did so for the right reasons - and would probably make the same decision again today if she had to make it.
She seems to be far enough away from the overall process to be touchable on that, the ministerial code less so, but was the breach bad enough to cost her job?
How tenable will her position be when the Perm Sec and Lord Advocate heads roll?
What should also be noted, is that all sides agree that 2 people were completely failed by the process, and the whole sorry affair may stop poeple with complaints coming forward in the future, and that *that* process needs to be fixed.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Useful summary.
Only heard/read the bits that various news outlets decided was ‘newsworthy’.
Channel 4 News thought it was so important that they had interviews by the pond.
Bet they wish they’d stayed in London.
One thing many ‘sides’ agree on is that ‘Tories shouldn’t have called for NS to resign before she’d given evidence’.
Posted 3 years ago # -
"One thing many ‘sides’ agree on is that ‘Tories shouldn’t have called for NS to resign before she’d given evidence’."
Think they got carried away with themselves on that, even though the evidence that was handed over that evening is really damning of the ScotGOV legal case, NS was far enough away from it so simply said I don't know or gave incomplete answers.
Mudo Fraser asked some quite difficult questions for NS, the other Tory (deputy convener, don't know her name) was inefectual had a rehersed story to tell and was cut off by the convener.
She wasn't happy because the convener closed the procedings before she could finish her points. This did seem controversial - not because the points she was making had any great substance (at least the few she did get out) - but really the 'we must finish at 5' demand even when the questions arent finished?... AS evedence didn't finish until all the questions were asked, went on till abou 6:30pm.
But yes, if you are going to make demands like that, you'd better be able to back them up in questioning.
One observation in the difference between AS and NS. AS came well prepared with lots of documentary evidence to point to, and a clear and tight timeline of his version of events.
NS seemed less rehersed, quite evasive, lots of don't know, can't remember exactly, I'll get that information to you answers, and no reference to any new or even existing written documentation which would corroborate her version of events.On the day both seemed believable, and it seemed like they were both being honest. Can't both be right.
Posted 3 years ago # -
“
NEW legal advice released by the Scottish Government appears to debunk Alex Salmond’s central claim about a high-level plot against him.
It shows SNP ministers were explicitly advised against pausing his legal fight with the Government while there was a criminal investigation into his conduct.
“
Posted 3 years ago # -
The SNP civil war seems to have done some damage to the cause, time will tell how temporary the damage is:
Posted 3 years ago # -
John Curtice pointing out some caveats needed when looking at that particular poll data: https://twitter.com/WhatScotsThink/status/1368515604542545920
Posted 3 years ago # -
Extra £15m for active travel in the Greens budget deal: https://greens.scot/news/the-scottish-green-budget-deal-2021-22
Free bus travel for <22yr olds too. Shame this couldn't have happened a few years ago, I'd have saved a fortune!
Posted 3 years ago # -
Greens tweeted about extra funding. Asked them whether the EST interest free loans will continue for E-bikes. Anyone here know? Will be very small funding in comparison to EVs but important as shops will find it harder to sell cargo models (not just LB).
Loans are good for HMRC as of course they get some back as VAT ;-)Posted 3 years ago # -
Tories’ Lothian list announced:
1. Miles Briggs
2. Susan Webber
3. Jeremy BalfourOf their current 3 list MSPs Gordon Lindhurst has been relegated to seventh.
Looks like we’ll be waving goodbye to Cllr Webber as local Tory transport spokesperson. She’ll presumably be able to do less damage at Holyrood.
Posted 3 years ago # -
I don't expect any of the Tories to ever engage with Spaces for People properly.
So much is generational as younger voters don't see owning a car as essential - or maybe that's only true in a city?A generational decision from Labour party. From National. Ride it out and delay while new nukes get in at Faslane maybe? Younger people more anti-nuke or do they 'buy' the necessary evil line?
SCOTTISH Labour is “heading for a mess” after its leadership deselected a Holyrood candidate who expressed support for an second independence referendum in the next parliamentary term, according to one of its own MSP's.
Neil Findlay, who is stepping down at the next election, called the decision to deselect Hollie Cameron “frankly outrageous”
Posted 3 years ago # -
SNP Westminster Chief whip resigns on light of a story that came up last week about a male SNP staff member who has made 2 complaints of sexual harassment by SNP MPs, one against a male MP, and also a female MP.
The story last week was of Iain Blackford attempt to sweep it under the carpet at the time. Nicola Sturgeon was also made aware at the time.
Appreciate not 'Scottish Parliament', but SNP I don't think have the same UK/Scotland split as other parties (I think, could be wrong).
Posted 3 years ago # -
Swinney: November minutes of meeting between Nicola Sturgeon, the Permanent Secretary and legal counsel is lost.
Swinney should now survive his no confidence vote after greens rolled back from their position last week to support the vote. Not clear how the position is different from last week in that not all of the documents have been released by the Government, but hey the Greens did did get their budget concessions...
Posted 3 years ago # -
@baldcyclist - As Andy McIver (former Tory press person) said on STV panel last night...
Last week the opposition said they had all the evidence they needed to force a no confidence vote before FM appeared. This got enough missing information to satisfy everyone except the Tories. (Satisfy = just about accept)
Shona Craven (National) pointed out it was a good move from them as unjammed ScotGov's refusal to supply legal advice.
Andy McIver now thinks the Tories are determined to get a scalp as a pre-election win but have lost unanimous support as you say.Posted 3 years ago # -
@Laidback I'm not sure that's completely true. One of the criticisms that Jackie Bailey levied at the First Minister during her evidence was that it took a threat of a vote of no confidence in JS to get *some* of the evidence released before her appearance. JB suggested that NS should intervene to allow the release of the rest of the documents to happen more quickly. NS looked annoyed and replied she would find out what the hold up was. The 'apparantly' available documents were then drip fed to the committee over the following few days. However there is still a month missing, there are no documents for the November. The article posted above is about one meeting during November where the evidence has been lost.
JB also commented on how convenient it was that most of the documents were not made available to the committee before NS appearance meaning she couldn't be questioned on them. JB also suggested that they my need to recall NS so she ccould be questioned again regarding the docs.
Posted 3 years ago # -
@Baldcyclist, it's certainly interesting that it's taken five years for the claims to be formally reported and now investigated.
2016 (when the alleged events supposedly took place) also an election year and of course we had that referendum...
Posted 3 years ago # -
@Crowriver It's more interesting that the claims (presume the WM ones?) were reported at the time, NS was made aware too but Iain Blackford reportedly got complainer and MP in his office and tried to brush it under the carpet.
Presumably the current issues, perhaps alongside the issues with Mr MacKay last year has persuaded the poor fellow to come forward and make sure his complaint is heard and not forgotten about.
Remember Mr MacKay was also known about and not allowed to drink at functions as be was likely to act in appropriately, and that was also brushed under the carpet.Seems to have been a lot brushed under the carpet, the cause seems to be seen as more important than protecting employees. Voters seem to be more worried about the cause too worrying about when things come out rather than whether they happened or not.
The timing is less important than making sure the claims are investigated (whatever the outcome).
Posted 3 years ago # -
Swinney survives, committee still doesn't have what it has asked for.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-56347694
Posted 3 years ago # -
New YouGov poll similar to ComRes poll finds there is no longer majority support for #imdyref2. Also that SNP no longer on track for majority win in May election.
Civil war has been damaging to the cause, but I wonder if there is a realisation looking at the border rule 2 show after Brexit, that an Indy Scotland will feel real financial pain if it leaves the Union.
Maybe better off in 50 years isn't a great selling point.
A lot has put me off SNP in last few years, starting really with the rate capping which was strangling the council's a few years ago, but I'd probably still have voted yes (again, did in 2014) if a ref came up. Brexit has changed that, we're experiencing in real time what happens when you break an economic union, nothing good comes of it.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/voters-snub-snp-plans-for-another-referendum-wtghj38m7
Posted 3 years ago # -
“
Sir John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde and one of the leading experts in the field of Scottish independence, told The Scotsman in December there was “no discernible evidence” new parties would impact the Holyrood results.
“
Posted 3 years ago #
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