The SNP’s ‘business conference’ this year is in London. Tickets are going for £750 per person:
“Following a sold-out Business Day in Edinburgh last year, SNP Business Day 2026 offers senior business leaders and public affairs professionals based in and around London a rare opportunity to engage directly with senior SNP figures at a pivotal moment for Scotland’s economy, investment landscape, and relationship with Westminster.”
On 16 March John Swinney will give a keynote address followed by a panel with Kate Forbes and “networking with SNP Representatives.” Also on the agenda is the SNP’s “influence at Westminster”…
That’s all rounded off with a beer event with Stephen Flynn. The “ticket also includes exclusive access to an invitation-only reception on the evening of Monday 16th March, also in London.” Write your own jokes…
Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has announced she will stand down from Holyrood at the next Scottish election in May 2026. She will remain as Deputy First Minister until then…
In a public letter to First Minister John Swinney published this morning, Forbes says she is focusing on her family life:
“Dear John,
After careful thought over the summer recess, I have informed the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Constituency Association today that I intend to step down from the Scottish Parliament at the next election.
It has been an incredible privilege to serve the people of the Highlands since 2016 as the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch. In that time, I have also been grateful for the opportunity to serve in Government, initially as Minister for Public Finance, then as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and more recently as Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic.I am in no doubt about the scale of my duties as a local representative, an activist and campaigner, and a Government Minister. Quite rightly this job entails long days far from home, constant attention and total dedication. As I consider the upcoming election and the prospects of another term, I have concluded that I do not wish to seek re-election and miss any more of the precious early years of family life.
I remain wholly supportive of you today just as when I backed you to be Leader of the SNP and First Minister of Scotland, and I will continue to serve my constituents and the public with diligence over the next year. I look forward to campaigning for the SNP at the next election, to return you as First Minister for another term and lead Scotland to independence.”
Forbes came second to Humza Yousaf (remember him?) in the SNP leadership race to replace Nicola Sturgeon two years ago. A lifetime ago in politics…
Rupert Lowe’s Early Day Motion to “deport all individuals found to be residing in the United Kingdom illegally” has gathered 16 signatures – of which nine are from Tory MPs. Ex-Scotland Office minister John Lamont is the latest Tory to sign…
Lamont said: “People in Britain illegally shouldn’t be here. They need to be removed. People have had enough. We need to take back control of our borders – for good.” Now the SNP has branded him “morally repugnant”. SNP MSP Rona Mackay blasted Lamont should be “ashamed“, adding:
“This language and approach are not only morally repugnant but dangerously inflammatory. The SNP stands firmly against this inhumane rhetoric.”
Meanwhile Ross Greer, the MSP hoping to become co-leader of the Scottish Greens, accused the Tories of trying “to mimic the cruelty and chaos of Trump’s America”. All very righteous from the SNP and their pals in the Greens, despite immigration being the main concern for the public…
Co-conspirators may remember the short-lived First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf. The former SNP leader has now announced he won’t contest the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections in May. He says the “next Scottish Parliament elections in 2026 will be the right time for me to move on, to provide an opportunity for the next generation of MSPs to step forward, and to explore where I can best make a contribution in the future, in helping to tackle some of the most pressing challenges our world faces.” Including waging a bizarre war with GB News….
Humza says he will be reflecting on his “mistakes, and even regrets.” You’d hope so…
Read his full very long letter below:
Continue reading “Humza Yousaf Quitting Scottish Parliament”
Elon Musk continues on his mission to point out woke British politics, rinsing the SNP for claiming there are 24 genders. The Nats’ official guidance includes terms like “genderqueer,” for anyone who identifies as “other than male or female” or a “combination” of both, and “pangender,” for those who feel “all possible genders at once.” A creative way to look busy…
🥜
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 21, 2024
J.K. Rowling jumped into the fray on X, declaring that the “Scottish endarkenment gathers pace” in response to the long list. Elon summed it up with a “nuts” emoji. Pun intended?
After just 14 months in post the SNP’s chief executive Murray Foote has resigned this morning. Foote says that amid the party’s “substantial process of internal re-organisation and renewal” he can’t “make the necessary personal commitment to leading the delivery of these changes into 2026 and beyond.” He’s had one Foote out of the door for a while…
Foote, former Daily Record editor and SNP comms chief who resigned after miselading journalists over the party’s membership figures, is also known for such embarrassing takes as: I will bet money on there being no charges in Operation Branchform. We saw how that one turned out…
The SNP’s terminal decline continues as trust in its ability to govern hits a new low. Trust in its ability to achieve independence died a while ago…
Red Wall Labour backbencher Jonathan Brash told GB News that Starmer should resign:
“I’m completely fed up about it, and I think it’s got to the point now where I genuinely think that, as far as the Prime Minister is concerned, it’s not a case of if, it’s when.”