Latest news with #KennyMacAskill
The National
4 days ago
- Business
- The National
Scottish economy 'to outstrip UK, France, and Germany in 2026'
KPMG, one of the 'big four' accounting firms, predicted in its latest European Economic Outlook that Scotland would see GDP growth of 1.2% in 2026, compared to 1.1% for the UK as a whole. Yael Selfin, KPMG's chief economist in the UK, said that new trade agreements – such as the deal with India – could give Scotland a 'modest edge' over elsewhere in the UK. The India trade deal cuts whisky tariffs from 150% to 75%, with plans for it to be reduced to 40% over 10 years. READ MORE: Kenny MacAskill: Alexander Dennis is just the latest chapter in Scotland's stripping In 2026, Scotland's projected 1.2% growth is expected to outstrip France (0.8%), Germany (1.1%), the Netherlands (1.1%), and Italy (0.6%). However, Europe-wide, the UK's 1.1% growth rate is expected to lag behind countries such as Spain (1.8%), Ireland (1.4%), Poland (3.2%), Denmark (1.8%), and Portugal (2.3%). KPMG further identified several challenges holding back Scottish growth in 2025. The Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce noted: 'Scottish GDP grew by just 0.4% in Q1 2025, behind the UK average of 0.7%, as rising input costs, including higher employer National Insurance contributions, continue to squeeze margins, delay hiring, and sustain inflationary pressure. 'Consumer confidence has also weakened, with April's Scottish Consumer Sentiment Indicator (SCSI) falling to its lowest level since mid-2023.' READ MORE: Our island community borrowed millions for a wind farm. Here's how it went KPMG chief economist Selfin said: 'While current pressures on businesses are significant, Scotland's economy is well placed to strengthen in the months ahead, and if conditions improve as we expect, could give it a modest edge over the UK as a whole in 2026. 'With inflation expected to fall back to target and interest rates likely to ease, Scottish firms stand to benefit from a more stable economic climate. 'Many of its key sectors, including food and drink and manufacturing, are also acutely affected by international trade tensions – so any new agreements with key export partners could give Scottish businesses more reason for optimism.'
The National
4 days ago
- Business
- The National
Alexander Dennis is just the latest chapter in Scotland's stripping
Vehicles continued to roll off the production line, but south of the Border, not in West Lothian. The same fate now seems destined for ADL, with construction consolidated in Scarborough and the Scotland paying the price. Back in 1984 under Thatcherism, industry after industry suffered and factory after factory closed. I recall driving from my home in West Lothian to Glasgow and it was a scene of carnage with Motherwell Bridge shut, Cameron Ironworks and Honeywell closed and Caterpillar pulling out. It seemed to be a case of last out, put the lights out on central Scotland. READ MORE: Scottish Government responds as bus firm set to move all manufacturing to England Of course, there was a recovery but not for every community and many are still scarred to this day. Moreover, areas which had been major engineering hubs since the industrial revolution suddenly became distribution and transport hubs, with a loss of skills and a huge reduction in pay for workers. Now it's Starmerism and the North Sea is in turmoil. The Grangemouth refinery has closed and it looks set to be joined by ADL. And it's not just the Forth Valley and Aberdeen but all of Scotland that's suffering. While the support announced for the Acorn carbon capture and storage last week is welcome, there's no guarantee it will proceed to full development. The investment in Faslane and the military is no basis for the development of a high-skilled modern Scottish economy and most certainly not for a safer world. Scotland is again being de-industrialised with jobs lost, skills going and people leaving. But it just shouldn't be this way. The North Sea should be booming. Not quite at the levels of the 1980s but still capable of providing tens of thousands of jobs, at the same time as firms sell their skills and products elsewhere in the world and transition to renewables with which Scotland's also blessed. But that's just not happening. READ MORE: Kenny MacAskill: It's time for McColl to be given another crack at Ferguson Marine At Grangemouth, refining should be continuing for economic, environmental and fuel security reasons, all as it begins a transition to sustainable fuels for which its ideally placed. Yet that, too, has been abandoned, and Project Willow remains a mirage. ADL's buses are of high quality and regular sights on Scottish highways and streets over the years. As well as diesel, it produces electric buses and has the skills to also provide hydrogen ones. Now the danger is those skills will be lost. Every bus on Scottish roads will need to be bought from elsewhere and the cutting-edge technology for electric and hydrogen bus production for which Scotland is also ideally placed will be lost, too. What a tragedy. But it's joining a litany of sectors where Scotland should be at the forefront but either lags behind or they don't exist any more, from other vehicles through to turbines. Electric and hydrogen bus production should be part of the benefit from Scotland's renewable bounty and part of an industrial strategy for a modern economy for our nation in the 21st century. It's not hard to join the dots. We have a huge resource in renewable energy with electricity coming out of our ears and we're the base for 100% of the UK's green hydrogen. There are turbines on our hills and off our shores and using what they produce should allow not just for cheap energy for our homes and industry, but cheap fuel. As well as addressing our need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it should cut the costs of public transport. The electricity is already there, and hydrogen is coming on stream. A hydrogen plant is planned for the Ineos chemical site in Grangemouth which, of course, could provide fuel for buses or other uses. READ MORE: 'Bold': Unelected Labour peer calls for second Holyrood chamber and 'major review' All across Scotland similar constructions are taking place. Many are driven by the whisky sector decarbonising not just distilleries but also maltings. Others are simply taking advantage of the surfeit of renewable energy which the grid cannot cope with, and hydrogen production is a no-brainer. Rather than being a resource to exploit for the transmission of energy south, Scotland should be benefitting from the jobs that should be clustering or here. One sector for sure is electric and hydrogen buses. But the governments in both Edinburgh and London have let the industry and its workforce down. The UK is being flooded by cheap Chinese buses. It is part of a plan to wipe out the local competition, with only three locations having had the skills – Ballymena, Falkirk and the north of England. Now it'll just be two. The UK Government has failed to act against the predatory imports or properly allow for local benefit and social costs to be factored in. Labour attacks on the SNP for allowing Scottish buses to be bought from China are undermined by Sadiq Khan buying even more for London. Scotland urgently requires independence to develop an industrial strategy to go along with its natural resources. We should be a manufacturing nation, not just a resource to exploit.
The National
06-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Our columnists weigh in on shock SNP defeat in Hamilton
The result will be picked over for days, perhaps weeks to come. For now. we've asked Scotland's top commentators to give their immediate post-mortems... Robin McAlpine When you get a surprise result in a by-election it is often the result of something that commentators and analysts have missed, a factor or mood that escaped the chattering classes. I'm not sure that is what has happened in Hamilton. I think this result, though it surprised me, probably does more to confirm our current position than confound it. Put simply, voters feel they have no good options and are voting against things, not for them. There is a very low level of emotional attachment to political parties just now. Walking away is easy. That creates a high level of volatility. It doesn't take much to win or lose an election these days. READ MORE: SNP activists reveal HQ silenced Reform strategy warnings So why is the SNP the victim? From a few conversations I have had with people in Hamilton, a lot of what appears to have been on their minds is 'the state of the town'. Hamilton was once a prosperous, successful town, it doesn't always feel like that now, and the things people identify as failing are mostly the responsibility of Holyrood. Combined with the fact that Labour heavily promoted their candidate as 'not a politician' and appears to have had a better ground game, it seems to have edged them in front. What lessons can be taken from this? I've been worried for a while that all the SNP's bluster about having 'turned the corner' from its declining situation was difficult to support from the data. It remains stuck on 28% in the polls and my experience of the attitude of even those still voting SNP is hardly what you'd call enthusiastic. The SNP might wish to dwell on the fact that persuading political insiders and journalists that the 'ship is steady' and persuading the public that you're worth getting off the sofa and actually supporting are two very different tasks. Kenny MacAskill The Hamilton result is a defeat for the SNP but it's also a blow to the independence movement. Alba stood aside to 'max the Yes vote', it's for the Greens to answer why they stood polling more than the small Labour majority and costing victory. But the SNP fundamentally has to take responsibility for a campaign where they abandoned independence to pursue opposing Reform. In politics it's always better to say what you're for rather than against. Yet with independence at over 50% it was forsaken. What should have been the SNP's unique selling point was abandoned. READ MORE: Hamilton by-election results – see the full breakdown in charts and graphs In 1967 Winnie Ewing was resolute in her demand for independence with her quip 'stop the world Scotland wants to get on' resonating. Yet this by-election saw the SNP defeated by a very weak Labour candidate. The very sort of apparatchik that Winnie defeated back then and who Alex Salmond saw removed from their political hegemony over Scotland. John Swinney is now in danger of handing Scotland back to Labour on plate rather than delivering independence. Winnie excited voters with the prospects of Scotland gaining from her natural resources and Scotland's North Sea oil. Shamefully, that wealth has been stolen and our refinery shut. But now a renewable energy bounty is arriving. Scotland is energy rich, but Scots are fuel poor and businesses and jobs aren't following. It's why the independence movement needs to come together. Next year's Holyrood election must be a plebiscite election, and 'max the Yes vote' the strategy. Lesley Riddoch (Image: YouTube) This was a grim result for independence. The much-pilloried Labour candidate Davy Russell won – and he did so for two big reasons. First, Labour camped out in the constituency for months – but the SNP could have done the same. Second, and more importantly, Russell was a highly visible local and 'not a politician'. In a constituency and an era where trust has been lost in both Westminster and Scottish governments, folk will always prefer one of their own. And much as Russell failed to loup the bar as a conventional candidate, he scored big time as a born and bred man who works for local charities, enjoys bowling at the local club and is a regular at the local karaoke. Since there was no actual polling in the constituency this local effect was completely missed by everyone. This is a warning. 'Non politicians' thrive when politics becomes technocratic, impersonal and unengaging. That includes the 'non-politicians' of Reform, whose leader successfully presents as a regular guy but owns four houses and co-owns his party. He is a disruptor, as the SNP were before becoming custodians of a devolved government. READ MORE: John Curtice issues verdict on Hamilton by-election after 'surprise' result Sure, they must make governance work but they must also develop strong home-grown local candidates for elections and stop drawing a polite veil over problems they cannot fix without independence. A spark, hope, vision is needed – yet independence was apparently not mentioned in any of Katy Loudon's election leaflets. It was a tough night to be doing BBC commentary in Glasgow, but more depressing was breakfast in a nearby hotel where the waiter, about to graduate in naval engineering, said he's off to London because there are no engineering jobs in Scotland. All his friends are doing the same. T'was ever thus. But it could and must be otherwise. It's why we need independence. Tommy Sheppard When it's this close you could plausibly argue that any number of things might have altered the result. There are always a myriad of push and pull factors that play on an electorate's mind and determine how it will settle. More important is the overall narrative of the election; the stories parties tell and which are believed. In this by-election this electorate chose not to believe the SNP's story. We need to ask why – and we need to get a better one. The central theme of the SNP's campaign was to argue the contest was a two-horse race, between them and Reform UK. Only the SNP could beat the buoyant new far-right insurgents. READ MORE: Angus Robertson tears into BBC coverage of Hamilton by-election count on live TV From the off, this is an unusual play to make in defence. The two-horse race line is usually deployed by a challenger to mobilise opposition to an incumbent. Doing it in this context results in a number of unfortunate and unintended consequences. First it necessarily portrays the SNP as the status quo. With an electorate boasting many reasons not to be cheerful that is always going to be a tricky ask. Second, in defence the argument has the reverse effect on your opponent that it might in attack. The other party, in this case Reform, are presented as the second most important party. The message to anyone flirting with Reform is that they are a serious contender, best placed to upset the SNP. We make their argument for them. But the two-horse argument only works if it is plausible and resonates in the real world. Despite tens of thousands of leaflets and thousands of knocked doors repeating the line, most people simply didn't believe it.
The Herald Scotland
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Revealed: Edinburgh engulfed by 'frightening' £1.7bn sea of debt
The Herald can reveal that the debt incurred by the City of Edinburgh Council has risen by over £300m since before the pandemic and now exceeds what was actually spent on city services in 2023/24 by nearly half a billion pounds. Concerns about how the capital will run vital services have surfaced as the council admits in one recent analysis that "radical change" is needed "to achieve organisational financial sustainability". Financial papers show that its overall debt, the vast bulk of which is short-term and long-term borrowing has soared by £309.7m (21.8%) since the pre-pandemic year of 2018/29 to stand at £1.732bn. And internal council predictions indicate that end of year debt mountain could soar as high as £2.877bn in 2029/30. The latest level of debt is £450m more than the £1.279bn that the city was spending in 2023/24 on services, which ranges from the provision of education, social work and waste management to the provision and maintenance of housing, roads, libraries and parks. The escalating debt in Glasgow, Scotland's biggest city serving over 620,000 people to Edinburgh's 510,000, by contrast, was £242m lower than the £1.85bn it had to spend on services. And the interest payments on borrowing and loans by the Edinburgh council over the six years since the pre-pandemic year of 2018/19 amount to £553m - enough to provide over 2600 settled affordable homes for the homeless who are left to live in temporary accommodation in the capital's housing emergency declared in November 2023. Edinburgh is preparing to implement a tourist taxThat servicing of debt has shot up by £23.4m (30%) in recent years from £76.773m in 2021/22 to £100.212m in 2023/24. The issues have arisen while the council has seen the grant it gets from the Scottish Government rise from £363.757m before the Covid pandemic in 2018/19 to £552.075m in 2023/24. It comes as the minority Labour administration controversially plans to implement a 5% tourist tax on overnight accommodation, capped at seven nights from July, next year. The levy is expected to generate up to £50m annually. Critics have raised concerns about its potential impact on affordability, visitor numbers, and the hospitality sector as the tax will affect hotels, bed and breakfasts, self-catering accommodation and properties listed on platforms like Airbnb. READ MORE: And the council has said it believes that tourist tax will help bankroll its world-famous Hogmanay celebrations. It says it has already suffered a decade of "chronic underfunding" which has necessitated £400 million in savings over ten years - which amounts to around a third of what it was spending on services in 2023/24. Edinburgh-born Alba Party leader and former Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said the state of Edinburgh's finances was "both staggering and frightening". Kenny MacAskill"Scotland's capital city is in danger of drowning in a sea of debt. A visitor levy won't cover it and, in any event, requires to be used for tourist related purposes to justify it. "Nor will it address the homelessness problem that's now endemic and hurting individuals, families and the city. The council administration needs to come clean on the extent of the problem and the Scottish Government needs to assist not stand idly by. Citizens are entitled to no less." The council's own overview of its financial state states that it predicted a funding gap of over £94.2m by 2029/30. And it said there was "therefore a risk that the council is unable to perform financial planning; deliver an annual balanced budget, manage cash flows; and confirm the ongoing adequacy of its reserves, meaning that it is unable to continue to deliver services and implement change in line with strategic be at risk of an adverse external audit opinion". And their auditors in preparing an analysis of the council's financial performance in 2024/25 in February said that financial sustainability "remains a risk" because of the huge funding gap by 2029/30 alone with associated "challenges" including "pressures for frontline services". But a longer term council projection has revealed a darker picture which predicts an average funding black hole of over £22m each year till 2034/34. That is based on a conservative assumption that there would be a 3% annual increase in staffing and other costs and 'flat cash' levels of grant funding settlement from government. And the study warns that this "reinforces the need for radical change, prioritisation and adoption of a prevention-led operating model". Internal service risk assessments show that with the city in the midst of a homelessness emergency, the housing pressures are almost certainly critical with organisational financial sustainability and financial control seen as "likely to be critical". But new end of year debt estimates show that it is expected to escalate to £2.4bn in 2026/27 and 2.877bn in 2029/30. (Image: Damian Shields) Its annual Treasury Management Strategy approved in March 2024, noted that the council had reached the limit in resources for funding for major capital projects by dipping into short-term investments and "requires to undertake significant external borrowing". The council has admitted to its auditors that the levels of borrowing "will bring significant financing risks". Local government finance scrutineers, the Accounts Commission has told the council: "We do not underestimate the major infrastructure challenges facing Edinburgh, in particular around housing and the school estate, but such levels of borrowing bring risks that could impact future financial sustainability." According to council sources, it has borrowed £290m during the 2024/25 financial year alone- with £170m going toward the management of its social housing stock. That came before the council at the end of April suspended its housing policy amidst a homelessness emergency. The unprecedented move saw all available council-owned housing stock immediately redirected toward people experiencing homelessness until at least June 13, 2025. It was part of Edinburgh's plan to get its worsening housing crisis under control, and it comes after Shelter Scotland raised concerns in 2024 over the council 'not showing the desire' to tackle legal breaches in the right to have a roof over your head. A council housing study showed that the council has failed to accommodate people on 3,263 occasions in the past year – a 115% rise from 2023/24. And as of 31 March 2025 there were 970 homeless households in what it admits is unsuitable temporary accommodation. It had approved a programme to purchase up to 270 properties for use as suitable temporary accommodation. The council is now planning to 'build, build, build', but it is at a price. Future projects include the building of 847 new homes, including 387 affordable, energy efficient homes, as part of a Granton area regeneration project. With capital investment of £220.797m planned for 2025/26, it has meant that the council needs to borrow £127.667m. That loan alone over a 30-year period will incur interest of £99.893m, The Herald has learnt. The council's own auditors have already highlighted to them that the scale of the shorter-term budget gap to 2028/29 will mean the council would find it "increasingly difficult to achieve financial balance in future years". "Members will need to make difficult decisions about spending priorities, service levels and income generation whilst ensuring the results of public consultation exercises are taken into account," they said. Auditors highlighted a risk that "operating in a challenging financial context without medium-term financial planning can compromise financial resilience and sustainability." Princes Street (Image: Colin Mearns) The council's latest financial planning says that while it has a "strong track record of balancing our budget, the funding and income we receive has increasingly been insufficient to meet the rising cost and demand for services, such as homelessness and social care costs". The council's own risk assessments for the final quarter of 2025 shows that housing pressures are almost certainly critical with organisational financial sustainability and financial control "likely to be critical". A February overview from Richard Lloyd-Bithell, a finance and procurement director said that the council does not have medium term financial plans "consistent with sustainable service plans". He said: "This will result in sustainable aspirations including transformation being unobtainable." Edinburgh set ambitious targets and strategies for sustainable development, including achieving net zero emissions by 2030 and a climate-ready future. The City Plan 2030 guides future development, emphasizing green spaces, climate action, and sustainable practices. This plan aims to create sustainable neighbourhoods, reduce carbon emissions, and protect and enhance the city's natural spaces. Its transformation strategy has a vision of providing an "exceptional city centre that is for all, a place for people to live, work, visit and play". "Finance must support services to create sustainable plans and proposals to deliver services within an affordable financial envelope," said Mr Lloyd-Bithell. "Finance must provide reports and effective challenge to hold service managers to account to ensure services do not overspend their agreed budgets." The Liberal Democrats' Edinburgh council group leader Ed Thornley said the state of the city finances "show there is a titanic gulf between what the SNP have provided and what councils say they actually need to maintain basic local functions". Ed Thornley (Image: Lib Dems) He said: "Local authorities have had a raw deal from the SNP over many years and that has had a knock-on impact on the provision of vital local functions. "The SNP have demanded councils do more with less. As a result, we have ended up with school cuts, bin strikes and shortages of elderly care packages. "Local government deserves long-term central government funding deals which adequately meet its needs and provide locally delivered public services. That is what people rightly expect.' The Scottish Government said individual local authorities are responsible for deciding the level of their affordable borrowing, having regard to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy's Prudential Code, which has been given legislative backing. They said that it was for each local authority to have "effective arrangements" in place to ensure that capital expenditure and investment plans are "affordable and proportionate and that all external borrowing and other long-term liabilities are within prudent and sustainable levels". A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'In 2025-26, City of Edinburgh Council will receive over £1 billion to support day to day services, which equates to an extra £60 million or an additional 5.9% compared to 2024-25. "Local authorities are required by law to ensure borrowing is affordable, prudent and sustainable. Regulations require a local authority to set an authorised limit for external debt." Edinburgh council's finance and resource convener Mandy Watt accepted that savings were needed and more revenues were required and said: "While Edinburgh has a long track record of strong financial management and delivering a balanced budget year after year, the challenges are increasing."
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Alex Salmond news and interviews on the former first minister
ALEX Salmond was a former first minister of Scotland who led the SNP twice, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He first joined the party in 1973 and led the SNP into power when they won the Scottish Parliament election in 2007. Alex Salmond, who grew up in Linlithgow, died of a heart attack last year at age 69. Read on for all Alex Salmond news and interviews on the former first minister. As reported by The National, here is a selection of the latest Alex Salmond news stories. Alba will build on the strategy left by Alex Salmond Kenny MacAskill beats Ash Regan to be elected Alba leader Shock as Alex Salmond died without leaving a will Salmond served as the first minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. He helped lead the Yes movement in the 2014 independence referendum and resigned as first minister shortly after the result. His then-deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, succeeded him unopposed. Salmond later formed the pro-independence Alba Party in 2021 and was the party's leader. He has been credited for turning the SNP from the fringes into the mainstream as he led them into power when they won the Scottish Parliament election in 2007. The party subsequently won an unprecedented majority in the election four years later, which paved the way for the referendum on Scottish independence. A post-mortem examination confirmed that the former first minister died of a heart attack. Salmond collapsed during a lunch in a crowded room with fellow participants at an event in North Macedonia in October 2024. The day before, he had given a speech at the Cultural Diplomacy Forum in Ohrid and participated in meetings the morning before his death. In a statement, Salmond's family said he was 'a devoted and loving husband, a fiercely loyal brother, a proud and thoughtful uncle and a faithful and trusted friend'. The family's statement said: 'Alex was a formidable politician, an amazing orator, an outstanding intellect and admired throughout the world. 'He loved meeting people and hearing their stories and showed incredible kindness to those who needed it. 'He dedicated his adult life to the cause he believed in – independence for Scotland.' Salmond was married to Moira McGlashan for four decades. The couple did not have any children. Recent reports suggest that he did not leave behind a will. A source close to the family told The Times there is concern about the impact on the late SNP leader's widow, adding: 'There was shock among the family when it became clear that Alex hadn't left a will." Alex Salmond's sister is Gail Hendry, convener of Alba Borders. Gail and her daughter Christina backed Kenny MacAskill to be the leader of the Alba Party. MacAskill served in Salmond's cabinet and defected with him to his new party in 2021. Alex Salmond was accused of bullying colleagues when he led the Scottish Government in a BBC documentary that aired before his death. Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who was Salmond's deputy from 2007 to 2014, claimed she 'intervened' to stop Alex Salmond from bullying colleagues 'many times' and that he could be 'really rough on people'. Sturgeon (below) told the Financial Times: 'He would be really rough on people. Many times I intervened to stop him.' (Image: Gettty) The BBC documentary, Salmond And Sturgeon: A Troubled Union, which aired before his death, explored the broken relationship between Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond. It featured interviews from both former first ministers, who spoke about the public breakdown of their long-term political partnership. Hitting out at the documentary on X (formerly known as Twitter), Salmond described it as 'venomous bias' against Scottish independence. He said the documentary had 'plumbed new depths' and advised to 'turn it off after the first episode'. Salmond and Sturgeon's friendship began fracturing after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against Salmond while in office to both police and the Scottish Government. Sturgeon's government investigated the allegations, which led to a bitter split between them, with Salmond saying he 'seriously doubts' he will ever be on speaking terms with Sturgeon, according to the documentary. Salmond took legal action against the Government for its handling of the investigation into him and accused the Government of a plot against him. He was cleared of the allegations. Sturgeon had said that she mourned her relationship with Salmond after their friendship ended.
