Latest news with #OperationBranchform
The National
15-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
The younger SNP activists only used to winning may need to brace
The ructions have been manifold and varied. We've had three successive First Ministers, the pall of the Salmond affair, the gloom and uncertainty of Operation Branchform, policy controversy and sunken flagships, and a succession of high-cost legal battles. In a party known for its message discipline and internal solidarity, we've seen the spilling out of internal disputes into the public domain and perceptions of party factionalism feeding the same. This has been expressed both in Holyrood rebellions and an uptick in anonymous briefings to the press from the exiled, the excluded and the terminally or temporarily disgruntled. From the heights of 2015, last year the SNP were re-engulfed in a fresh struggle to achieve salience in the Westminster campaign with the rise of a Labour party finally in serious contention for government. READ MORE: Scotland's 2050 vision rests on achieving independence, urges John Swinney This went as well as might be expected, culminating in the loss of 39 of its Westminster seats. After 17 years being Scotland's dominant party, the writing finally seemed to be on the wall for the SNP government. Only the remarkable unpopularity of the Starmer government has disrupted this dynamic. Within months of winning 35.3% of the popular vote, pollsters have recorded a 15% fall in Labour's support. Recent local government by-elections fed a fragile sense of SNP momentum, with Labour losses in areas of traditional strength. International elections furnished some encouraging parallels, with incumbents in Canada and Australia winning unwinnable elections after once-popular opposition parties fumbled elections the press pack had written off as more or less unloseable months before. John Swinney has also sought to address some of the structural issues driving some of his party's situation, pivoting on policy towards the economy and cost of living, 'steadying the ship' in the ubiquitous cliché. A win in Hamilton would have galvanised this sense of momentum. A defeat, inevitably, does the opposite. Politically, the constituency held out the tantalising prospect not only of an SNP win – something the party has been searching for in vain for a while – but the equally satisfying prospect of Anas Sarwar finding himself beleaguered with questions about Scottish Labour's prospects of displacing the SNP in next year's Holyrood poll. Elections have consequences – not least in what we talk about. This weekend, John Swinney's leadership is taking up the column inches rather than Sarwar's. The sense of relief in Scottish Labour circles is palpable. For the SNP, the defeat raises a series of potentially useful questions – both political and organisational. In the by-election, the scuttlebutt from activists and organisers was that they felt like they had grounds for optimism. Starmer's decision not to visit the constituency during his flying visit to Scotland during the campaign looked like a tell, designed to insulate the UK party leader from proximity to what could be an embarrassing defeat. We all know every political activist in every campaign always claims, at least publicly, they're receiving a great response on the doorsteps. Bullshitting your followers on social media is one thing. Bullshitting yourself is quite another. READ MORE: 'We were shut down': SNP activists reveal HQ silenced Reform strategy warnings I've been thinking about the late 2000s and the various accelerations and reversals both the SNP and Scottish Labour experienced during this time. In 2007, Alex Salmond nudged the SNP ahead of Scottish Labour by one Holyrood seat, establishing a minority government in Edinburgh for the first time by winning 47 seats to Labour's 46. Initially, the new regime wasn't given a snowball's chance in hell of lasting long. Having been ruled by Lib-Lab coalitions since 1999, general political wisdom was rooted to the majority-minded Westminster system, noting the inherent vulnerabilities of a minority government – by definition, always subject to being defeated or ousted by a determined and untied opposition. The 2008 by-election in Glasgow East – which saw the SNP pick up a 26% increase in support and beat the Labour party – suggested that the Holyrood outcome the previous year hadn't been an electoral fluke. It is difficult to understate the psychological impact. In 2007, Nicola Sturgeon was the solitary successful SNP candidate in Glasgow, winning Glasgow Govan from Gordon Jackson after umpteen runs at the constituency. When John Mason beat Margaret Curran in 2008, it demonstrated the old Labour hegemony in the beating heart of its historic heartlands in Scotland was not unassailable. But the UK general election result the following year seemed to scotch the notion the party was facing any more generalised revolt from its traditional political base in west central Scotland. And like all human organisations in denial, Labour were only to happy to seize on any reassuring evidence that everything was fine and that they weren't in the early stages of experiencing an involuntary shift in political gravity, whether they liked it or not. Under pressure in the rest of the UK from David Cameron's 'modernised' Tories, Scottish Labour claimed 42% of the general election vote and 41 of the 59 Scottish seats in Westminster, outpolling the SNP by almost 545,000 votes. Margaret Curran even won back Glasgow East for her party, taking 61.6% of the popular vote to Mason's 24.7%. Alexander Pope's observation – that 'even victors are by victories undone' – applies most powerfully to the aftermath of the 2014 referendum, but it also coloured Labour's attitudes as early as 2010. If you were looking for reassurance that ordinary service would shortly be resumed and that the old order of Scottish politics would be returning any day now – the results of the 2010 general election suggested that Labour could be intensely comfortable about its chances of ousting the Nats at the next Holyrood election. The case for complacency pointed at these strong electoral performances, and concluded the party didn't have to engage in any significant introspection about its future in order to convince a sufficient proportion of the population to 'come home to Labour' in the favoured formulation of the grand seigneurs of the People's Party. These victories were an analgesic, numbing nagging anxieties that any more fundamental might be afoot. It's a lesson that sometimes in politics, taking the pain is better for you. The Holyrood result in 2011 – delivering the single party majority for the SNP – rebuked these complacent assumptions, marking the point at which the more thoughtful people in Scottish Labour began to notice the sheer slope of the electoral declivity they were hurtling down, surfing over the independence referendum campaign before plunging into the electoral an abyss that lay beyond it in its aftermath. It was too late, of course. But you can understand why the party felt like the electorate were feeding them mixed messages. In political science writing of the time, scholars analysed the apparent volatility and flair for party disloyalty these diverse outcomes in Westminster and Holyrood votes pointed to. Scots were described as being 'most sophisticated electorate in the world' – happy to be represented by one party in Westminster and to back their principal opponents in Holyrood. This kind of political promiscuity is calculated to confuse politicians or party activists who imagine they have your vote or they don't. An SNP win in Hamilton would have been a morale boost – but like those Scottish Labour wins of the late 2000s, I wonder if it might also have been a spur to complacency at just the most perilous moment for the party to be complacent. Defeat underscores the existential insecurity party representatives must feel months out from the next Holyrood poll. How the party reacts is, to some extent, in its hands. Some thrive on confidence, finding the puff goes out of them when they experience setbacks and disappointments. Others come alive when they're on the back foot, fighting for survival rather than cruising towards easy victories. Old Tom Paine thought 'what we obtain too cheaply we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.' Old SNP hands are more used to losing than winning, but there's a whole generation of younger party officials and activists who've only known the party in its pomp, in government. Like the Labour functionaires, lost in the new politics which emerged after 2007, they should brace themselves.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nicola Sturgeon news, interviews and updates on the former first minister
NICOLA Sturgeon is a former first minister of Scotland who served from 2014 to 2023. Sturgeon is Scotland's longest-serving first minister and made history as the first woman in Bute House. During her time in politics, she held a range of positions within the Scottish Government. She was first elected to Holyrood in 1999 and joined the SNP at the age of 16. Born in Irvine in 1970, Sturgeon worked as a solicitor at Drumchapel Law Centre before becoming an MSP, having graduated with a law degree from the University of Glasgow. Read on for all the latest Nicola Sturgeon news, interviews and updates on the former first minister. As reported by The Herald, here is a selection of the latest Nicola Sturgeon news stories. Sturgeon: Law may need to change after Supreme Court ruling Hunter: SNP should look to low tax Singapore for inspiration Nicola Sturgeon: Prime Minister's immigration comments 'dumb politics' Nicola Sturgeon thanked her friends and supporters during an event at Glasgow's King's Theatre on March 22, saying she 'wouldn't have got through' the past two years without their help. The former First Minister's comments came just two days after she was cleared of any wrongdoing in Police Scotland's long-running investigation into SNP finances, known as Operation Branchform. Nicola Sturgeon during a devolution event in Edinburgh (Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire) Sturgeon was speaking at the Glasgow Comedy Festival, where she appeared in conversation with acclaimed crime writer Val McDermid. The pair were recieved a standing ovation as they walked on stage to The Who's I'm Free. Nicola Sturgeon announced in an Instagram post her decision to step down as an MSP from Holyrood at the 2026 elections. She said she would not seek re-election next May. Nicola Sturgeon was born on 19 July 1970 in Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, and is 54 years old. She was previously married to Peter Murrell, the SNP's former chief executive. The couple met in 1988 at an SNP youth weekend and married in the summer of 2010. On 13 January, Sturgeon announced their separation, revealing they had 'been separated for some time.' In an Instagram post, she wrote: 'With a heavy heart, I am confirming that Peter and I have decided to end our marriage.' Nicola Sturgeon with Peter Murrell (Image: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire) "To all intents and purposes we have been separated for some time now and feel it is time to bring others up to speed with where we are. "It goes without saying that we still care deeply for each other, and always will." Sturgeon is the eldest of two siblings. Her younger sister, Gillian, previously worked as an NHS nurse before later becoming a tarot card reader. Gillian has claimed their parents were subjected to 'abuse' following Sturgeon's resignation as First Minister. Sturgeon shares a close friendship with crime writer Val McDermid, who publicly showed her support after the former First Minister was cleared of any wrongdoing in the police investigation into the SNP's finances. Nicola Sturgeon and Val McDermid (Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire) Sturgeon was also close to Scottish comedian Janey Godley, who rose to viral fame during the pandemic with her humorous voiceovers of the First Minister's coronavirus briefings. Godley passed away in 2024 at the age of 63, following a long battle with ovarian cancer. Sturgeon shared an emotional tribute to the late comedian in an Instagram post. 'Knowing for the past few weeks that this moment was fast approaching didn't make it any less heartbreaking to hear the news early this morning that Janey had died. 'Janey Godley truly was a force of nature, and one of the funniest people I have ever known.' Nicola Sturgeon served in senior roles within the SNP and Scottish Government. She was first elected as a regional MSP for Glasgow in 1999 and remained in this position until 2007 when she became the MSP for Glasgow Govan. When this seat was abolished, she went on to represent Glasgow Southside in the 2011 election. As well as her work as MSP and First Minister, Sturgeon held several senior positions within both the SNP and the Scottish Government. She served as the cabinet secretary for health and wellbeing from 2007 to 2012, then as the cabinet secretary for infrastructure, capital investment, and cities until 2014. She was the depute leader of the SNP from 2004 to 2014 and deputy First Minister from 2007 to 2014. Nicola Sturgeon served as Scotland's first female First Minister for more than eight years, making her the longest-serving First Minister in the Scotland's history. She started her term on November 20, 2014, after Alex Salmond resigned following the 2014 independence referendum. Despite losing her majority in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, she formed a minority government and secured a second term. In the 2021 election, the SNP fell one seat short of a majority. They later announced the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens, creating a pro-independence majority at Holyrood. Sturgeon led Scotland through significant events, including the Brexit vote in 2016 and the Covid-19 pandemic. She was also in charge when Scotland's gender reform legislation passed, although this was later blocked by the UK Government. She stepped down from her position as first minister in 2023. Nicola Sturgeon announced her resignation on February 15, 2023. She stepped down as both Scotland's first minister and SNP leader. She hinted that the "brutality" of modern political life played a significant role in her decision. In her resignation speech, Sturgeon said: "In my head and heart I know my time is now. "Today I am announcing my intention to stand down as first minister and leader of my party." Her departure led to Humza Yousaf taking the helm. Humza Yousaf (Image: Jane Barlow/PA)However, Yousaf later resigned after dismantling the Bute House Agreement. He was succeeded by John Swinney, who had previously served as Sturgeon's deputy for several years. Nicola Sturgeon was arrested in connection with the probe into SNP finances after stepping down as first minister. The former SNP leader was taken into custody and later released without charge. Her ex-husband, Peter Murrell, who was the former SNP chief executive, has been charged with embezzling party funds and was taken into custody for questioning. After her arrest, Sturgeon said she is innocent "beyond doubt" and said she was "just getting on with life as best I can." Nicola Sturgeon has said she remains "as confident as ever" about Scottish independence. Failing to convince Scots to back independence was, she told The Herald, the biggest regret in her 27-year Holyrood career. I asked Nicola Sturgeon what unfinished business she'll look back on in her dotage and wished she'd achieved. — Andrew Learmonth (@andrewlearmonth) March 12, 2025 Nicola Sturgeon: 'I've dedicated my life to trying to make Scotland a better place' Reflecting on Scotland's 10-year journey since the 2014 referendum, Sturgeon — who served as Alex Salmond's deputy during the campaign — wrote in the Daily Record: "Progress can sometimes feel glacial until suddenly it is not. I believe the same will be true of Scotland's journey to independence. I am as confident as ever that we will get there, and sooner than might seem likely right now." Alex Salmond (Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire) Sturgeon had previously announced plans for a second referendum on October 19, 2023. However, this required formal consent from the UK Government, leading to a UK Supreme Court hearing on whether Holyrood could legally legislate for a referendum without Westminster's approval. The court concluded that the Scottish Parliament could not hold a referendum without the consent of Westminster. Sturgeon recently revealed the title and release date of her memoirs. She announced on Instagram on March 19 as pre-orders for the book opened. She said her memoirs will be open and candid about her 'mistakes and heartbreaks' as well as her 'triumphs'.
The National
01-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Scottish independence support at 58 per cent if Nigel Farage becomes PM
A Norstat survey for The Sunday Times has suggested that the rise of Reform UK and the failings of the Labour government have helped to increase support for Scottish independence. Data from the poll, which was published Saturday evening, shows the Yes side has opened up an eight-point lead, sitting at 54%, when undecided voters are excluded. READ MORE: Police ignore watchdog's Operation Branchform forensics review offer The poll also showed that if Farage were to enter Downing Street and become prime minister, support for Scottish independence would be at 58%. It suggests that with Farage leading the UK, it would leave independence campaigners within touching distance of 60% support, which many believe would represent a tipping point, making a refusal to grant a second independence referendum unsustainable. Norstat survey comes with just days to go before the Holyrood by-election in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency, where Scotland's First Minister John Swinney says the contest is between the SNP and Reform. Labour appears to be out of the running for the by-election following a disastrous campaign by their candidate, Davy Russell, in a blow to Anas Sarwar's dreams of success at next year's Holyrood elections. Norstat polling showed more woes for Sarwar and co, with fewer than one in five Scots planning to back Scottish Labour next year, in a devastating reversal of fortunes when the party won 37 seats in Scotland in the 2024 General Election. A third of Scots, 33%, said they would vote for SNP with their constituency vote, meanwhile 28% said they would back the party on the regional list. Both represent a drop of two points compared with Norstat's polling by The Times three months ago. However, according to projections by the polling expert John Curtice, a fracturing of the Unionist vote means the SNP remains on course to be comfortably returned as the largest party after next May's elections, with 54 of the devolved parliament's 129 seats. Labour would be the second largest party with 20 seats, while Reform would have 18, one ahead of the Conservatives, who would have 17. The Liberal Democrats would return 11 MSPs, up by five, and the Greens 9, a rise of two. (Image: Colin Mearns) On the recent polling figures, Curtice said: 'John Swinney is in pole position to remain Scotland's first minister after next year's Holyrood election. But his party is still struggling to recover from its sharp reversal of fortune last year. 'Key to the SNP's lead is the rise of Reform. Nigel Farage's party is now breathing down Labour's neck in the race for second place at Holyrood.'
The National
01-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Independence support at 58 per cent if Nigel Farage becomes PM
A Norstat survey for The Sunday Times has suggested that the rise of Reform UK and the failings of the Labour government have helped to increase support for Scottish independence. Data from the poll, which was published Saturday evening, shows the Yes side has opened up an eight-point lead, sitting at 54%, when undecided voters are excluded. READ MORE: Police ignore watchdog's Operation Branchform forensics review offer The poll also showed that if Farage were to enter Downing Street and become prime minister, support for Scottish independence would be at 58%. It suggests that with Farage leading the UK, it would leave independence campaigners within touching distance of 60% support, which many believe would represent a tipping point, making a refusal to grant a second independence referendum unsustainable. Norstat survey comes with just days to go before the Holyrood by-election in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency, where Scotland's First Minister John Swinney says the contest is between the SNP and Reform. Labour appears to be out of the running for the by-election following a disastrous campaign by their candidate, Davy Russell, in a blow to Anas Sarwar's dreams of success at next year's Holyrood elections. Norstat polling showed more woes for Sarwar and co, with fewer than one in five Scots planning to back Scottish Labour next year, in a devastating reversal of fortunes when the party won 37 seats in Scotland in the 2024 General Election. A third of Scots, 33%, said they would vote for SNP with their constituency vote, meanwhile 28% said they would back the party on the regional list. Both represent a drop of two points compared with Norstat's polling by The Times three months ago. However, according to projections by the polling expert John Curtice, a fracturing of the Unionist vote means the SNP remains on course to be comfortably returned as the largest party after next May's elections, with 54 of the devolved parliament's 129 seats. Labour would be the second largest party with 20 seats, while Reform would have 18, one ahead of the Conservatives, who would have 17. The Liberal Democrats would return 11 MSPs, up by five, and the Greens 9, a rise of two. (Image: Colin Mearns) On the recent polling figures, Curtice said: 'John Swinney is in pole position to remain Scotland's first minister after next year's Holyrood election. But his party is still struggling to recover from its sharp reversal of fortune last year. 'Key to the SNP's lead is the rise of Reform. Nigel Farage's party is now breathing down Labour's neck in the race for second place at Holyrood.'
The National
31-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Police ignore watchdog's Operation Branchform forensics review offer
The Forensic Science Regulator (FSR) contacted the force and its oversight body the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) in May 2023 – but has received no response. A former SNP MP, who wished to remain anonymous, told this paper: 'Police Scotland, as an independent police service, has no legal obligation to allow the Forensic Science Regulator to review its forensic activities during Operation Branchform. 'However, to demonstrate transparency, appropriateness and fairness of the investigative process, it would be in Police Scotland's and the public's interests for it to do so.' A forensic tent was erected in Sturgeon's garden when police raided her and former partner Peter Murrell's home near Glasgow in April 2023. Murrell was later charged with embezzlement and is expected to stand trial at a later date. Sturgeon was arrested two months after police searched her house but was later cleared. Sturgeon announced in January this year that she and Murrell had separated and were to divorce. Photographs of police tents outside the former first minister's home was described by some as a potentially era-defining image in Scottish politics. READ MORE: Shock to see forensic police tent in SNP probe, says Stephen Flynn The police investigation into the SNP was focused on £660,000 raised for a second independence referendum campaign since 2021. The FSR, part of the UK Government Home Office, has no official jurisdiction in Scotland. However, because there is not an equivalent body to oversee the use of forensic investigation in the country, its services can be used in Scotland, if Police Scotland or the SPA agree to a review. According to its website, the FSR 'ensures that the provision of forensic science services across the criminal justice system is subject to an appropriate regime of scientific quality standards'. (Image: Getty Images) The FSR contacted Police Scotland and the SPA after it was requested to do so by a member of the public, who is an SNP member and wishes to remain anonymous. In a statement to the Sunday National, the forensics watchdog shared its last piece of communication with the member of the public from January 2024: 'As the Forensic Science Regulator has no jurisdiction in Scotland he has raised this matter with Police Scotland on your behalf and has been waiting for a formal response from them. 'You may also like to pursue this matter through Police Scotland as unfortunately there is no formal action that the Regulator can take regarding activities carried out in Scotland.' A spokesperson for the SPA said: 'There are live criminal proceedings in this case and it would not be appropriate for the authority to provide comment in relation to it. I would refer to you Police Scotland in the first instance.' Police Scotland declined to comment.
