SNP

A senior SNP politician has apologised after claiming that Scotland “hates the UK” after the final vote of the Eurovision song contest saw it come last with nil points. James Newman’s Embers, the track from the British hopeful, was the only contestant to scored zero points from the jury vote and from the public vote. […]

Boris Johnson has laughed off claims that he’s planning “planning to throw our farmers and crofters under the Brexit bus” over trade negotiations with Australia. There had reportedly been a spat in cabinet over fears a zero-tariff agreement to benefit Australian farmers could inflame tensions in Wales and Scotland, as two areas where the farming community would […]

Scotland’s newest MP told how she hopes to be a role model for other minorities after being elected to Westminster. New SNP MP Anum Qaisar-Javed also pledged she would “fight for independence” after being elected to represent the constituency of Airdrie and Shotts. The by-election, which took place just a week after the Scottish Parliament […]

The Tories privately admit there is a mandate for a second referendum on Scottish independence and that it could take place as early as 2023, a former adviser has said. Ex-communications chief for the Scottish Conservatives Andy Maclver told STV’s Scotland Tonight that it was “perfectly obvious” last week’s election results were a mandate for Indyred2. […]

The SNP and Scottish Greens have hit out at plans for voter identification contained in the Queen’s Speech, while the Scottish secretary says it “delivers for Scotland”. Proposals in the UK government’s legislative programme would require voters to have photo identification in Westminster elections. Of the 33 Bills set out in the Queen’s Speech, 30 […]

Gordon Brown is launching a fresh campaign to keep Scotland in the UK in the wake of the SNP’s latest election victory. The former Labour prime minister declared that the think tank he set up, Our Scottish Future, will become a “campaigning movement” to make the “positive, progressive and patriotic case for Scotland in Britain”. […]

The SNP has won an emphatic victory in the Holyrood elections, but did not gain an overall majority. Nicola Sturgeon’s party took 64 seats – 62 in constituencies and one on the Highlands and Islands and another in the South Scotland regional list – one shy of a majority but well ahead of the Tories […]

Alex Salmond will not return to the Scottish Parliament after he failed in his bid to pick up a seat on the North East regional list. The former first minster had hoped to boost the Scottish independence cause by returning to frontline politics with his Alba Party. But his party failed to pick up a […]

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has said she wants to hold a referendum on Scottish independence “when the time is right”, as she retained her Glasgow seat. Giving an acceptance speech in Glasgow after she defeated Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar by 19,735 votes to 10,279, the first minister said her party is set for a […]

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is “extremely confident” the party is heading back into power at Holyrood – although she conceded winning an overall majority of MSPs there is a “very, very long shot”. As early results started to come in from Thursday’s Scottish parliament elections, the Scottish first minister downplayed the prospect of winning a […]

The SNP will be the “leading and largest party” in the new Scottish parliament, deputy first minister John Swinney has declared – though he said it was still too early to say if the party would win an overall majority at Holyrood. Swinney, also the education secretary in the Scottish government, comfortably held his Perthshire […]

Pollsters have said that “razor-thin margins” will determine whether Nicola Sturgeon wins an overall majority at Holyrood on Thursday. Research by Opinium found support for the SNP was down slightly in both the constituency and regional list section of the ballot. In the constituency vote, support for the SNP was at 51%, a drop of […]

Alex Salmond’s Alba Party is on course to win eight seats at next week’s Holyrood election, according to a new poll. The survey also suggests the Scottish Greens will return 11 MSPs, with the SNP, Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour all losing seats. Polling by Panelbase for the Scot Goes Pop website found 6% of […]

The SNP is demanding that Boris Johnson should resign if reports he said he would rather see “bodies pile high in their thousands” than have a third English lockdown are true. Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said Johnson had a “duty to resign” and called for the PM to address the reports in parliament and […]

The “stench of sleaze” around the Conservative UK government is “becoming quite overpowering”, Nicola Sturgeon has said. The Scottish first minister called for an inquiry into allegations of “contracts for cronies, donations for decorating and text messages for tax breaks”, saying: “It is time for the Tories to put all their dealings into the public […]

The SNP could miss out on a majority at the Holyrood election, according to a new poll. The Savanta ComRes survey for The Scotsman predicts the party will return 63 MSPs – two short of a majority and the same number as in 2016. However, there would still be a pro-independence majority at Holyrood, with […]

The Alba Party’s manifesto is the only one “taking Scottish independence seriously”, Alex Salmond has said. At the launch of his party’s proposals, the former first minister took a swipe at the SNP and the Scottish Greens – the latter of whom he has previously accused of being “as weak as dishwater” on independence. During […]

Outgoing SNP MSP Alex Neil has urged his party to work with Alex Salmond’s Alba Party to achieve a “supermajority” of MSPs in Holyrood in support of independence. Neil, who served as a minister under Salmond, said in a statement on Friday that a supermajority is needed to “force Boris Johnson’s hand” on an independence […]

The UK government has referred two Bills passed unanimously by the Scottish parliament to the Supreme Court over concerns it is outwith Holyrood’s powers. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill and the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill were passed in the weeks leading up to […]

The SNP has described the comments made by Scottish Tory candidate Douglas Lumsden on Brexit as “appalling”. Lumsden, who is standing in Aberdeen Central, told BBC’s Newsnight that Brexit was “out of the way now”. The Aberdeen City Council co-leader also said that there were “some hiccups at the start of Brexit” but “we’re through […]

Nicola Sturgeon has ruled out working with Alex Salmond’s new Alba Party after May’s Holyrood election – but has left open the prospect of a future deal with the Scottish Greens. While she insisted she is fighting the upcoming election in a bid to win an outright majority for the SNP after the May 6 […]

The SNP is “constructively” looking at proposals for a Covid passport scheme amid reports it could support the measures in a House of Commons vote. Some 41 Tory MPs and Labour have hardened their positions against the “Covid Status Certification” programme, warning the checks would create a “two-tier” nation. But the government’s fortunes could be turning after Ian Blackford, the SNP’s […]

A group of Scottish Tories who want Scotland to have access to the EU single market are urging voters at the Holyrood election to cast their second vote for Alex Salmond’s Alba Party. Scottish Yes Tories say around 15% of their members voted Yes in 2014 – a number they say has been steadily growing since the […]

An SNP councillor and a senior party official have become the latest figures to defect to Alex Salmond’s new pro-independence party. Shahid Farooq, who represents a ward in North Lanarkshire, and veteran independence supporters Dot Jessiman have switched to the Alba Party. Salmond launched the Alba Party as a rival to the SNP following a […]

Nicola Sturgeon has said the pandemic has led to her having “much less patience for those who treat politics like a game” in a speech to SNP activists. In an online speech, she also attacked Brexit and accused the Conservatives of “muscling in” on the Scottish Parliament’s responsibilities. Her speech did not directly refer to Alba, […]

Scotland’s former first minister Alex Salmond has announced he is setting up a new political party to contest May’s Scottish parliament election. Salmond will stand in the North East region and lead the Alba Party, which will field at least four candidates in the regional lists. Chris McEleny, an SNP councillor in Inverclyde, has resigned […]

Scotland’s first minister has said she would have resigned had she been found to have broken the ministerial code, but said she would not be “bullied” out of her position as she defeated an attempt to oust her. Nicola Sturgeon faced a vote of no confidence brought by the Scottish Tories, who claim she misled parliament […]

Division within the SNP could be impacting on support for Scottish independence, a new report has claimed. Scotland’s governing party has been hit by internal disputes, with former first minister Alex Salmond claiming leading figures in the SNP had been involved in a conspiracy against him. Meanwhile, his successor Nicola Sturgeon is facing a vote […]