The man tipped as the natural successor to Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the Scottish National Party has succeeded Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the Scottish National Party.
He is Hamza Yousuf. He beat Kate Forbes, who suffered adverse publicity over her religious views, and distant third-placing Ash Regan.
Mr Yousuf is a Muslim, meaning the UK now has, as Shehab Khan stated on ITV News, “British Asians as prime minister, Scottish first minister and mayor of London. Representatives from three different parties. This would have been inconceivable a generation ago.”
This Writer has hardly followed the leadership campaign as I found it extremely dull in comparison with everything else that has been going on.
However, I did consider the occasion worth marking with an attempt at satire (referring to his rival, Ms Forbes):
Private Eye, eat your heart out!
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Nicola Sturgeon: she’s making way for somebody fresh.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is resigning after eight years in the role, saying she knew instinctively, “in my head and in my heart” that it is time to step down.
But is there a more calculating aspect to this decision, that has her bowing out when her party, the SNP, is about to hold a special conference on how it should move on the issue of Scottish independence, in light of the UK government’s refusal to engage with plans for a referendum?
Is she hoping that a new, dynamic and charismatic leader will rise to grip the hearts and minds of Scottish people, finding a way to break the deadlock with the Westminster government that she has not seen, due to fatigue?
Let’s not forget that this is the longest-serving leader of the Scottish Parliament, having been in-post for eight years, and an MSP since Holyrood was set up in 1999. If Ms Sturgeon says she is tired, This Writer can sympathise very easily!
One thing I don’t expect to happen is any rethink of the Union and Scotland’s place in it, as some commentators have been suggesting.
The SNP is committed to taking Scotland out of the UK, so any such discussion is redundant to the thinking of its members.
And if anybody in the Westminster parties are inclined to celebrate her departure, This Writer would suggest that they don’t do so too soon.
They don’t know what they’ll be getting next!
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Sunak and Truss: they’ll be attacking the Scottish government at a hustings event in Perth.
It’s all a bit predictable, isn’t it? Still, if it works, there’s no reason they wouldn’t carry on with it.
I refer, of course, to the Tory tactic of “divide and rule” – currently on full display in that party’s leadership election campaign.
Both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have ventured into Scotland, where they said the ruling SNP should be challenged on its record, and affirmed their opposition to another independence referendum.
The SNP has retaliated by pointing out (correctly) that neither candidate is offering a solution to the current cost-of-living crisis – and suggesting that both will boost support for Scottish independence.
Sunak has announced a plan to roll back devolution to ensure “every single” government department operated UK-wide, despite key policy areas such as education and health having been in the control of Holyrood since 1999.
That’s unconstitutional, of course.
He also called for regular reports from Scotland on the delivery of key services, so these can be compared across the UK. That seems to be another attempt to establish lines of criticism that could be used to accuse the Scottish administration of failure (probably on false bases).
Truss just went straight for the jugular, saying she would make changes to the Scotland Act to give MSPs the same full parliamentary privilege as MPs at Westminster, so they would have legal immunity from prosecution over statements made in Holyrood, instead of the narrower set of protections against defamation claims and some court actions they have now.
If that seems like a bonus for MSPs, think again: Truss wants it in order to “allow for more robust questioning for ministers” and “increase the powers of the Scottish parliament to hold the Scottish government to account”. It’s all about attacking the SNP administration.
“I’ll make sure that my government does everything to ensure elected representatives hold the devolved administration to account for its failure to deliver the quality public services, particularly health and education, that Scottish people deserve.”
The SNP’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, reminded voters that throughout the cost of living crisis, while other nations’ governments have acted to support the most vulnerable people, the UK’s Tory government has “sat on its hands”. He said:
“Whoever wins this leadership contest, Scotland loses.”
That’s true – but it’s not the argument for independence that he insists it is, because it applies across the United Kingdom. We all lose as long as any Tories remain in office at all. That’s something we should all remember as this leader election draws to its close.
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Nicola Sturgeon: she’s going all-out for Scottish independence – and who can blame her, when Boris Johnson has made such a mess of the United Kingdom?
It seems the Scottish National Party is planning to race Northern Ireland’s Sinn Fein to be the first to gain independence from Boris Johnson’s UK.
The new majority party in NI has a plan to secede from the Union within the next five years, but the SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon has proposed October 19, 2023 as the date for a referendum on Scottish independence.
Her party has published a Referendum Bill, to be debated by the Scottish Parliament – but this will not happen until the UK’s Supreme Court has ruled on whether the Scottish government has the power to hold a vote without UK government approval.
She has requested this approval, writing to Boris Johnson to request formal consent for the vote to be held. He has said the UK government will consider it, but its position that “now is not the time” for another referendum has not changed.
Sturgeon’s aim is to avoid legal challenges to her Referendum Bill when it comes to be debated in the Scottish Parliament; Supreme Court backing will make that possible.
So the plan is that – in the belief that Johnson’s government will refuse to back her request – it will still receive validation that it is lawful and constitutional from the Supreme Court and the Referendum Bill will be passed by the Scottish Parliament.
There is a back-up plan, which is for the SNP to fight the next UK-wide general election on a single issue: “should Scotland be an independent country?”
It is only eight years since the last referendum on Scottish independence, so one can understand why the UK government in Westminster is reluctant to tolerate another one.
In 2014, around 45 per cent of voters supported independence, with 55 per cent against. Current polling shows little change, with 48 per cent in favour and 52 per cent against.
This makes a new referendum a big gamble for the SNP. It may annoy voters into believing that the party is too focused on a single aim, to the detriment of a nation – the UK – that is trying to pick itself back up after the double-blow of Brexit and Covid-19.
Alternatively, the same phenomena may be the reasons for people to support the plan – as the current version of Brexit was Johnson’s brainchild and has been a disaster, while his policies on dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic have been similarly ham-handed, resulting in many thousands more deaths than should have happened.
In any event, the Supreme Court may simply rule against the referendum, forcing Sturgeon’s party into its fall-back plan – but what if Johnson calls a general election early in order to wrong-foot her?
Meanwhile, across the Irish Sea, Sinn Fein’s leaders have a plan to get Northern Ireland out of the union at some point over the next five years – if they can get Unionist parties to stop throwing their toys out of the pram over their election loss and allow the Assembly at Stormont to sit again.
They will be watching what happens in Scotland very carefully, no doubt.
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Nicola Sturgeon: doing more for people with disabilities than Boris Johnson.
The UK’s Conservative government – particularly its prime minister – are first to disparage the Scottish National Party but fall behind that organisation in the implementation of policy.
The Tories have been promising to ditch benefit reassessments of people with lifelong conditions but look at this – the SNP got there first:
Disabled people in Scotland with serious lifelong conditions will no longer have to attend reassessments to continue receiving their benefits.
The Scottish government will begin taking over adult disability benefits from the UK government next week.
Currently, people with lifelong conditions such as being blind have to be reassessed to keep their benefits.
The Scottish government said it would have a more “compassionate” approach.
The pilot for the new payment will begin in Dundee, the Western Isles and Perth and Kinross from 21 March.
People already receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) from the UK Government’s Department for Work and Pensions do not need to apply for the new payment from Social Security Scotland.
They will be automatically transferred on to the new system from the summer, the Scottish government’s social security minister Ben Macpherson said.
He said the new Adult Disability Payment would make a number of changes to assessment.
Mr Macpherson said: “If they have a disability or a long-term health condition that is unlikely to change, we are looking to provide indefinite awards, which means that people will not need to reapply for their benefit or be reviewed.”
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Meanwhile, in England and Wales: it’s not quite this bad but the death toll suggests it might as well be.
It’s easy to understand why the Scottish National Party is so popular north of the border – it actually fulfils its promises.
For example: it is replacing the hated Tory Personal Independence Payment for people living with disabilities.
The new Adult Disability Payment will be phased in next year, providing financial support to cover the extra costs faced by people with disabilities.
The SNP-run Scottish government has announced that the benefit will take a new approach, to ensure dignity, fairness and respect.
According to the Daily Record:
Social Security Scotland will make decisions about entitlement for ADP using the applicant’s account of their circumstances and existing supporting information, where possible.
The number of face-to-face assessments will be significantly reduced and will only be necessary when it is the only practicable way to make a decision.
Most consultations will be carried out over the phone, but can be face-to-face in a GP surgery or even at home – whatever works best for the person applying.
And claimants will no longer be asked to carry out tasks to demonstrate how their disability, long-term illness or mental health condition affects them as part of the application process.
This promises to be a huge improvement. Also helpful will be the provision of supporting material which may include a social care needs assessment, a report from a Community Psychiatric Nurse, and information from a carer.
As a carer myself, This Writer would have loved to be able to submit information to support Mrs Mike’s PIP (and ESA) claims.
But anything can seem good before it has actually been tested.
I would like to hear from claimants of the new benefit, once it starts coming in. Let’s hope they say good things about it.
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Starmer and Sturgeon: in opposition to Boris Johnson’s Tories, he trails behind her in every way.
Sam Coates makes a good point in his Sky News article:
There is one common denominator which runs through too many of the U-turns to be ignored, and hints at a bigger neuralgia in government: nervousness about being outflanked by Nicola Sturgeon.
The pattern is easy to see. Tuesday’s mask U-turn came after Scotland’s first minister had also announced schools north of the border would require masks at the start of the week.
Masks in shops were required by Ms Sturgeon north of the border for less than a month before Mr Johnson copied that too.
Many of these U-turns by Mr Johnson’s government have been reluctant, angry and preceded by repeated denials that they would happen, maddening Tory MPs that defend the government’s initial position but are then left floundering when Number 10 changes its mind.
It seems the fear in Johnson’s camp is that Sturgeon is offering a better alternative to Scotland – independence – than the Tory government is offering to a United Kingdom with Scotland as a part of it.
And Keir Starmer – the leader of the party that is supposed to be the main opposition to Johnson’s Tories – is nowhere to be seen.
Labour has followed Johnson’s lead on these issues, where it has expressed any opinion at all. It certainly hasn’t offered alternatives in the same way as Sturgeon – even in Scotland.
No wonder public opinion of Scottish Labour is at such a low ebb!
This Writer has no doubt that Labour will continue to trail behind the Scottish National Party in its opposition to the Tories, just as long as Keir Starmer remains party leader; his heart simply isn’t in it.
He is an Establishment figure; he supports activities that maintain the status quo.
That’s why he has abandoned the traditionally “Labour” policies of Jeremy Corbyn in favour of “Tory-lite” policies that – at best – water down the worst excesses of Johnson’s Conservatives.
Johnson is the danger but Starmer is the problem.
As long as Starmer is Labour leader, Johnson – or a similarly harmful Conservative – will sit in Downing Street inflicting harm on the rest of us willy-nilly.
Yes, Sturgeon has been able to put a brake on his stupidities. But there is an election due in Scotland next year, when she is likely to win a huge majority in support of her policies – including secession from the United Kingdom.
And what happens if she succeeds, and Scotland wins its independence?
Who will provide checks and balances against Johnson’s excesses then?
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Protest: This is still the most appropriate image for the way the benefit system attacks people with disabilities. story below [Image: VoidOne.].
The SNP has renewed calls to make Universal Credit advance payments non-repayable grants instead of loans after new research showed the five week-wait and advance payments under Universal Credit are contributing to financial hardship and debt – particularly for disabled claimants.
The report by the National Audit Office (NAO) said the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) needs to do more to support vulnerable people and others claiming Universal Credit, revealing that disabled claimants and people on low incomes are more likely to claim advances and have other debts to repay.
Claimants and representative organisations told the NAO that the wait for the first payment contributes to financial hardship and debt, despite the availability of advances.
The SNP said the solution is to turn advance payments into non-repayable grants once the claimant has been deemed eligible for Universal Credit.
This would remove the need to reverse the five-week wait, which the DWP has said would be “operationally challenging”, and minimise the risk of fraud – the reason given by the UK government for not implementing grants instead of loans.
The architect of Universal Credit, Iain Duncan Smith, has admitted that keeping Universal Credit advance payments as loans instead of grants “is a policy decision, not a structural issue, so whatever the Government decides to do it is wholly feasible to do it.”
“The Chancellor’s statement was a missed opportunity to put building a fairer society at the heart of the recovery, with no measures to put cash in the pockets of those who need it most and lift people out of poverty,” said the SNP’s Neil Gray.
“And the Tories are missing another opportunity to address rising debt issues by refusing to make advance payments grants instead of loans.
“Addressing this issue is not an impossible task, as the SNP and leading anti-poverty organisations have repeatedly made clear by proposing a simple solution. The Tory government’s decision to keep advance payments as loans – which are pushing people into, or further into, debt – instead of making them non-repayable grants is a political decision, and nothing to do with operational or fiscal challenges.
“There is overwhelming support for the UK government to implement our proposal, and with unemployment rising and incomes being cut back, it is more critical than ever that the UK government starts taking serious action to address rising poverty and rising debt.”
According to the NAO Report – “Universal Credit: Getting to first payment” – 80 per cent of claims by low-income households, 67 per cent of claims including someone who has limited capability for work because of a disability or health condition, and 70 per cent of claims including a disabled child had a deduction applied to their first payment to cover advances repayments or other debts. This compares with 61 per cent of all claims.
Around 57 per cent of households making a new claim take a Universal Credit advance payment to help them manage during the five-week waiting period until their first payment.
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Money: The UK economy has plenty but it goes to the wrong places and people fall through gaps in the system. Can Boris Johnson be persuaded to bring in a Universal Basic Income that is simple and cheap?
This is an important question: the UK has a larger economy than Spain, so why can’t the UK have a Universal Basic Income like Spain?
Instead – at the moment – we have a series of scheme for people in different circumstances, that are both complicated and costly.
UBI would be easier and cheaper.
But the Tory government won’t have it.
Why? Well, the logical answer is because Tories don’t want to supply a steady income to poor people, in a system that they won’t be able to remove again without public outcry, after the coronavirus crisis is over.
They have already said they think it discourages people from seeking work, but this is nonsense; it means people don’t have to take jobs for employers who undervalue the work they do.
Underlying this, we have evidence that Tories simply like to persecute people, and a conditional benefit system makes this possible.
But the SNP’s Ian Blackford is right – the current patchwork of schemes is full of gaps – and people are being left behind.
Spain has said the system it is introducing is an emergency measure – but if successful it would become a permanent instrument to tackle poverty.
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Good politics: If offering Scots the chance to vote for another independence referendum allows this to happen, then by the time they get to vote, Scots may not want it.
Of course Jeremy Corbyn is right to support the words of his shadow chancellor, and to correct the leader of Scottish Labour. If Scotland wants another independence referendum, it should have one.
The principle behind this is very simple: Westminster should rule England and the other countries of the United Kingdom by consent.
Also, of course, if you’re the Labour leader it doesn’t hurt to offer your colleagues in other political parties – like the SNP, for example – something they want when you’re asking for their help with something you want, like support in a vote of “no confidence” against a Tory leader you both want to remove.
Am I right?
Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he believes Westminster should not block a second referendum on Scottish independence, but said he opposed the breakup of the UK.
Corbyn implicitly endorsed remarks by his close ally John McDonnell last week where he said a Labour government would not obstruct a fresh independence vote if there was sufficient support for one in the Scottish parliament.
Holyrood cannot hold a referendum without being given the powers to do so by the UK parliament.
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