All posts tagged: Westminster

Ex-SNP Westminster Leader Mocked Over Explanation For Nicola Sturgeon Amid Embezzlement Scandal

Ex-SNP Westminster Leader Mocked Over Explanation For Nicola Sturgeon Amid Embezzlement Scandal

Scotland’s First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, is interviewed, May 17, 2022, in Washington. Ian Blackford stunned online critics after he came up with a strange explanation for former first minister of ScotlandNicola Sturgeon’s ignorance about her estranged husband’s embezzlement crimes. Peter Murrell, chief executive of the Scottish National Party between 2001 and 2023, pleaded guilty to taking more than £400,000 from the SNP this week. He has been charged with embezzling funds from the party between August 2010 and October 2022. Murrell was arrested as part of Operation Branchform, a Police Scotland probe into the party’s finances, in 2023, and charged in April 2024.  He has been remanded in custody and is set to be sentenced at the end of June. He made a series of extravagant purchases while he was SNP chief, including a £124,550 campervan for his own personal use. His estranged wife Sturgeon was also arrested in 2024 and questioned by detectives, but was never charged with any offences. Sturgeon, who led Scotland from 2014 until 2023, has insisted she “did not know …

Swinney: Scots will ‘resoundingly’ back independence if second vote takes place

Swinney: Scots will ‘resoundingly’ back independence if second vote takes place

He said: “If you look at the balance of the motion we’re being asked to vote on today, it’s overwhelmingly about one issue and one issue alone, and that is the SNP First Minister’s only ambition and all the obsession, and that is the issue of independence, and I think that is a missed opportunity in this first debate of this new Parliament.” Source link

Sadiq Khan rules out Burnham-style return to Westminster as window to exploit MP loophole closes

Sadiq Khan rules out Burnham-style return to Westminster as window to exploit MP loophole closes

The Mayor of London has ruled out following his Greater Manchester counterpart’s example in running for a seat in Westminster. Sir Sadiq Khan’s office definitely rejected any notion that he would return to his former life as an MP in the capital. Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, will need to step down from his role if he wins the Makerfield by-election. The Boris loophole But there is currently no restriction on the Mayor of London from exploiting a legislative loophole which would also allow him to sit on the House of Commons benches. Towards the end of his time in City Hall, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson sat as an MP for an entire year after winning the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election in 2015. Boris Johnson sat as both an MP and Mayor of London for a year This is because the Greater London Authority Act 1999 does not ban sitting MPs from also holding the office of Mayor of London – or vice versa. However, two decades on, this loophole is …

Why a new Plaid Cymru government in Cardiff may pose a fresh challenge for Westminster

Why a new Plaid Cymru government in Cardiff may pose a fresh challenge for Westminster

After emerging as the largest party in the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) election, Plaid Cymru is now establishing itself as the next Welsh government. It’s the first administration not led by Welsh Labour since devolution began 27 years ago. For UK Labour, Plaid’s breakthrough could become one of the most significant constitutional and political challenges of the coming years. The clearest guide to Plaid’s immediate priorities is its “first 100 days” programme for government. This was published during its February 2026 conference. It includes calls for a new devolution bill to be passed in the UK parliament giving Wales the same devolved powers as Scotland and new funding arrangements for Wales. The party’s manifesto provides more detail on its package of constitutional demands. These include further powers over taxation, policing and justice, welfare, broadcasting, renewable energy, migration and the Crown Estate. During the election campaign, Plaid deliberately played down its longer-term goal of Welsh independence in an effort to broaden its appeal beyond pro-independence voters. But now in government, the party will want to begin laying …

Politics Home Article | “Keir Needs To Go”: Labour MPs Brace For Dramatic Week In Westminster

Politics Home Article | “Keir Needs To Go”: Labour MPs Brace For Dramatic Week In Westminster

Labour MPs are bracing themselves for a dramatic week in Westminster as calls grow for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign. (Alamy) 5 min read3 hr Pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down following disastrous election results for Labour in Thursday’s local elections, but there are concerns among the party’s MPs around who would run in a leadership contest that is called too soon. By Sunday afternoon Labour had lost almost 1,500 council seats in Thursday’s local elections, suffering heavy losses across the UK with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party and Zack Polanski’s Green Party making significant gains in traditionally Labour areas.  Labour lost control of the Senedd in Wales for the first time since it was established in 1999 – with Welsh Labour First Minister Eluned Morgan losing her seat, and the party also took heavy losses at the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood.  Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the aftermath of the results said he would not “sugarcoat” what had happened – but said he was “not going to walk away” …