Category: Scottish Politics

In the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: “This pandemic is not a war. Nations are not against other nations, soldiers against other soldiers. It is a test of our humanity.” These have been indeed the most testing of times for people in Europe and across the world. We are facing a global public health and economic crisis the like of which we have not seen in our lifetimes. No country, certainly in Europe, can tackle the pandemic alone. Given the speed and extent of…

Parliament rejects consent for “deeply damaging” Bill. The Internal Market Bill should be withdrawn by the UK Government after consent for it was denied by a majority of the Scottish Parliament, Constitution Secretary Michael Russell has said. MSPs backed the Scottish Government’s Legislative Consent Memorandum, which states the Bill threatens devolution and breaches international law. The constitutional convention is that the Westminster Parliament should not legislate in devolved areas without the Scottish Parliament’s consent. The Internal Market Bill should now be withdrawn by the UK Government after consent for it…

Below is Nicola Sturgeon’s full statement to the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, October 7th, regarding the implementation of additional COVID restrictions in Scotland. "I want to be clear, we are not going back into lockdown today" First Minister for Scotland Nicola Sturgeon stresses additional measures are needed to avoid "tougher action in future" https://t.co/oudOWwhk1A pic.twitter.com/cfNULzDrwb — ITV News (@itvnews) October 7, 2020 Presiding Officer I want to update the chamber today on the current position in relation to Covid. In doing so, I will give an assessment of the current…

(22 Sept 2020) Below is Nicola Sturgeon’s full statement to the Scottish Parliament on the implementation of additional COVID restrictions in Scotland. .@NicolaSturgeon outlines why household restrictions have been imposed across Scotland. Latest – https://t.co/uJaXsaY8lu pic.twitter.com/bNwPxLxcXh — BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) September 22, 2020 Presiding Officer, I will update the chamber on additional restrictions that the Scottish Government believes are necessary to get Covid back under control as we enter winter. I will also set out why these measures are essential, and the principles and priorities that have guided our…

Spending proposals would “reverse devolution”. (17 Sept 2020) Finance Ministers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have met to discuss a range of fiscal matters and voiced their collective concerns about the financial implications the UK Internal Market Bill will have on devolved governments. Kate Forbes, Rebecca Evans and Conor Murphy expressed their joint concerns on the spending powers set out in the Bill which override the existing devolution settlement. The powers enable the UK Government to undertake spending in devolved areas, including for replacement of EU funding, without any…

Article by First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon on yes.scot (6 Sept 2020) Independence is the normal form of governance for most nations in the world. Most of them take it, and the ability it affords them to take decisions in their own national interest, for granted. Being independent does not magically solve every problem a country faces, but it does allow the opportunity to deal with those problems in a way best suited to your needs. That is the essence of self-government – but Scotland does not yet have…

The Scottish Government has said it is impossible to recommend the Scottish Parliament gives consent to the UK Government’s Internal Market bill. The bill, which will be published by the UK Government tomorrow, engages the Sewel Convention, and therefore the UK’s constitutional rules require the consent of Holyrood. (This is an article from The Gov.scot website) *Above image is direct from Twitter and not hosted on this website: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EhaFaI8XsAAIWFA?format=jpg&name=small Constitution Secretary Michael Russell said if the UK Government refuses to respect the will of the Scottish Parliament it will demonstrate…

First Minister NicolaSturgeon (21 April 2020): “As of 9am this morning, there have been 8,672 positive cases confirmed, an increase of 222 since yesterday. While I would still urge caution in interpreting these figures, I remain cautiously optimistic that, while the numbers being admitted to hospital are still fluctuating, they appear to be broadly stable. Secondly, the number being admitted to intensive care are reducing.” “It’s not too long ago we were seriously worried about the potential for our hospital capacity to be overwhelmed by now. The fact it’s not…