News about Nicola Sturgeon

As campaign slogans go, John Swinney's 'uniting for independence' is as predictable and uninspiring as the SNP's efforts to foist him upon Scotland as First Minister. After a Nationalist stitch-up to talk Kate Forbes out of running for the leadership, it looks like a coronation - so much for a reset after the chaos, scandals and failures of Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf. We're in for more of the same, with even more focus on trying to break up the UK. The Nationalists' grand plan for recovery is a backroom deal to ensure the installation of man who was already a (thoroughly ineffectual) leader of their party, a generation ago - it's 20 years since Mr Swinney stood down as SNP leader. The prospect of his return is like a desperate sequel in a zombie horror franchise, with the living dead returning yet again, long after everyone hoped they had seen the last of them.

MSPs gathered at Holyrood yesterday to debate whether they should withdraw confidence in the Scottish Government. Which poses an obvious question: who thought it was a good idea to invest confidence in this mob in the first place? Who looked at Humza Yousaf and thought: 'Aye, the laddie who couldn't operate a scooter; he's the one for me'? Never mind, for Anas Sarwar was on hand to tell the Scottish parliament that we needed an election, by which he meant Labour needed an election. Sarwar delivers his speeches from such a high horse, it's a wonder he doesn't get vertigo.

Kate Forbes announced that she had decided getting behind John Swinney is the 'best way to deliver the urgent change Scotland needs'. Hinting that Mr Swinney had offered her a big job - despite previous clashes over her devout Christian opposition to gay marriage - Ms Forbes said she looked forward to 'playing my role'. Nominations do not close until next Monday, but it looks highly unlikely that any other contender will emerge now. Confirming he was standing earlier, Mr Swinney - Nicola Sturgeon's long-term deputy - extended an olive branch to Ms Forbes as he said he can 'unite' the party.

John Swinney, Nicola Sturgeon's long-term deputy, said he can 'unite' the party as allies try to force a 'coronation' rather than a contest. His potential opponent Kate Forbes is set to announce later whether she will stand for the job. Devout Christian Ms Forbes - who clashed bitterly with Mr Swinney over her opposition to gay marriage as she narrowly lost to Mr Yousaf just over a year ago - has said there is a 'groundswell' of backing for her to make another pitch. Supporters have also swiped that Mr Swinney is a 'continuity' candidate and 'apologist' for Ms Sturgeon.

Humza Yousaf today survived a no-confidence vote in the Scottish Parliament as the SNP dodged having to face a Holyrood election. Scottish Labour had tabled a motion of no confidence in Mr Yousaf's Scottish Government in the wake of the SNP's meltdown. But it was defeated by 70 votes against to 58 votes in favour, with no abstentions, in the Holyrood chamber this afternoon. It means Mr Yousaf - who has announced his intention to resign but wants to hang on until his replacement is chosen- escaped having to quit as First Minister immediately. The SNP also avoided having to scramble to find a new leader within 28 days under the threat of being plunged into a snap Scottish Parliament election. Mr Yousaf won today's vote after being backed by the Scottish Greens, despite him having last week junked a power-sharing deal with the pro-independence party. The result served as a reminder that any new SNP leader will still have to rely on friendly relations with the Greens, even if the 2021 Bute House deal has ended. In a debate on today's no confidence motion, prior to the vote, the SNP were mocked for attempting to replace Mr Yousaf with party veteran John Swinney. Mr Swinney has already had a four-year stint as SNP leader and was most recently Nicola Sturgeon 's deputy first minister from 2014 to last year. During that time, he also had a beleagued spell as Scotland's education secretary. Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross told MSPs: 'If John Swinney is successful, we face the dreadful prospect of Nicola Sturgeon's prodigy being replace by Nicola Sturgeon's right-hand man. 'Of going from the man who ruined Scotland's NHS to the man who ruined Scotland's education system. Of going from one failed leader to a leader who has already failed.'

He has the carefully cultivated air of a mild-mannered chartered accountant - which helped to earn him the nickname 'Honest John'. But John Swinney is a seasoned operator with a talent for survival who became a trusted - and ruthless - consigliere to both Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond . Last year he quit as Deputy First Minister after Ms Sturgeon resigned, shortly before the SNP was plunged into multiple crises - including an ongoing police fraud inquiry into the SNP's finances. He had been looking forward to a peaceful spell on the backbenches, allowing him to spend more time with his family. Now, in an astonishing twist to his long career, he may be about to take on the highest political office in the land.

As Mr Yousaf's aimless year in government disappears from view, the prospect of the SNP adopting the same strategy, albeit with a more experienced political operator at the helm, is enraging the party's awkward squad.

The priorities of ordinary Scots mean nothing to the Greens, a ragbag of privileged - and furiously angry - hard-left cranks, misogynist trans-rights activists and gormless 'hello-trees-hello-sky' types.

Humza Yousaf's resignation on Monday has left the SNP again facing the task of choosing a new leader, just 13 months after they last did so in the wake of Nicola Sturgeon 's shock resignation in February 2023. From the SNP's perspective, they need someone who can help them address two key challenges. The first is to unite their own party. Once a tightly run ship, the dissenting voices in the SNP have increased in recent years around both the direction of the leadership on specific policy issues and its strategy - or, as they would see it, lack of one - for securing independence. They will be looking to the new leader to build consensus and bring these dissenting voices back into the fold. However, with a general election a certainty within the next 9 months, they also need a leader who can appeal to the wider public.

Major splits have erupted within the SNP as party chiefs attempt to inflict another 'lame duck' First Minister on Scotland. Senior figures are calling for former Deputy First Minister John Swinney to take over from Humza Yousaf in a bid to bring unity to the warring party. But concerns have been raised he is 'tainted' by his close ties to Nicola Sturgeon, and the role he played in scandals involving deleted Covid WhatsApp messages and other attempted cover-ups. There are also fears the 60-year-old is only a short-term option and is likely to quit at the next Holyrood election. Mr Yousaf is set to cling to power until a successor is selected and critics claim the SNP will just be replacing one 'lame duck' leader with another in Mr Swinney. Pam Gosal, deputy chairman of the Scottish Conservatives, said: 'Scots are facing the prospect of a lame duck First Minister clinging to power, while his party argue over who is getting dumped with the poisoned chalice of SNP leadership.'

QUENTIN LETTS: Tissues plus a Blankety Blank chequebook and pen for Mr Yousaf, please. Scotland's First Minister quit with a midday speech at Edinburgh's Bute House, his official residence. It went on a bit and things became weepy towards the end. He'd had a wonderful time and was adamant he felt no ill-will to anyone. 'I certainly bear no grudge against anyone,' he declared, shortly before watering up with stinging salt tears.

The Sturgeon legacy - mess, mediocrity and handcuffed to the gender-obsessed Greens - and him sticking to it, was always going to end in tears because it ignored what really matters to people in their day-to-day lives.

First Nicola Sturgeon . Now Humza Yousaf. At what point are the SNP going to wake up and smell the virtue signalling? Because it is clear to me that there is one core issue that has brought down both First Ministers: the failure to protect women and girls in the face of an obsession with gender politics.

EMMA COWING: First Nicola Sturgeon . Now Humza Yousaf. It is clear to me that there is one core issue that has brought down both First Ministers: the failure to protect women and girls amid an obsession with gender politics. Both hitched their wagon to it. Both were so burned they lost their jobs. Yet whoever replaces Yousaf will, thanks to the manipulative power of the Scottish Greens, find themselves in exactly the same position. Most Scots, I think, are utterly baffled as to why the country's entire political system has become so entangled in a minority issue that affects so few members of the population. Most of us - worried about our jobs and the cost of living , the state of the NHS and our schools - simply cannot understand why the SNP has become so captivated by identity politics.

Humza Yousaf announced he is resigning in a tearful statement after failing to drum up enough support to survive a confidence vote. Watched by his wife Nadia at Bute House in Edinburgh , Mr Yousaf conceded he had 'underestimated' the backlash from summarily axing his coalition deal with the Greens. The jockeying for position ramped up almost immediately, with veteran John Swinney - Nicola Sturgeon's longtime deputy - declaring he is 'very carefully considering' whether to stand. Others from the same wing of the party voiced support, fuelling speculation that there could be a 'coronation' without the need for a campaign. However, there is still the possibility of a high-stakes fight against Kate Forbes , with allies suggesting she is also likely to put herself forward.

Humza Yousaf sensationally resigned today capping an extraordinary meltdown triggered by sacking his Green coalition partners. The Scottish First Minister tearfully announced he has quit after failing to drum up enough support to survive a confidence vote. It is a shocking fall from grace for Mr Yousaf, 29, who took over from Nicola Sturgeon barely a year ago. After he summarily ditched the Greens from the Bute House coalition deal - and publicly humiliated them by making them do a walk of shame in view of cameras - they pledged to back a no confidence motion tabled by the Tories. Flanked by his wife Nadia in Edinburgh , Mr Yousaf conceded he had 'underestimated' the backlash from ditching the Bute House deal, adding: 'I'm not willing to trade my values... simply for retaining power.' As Mr Yousaf's wife comforts her husband following his whirlwind resignation, FEMAIL takes a look at the woman who has supported the former Scottish First Minister throughout his campaign, as well as the children they've raised

Sir Keir Starmer today lashed out 'absolute chaos' in Scottish politics as Humza Yousaf quit as First Minister and SNP leader. He claimed the Scottish public had been 'fundamentally let down' and called for a 'fresh start'. The Labour leader reiterated his demand for an immediate general election, while his party insisted there should also be a snap Scottish Parliament election. Mr Yousaf's departure as First Minister little more than a year after replacing Nicola Sturgeon in Bute House has thrown the SNP into a fresh meltdown. But the pro-independence party's latest travails will likely be met with glee in Labour ranks as they seek to re-establish their past dominance in Scottish politics. A revival of Labour's fortunes in Scotland has long been regarded as key to the party's chances of forming a government at Westminster again and ensuring Sir Keir becomes PM. Earlier this month, a YouGov mega-poll projected Labour would comfortably be Scotland's largest party in terms of seats at the upcoming general election. The MRP study, based on detailed seat-by-seat polling, found Sir Keir was set to win 28 Scottish seats at the general election compared to the SNP's 19, while the Tories and Liberal Democrats would win five each. Such a result would be a remarkable turnaround nearly a decade on from Labour's 2015 general election performance under then-leader Ed Miliband, when they suffered a near-wipeout in Scotland. Labour went from winning 41 out of 59 seats in Scotland at the 2010 general election to retaining just one Scottish constituency five years later.

Humza Yousaf's resignation, little more than a year after he succeeded Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister, has brought to a head long-festering tensions within the SNP and across the independence movement. The once seemingly unstoppable nationalist machine has careered off the road and lies smoking in a ditch. Former allies who sat shoulder-to-shoulder on that UK-smashing juggernaut now trade bitter, playground-level insults in public. And amid it all, the people of Scotland - crying out for decent, stable government - are expected to indulge yet another SNP psychodrama. A number of experienced figures with the party do not believe the public's patience will last.

The anointed heir to Nicola Sturgeon took power after a fractious leadership campaign in 2023 that almost split the Scottish Nationalist Party in the wake of her shock resignation. But Mr Yousaf, who had already built up a back catalogue of controversies when in her Cabinet - including committing a driving offence when Transport Secretary - showed non of the staying power of his mentor. He took over at the age of 37 he became the youngest FM ever and the first Muslim. But like fellow Scot David Moyes replacing Sir Alex Ferguson as manager of Manchester United in 2013, he inherited huge boots he could not fill, and an organisation creaking behind the scenes.

Humza Yousaf is poised to go after failing to drum up enough support to survive a confidence vote. The Scottish First Minister has been frantically wooing MSPs over the weekend, but appears to have concluded there is no way of surviving. Allies have been suggesting the SNP leader will not 'do a deal with the devil' by agreeing terms with Alex Salmond, whose Alba Party potentially holds the balance at Holyrood. It would be a dramatic fall for Mr Yousaf, who took over from Nicola Sturgeon barely a year ago.

Police are investigating after death threats were sent to Scotland's top law officer and her family, The Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal. Officers were called in after a menacing letter was delivered to the home of Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, KC, last week. It's thought to have contained threats towards Ms Bain and members of her family and questioned her impartiality because of her role within the Scottish Government as Scotland's top law officer and legal adviser. This newspaper understands that at least one member of her family was spoken to as a precaution. Police Scotland has confirmed that the threats have been taken seriously.

Jack Brown (pictured), 64, kept his job after a judge ruled a tribunal failed to consider evidence from other alleged victims - so a second tribunal was ordered in February 2022. It has emerged the fitness for judicial office tribunal, convened by Nicola Sturgeon, had found Brown is unfit for judicial office. The tribunal said there were 'serious concerns as to the character and integrity' of the Aberdeen sheriff (Aberdeen Sheriff Court, right) which are 'wholly contrary to the standards of conduct and probity expected' of the judiciary.

You have to admire the man's brass neck. Announcing his decision to end the power-sharing agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens yesterday, First Minister Humza Yousaf (above left, with Scottish Greens Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, centre, and former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon) was as close to the model of reason as he could manage. With almost convincing sincerity, he spoke of his desire to move forward, cooperating with any and all political parties in the interests of Scotland. This, he said, was a new beginning for the SNP. 'A parliament of minorities,' said Mr Yousaf, 'need not be a parliament of enemies.'

The Scottish Greens' co-leaders are set to share a £17,000 taxpayer-funded windfall for being axed from government. First Minister Humza Yousaf's decision to sack Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater from his government will lead to them both receiving a lucrative pay-off. Any minister who loses their job is entitled to a 'resettlement grant' worth 25 per cent of their salary. This means that Mr Harvie, who served as Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights, and Ms Slater, who was Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, will both receive a payment of £8,497.n Mr Yousaf now faces a scramble to find replacements to carry out the roles. Senior figures such as former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, ex-Deputy First Minister John Swinney and former Finance Secretary Kate Forbes are unlikely to be considered for junior ministerial roles.