Glasgow, Scotland – Talk of Scotland’s parliamentary election is not about whether the governing party will win, but by how much.
The pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) has led the Scottish Parliament since 2007 and appears on course to secure an unprecedented fourth term on May 6, when Scots go to the polls to elect 129 parliamentarians to the 22-year-old devolved institution.
“The constitutional issue still seems to be at the heart of Scottish politics,” Simon Pia, a former Scottish Labour Party press adviser, told Al Jazeera, highlighting the polarising political debate that has long pitted supporters of Scottish independence against those who believe in Scotland’s centuries-old place within the United Kingdom’s union of nations.
Les Huckfield, a former Labour MP and junior industry minister, announced his support today. Mr Huckfield left the Labour party in protest over the Iraq war, having served in Prime Minister James Callaghan s government as under-secretary of state for industry between 1976 and 1979. He was also against New Labour s continuing political drift under Tony Blair. In 2014 he announced he was supporting independence, urging the electorate to vote Yes in the referendum. Mr Huckfield, who lives in Perthshire, said Scottish independence was the only way Scots could ensure they can guide the Covid recovery, instead of being handcuffed to Westminster. He said electing a “supermajority” for independence in the Scottish Parliament would put “immense pressure” on the Boris Johnson’s UK Government to accept the will of the Scottish people.
As the Holyrood election approaches, more than a quarter of MSPs are getting ready to stand down. A total of 34 of the 129 members in the last Parliament are not not seeking re-election to the Scottish Parliament this year. Three former party leaders and four current Government ministers are included on the list of MSPs not standing for re-election on May 6.
Here are some of the most notable names who are leaving Parliament. SNP
Jeane Freeman The current Health Secretary has only been an MSP since 2016 but has become one of the most high-profile Government ministers in the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Scotland: SNP on course to win vote, but by how much matters msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Douglas Ross was quizzed on Boris Johnson s potential ministerial code breach by Andrew Marr DOUGLAS Ross has said that Boris Johnson should of course resign if he is found to have broken the ministerial code. As probes are under way into whether the Prime Minister properly declared donations for lavish refurbishments to his Downing Street flat, the Scottish Tory leader was quizzed on his stance. He was asked on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show if Johnson should quit if found to be in breach of the ministerial code, with Ross having previously called for the resignation of SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon if she had broken the rules.