Summary
We’re going to close this live blog down now. Thanks for reading and commenting. Here’s a summary of the day’s political news:
The three candidates to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as Scottish first minister and SNP leader were officially announced. They are the Scottish health secretary Humza Yousaf, the country’s finance secretary Kate Forbes, and the former community safety minister Ash Regan.
Regan launched her leadership campaign with an attempt to pitch herself as the unity candidate for the independence movement. “In recent years, the wider yes movement has become marginalised in the fight for independence. If elected, I intend to change that,” she told the Herald.
A new post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland appeared to be close at hand, with Conservative MPs being ordered to be in parliament on Monday. The prime minister Rishi Sunak was said to have held a “positive” call over the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen.
Sir Bernard Ingham, the longstanding press secretary to Margaret Thatcher, died after a short illness, his family said. They said the former reporter, who was 90, died with his relatives around him on Friday lunchtime.
MPs observed a minute’s silence in the Commons chamber to mark a year since the invasion of Ukraine began. Proceedings were halted at 11am during a Friday sitting, when a small group of backbench MPs usually attend to consider private member’s bills.
Stormont leaders have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the PSNI chief constable Simon Byrne after the shooting of a senior detective.
Det Ch Insp John Caldwell remains critically ill in hospital and heavily sedated after the attack at a sports centre in Omagh on Wednesday. Four men have been arrested in Co Tyrone in the attempted murder investigation.
The chief constable said he had spoken to Caldwell’s wife and son, who he said have been heavily affected by the incident, adding that they want to pass on their thanks both to first aiders at the scene, and for the outpouring of support across the community.
Sinn Féin’s vice-president Michelle O’Neill, the DUP’s leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, and Alliance’s deputy leader Stephen Farry, as well as the UUP leader Doug Beattie and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood met with Byrne at police headquarters in Belfast on Friday morning.
They then took part in a joint press conference with Byrne, who hailed the importance of the act of political unity.
We echo our thanks because it has rippled through the organisation about how important it is that we’re joined by the political leaders today at this unique time to show that we stand together and call out this outrage for what it is.
Rishi Sunak held a “positive” call over the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen today, a European commission source has told the PA news agency. They reportedly expect to speak again soon.
As we reported earlier, a new post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland appears to be close, with Conservative MPs being ordered to be in parliament on Monday.
A former senior member of the Scottish government has questioned whether SNP leadership contender Humza Yousaf has the “backbone” to take on the top job in Scottish politics.
Alex Neil, a former health secretary who was in charge of the legislation on same-sex marriage when it went through Holyrood, claimed Yousaf asked not to take part in that vote as he was coming under pressure from Muslim leaders, but did agree with the change. He told Times Radio:
There was a request from Humza because, in his words, of pressure he was under from the mosque for him to be absent for the vote. Alex Salmond as the first minister gave him permission to do that.
As a result, Neil questioned whether Yousaf has the necessary “backbone” to be the next first minister. The former MSP said:
I think Kate Forbes has proved that she’s got backbone. I question whether Humza has the necessary backbone to take Scotland forward.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, Yousaf said he missed the vote because of an “unavoidable” meeting with the Pakistan Consul General in Glasgow to discuss the case of Mohammad Asghar, who was placed on death row in Pakistan for blasphemy before being released. He said:
I’ve said very simply, very upfront and honestly, it was an unavoidable meeting – not a meeting just to discuss policy or to have a chinwag.
Anyone can see that not only did I vote at stage one, not only have I, as justice secretary, brought forward a hate crime Bill which extends protection for the LGBT community, I supported the GRR (gender reforms) Bill. Anybody who looks at my record, I think, speaks for itself.
School strikes by National Education Union members in England look set to go ahead next week, after the education secretary Gillian Keegan refused to begin formal talks on teachers pay unless the strikes were called off.
A Department for Education spokesperson said Keegan’s offer of formal talks depends “on the clear and reasonable condition that the National Education Union pauses its damaging strike action next week, mirroring the approach agreed by the government with the Royal College of Nursing”. The DfE spokesperson said:
Ahead of [the NEU’s] national executive committee meeting tomorrow, we urge the NEU to suspend its planned action and get round the table so we can work together to find a fair and reasonable package for hard working teachers and put an end to this uncertainty and disruption for children and families.
The NEU said that, unless the government made “substantive proposals” before its executive meeting on Saturday afternoon, the regional strikes would go ahead as planned. Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, the NEU’s joint general secretaries, said:
It is completely disingenuous to suggest that we are not willing to enter talks with government. We are absolutely ready to come to talks. What we cannot accept are preconditions which require us to pause strike action before we have made any progress through negotiations to resolve this dispute.
The only reason Gillian Keegan has come to the table at all is because of the NEU’s successful ballot result. We want to resolve this dispute in the interests of teachers and children’s education. Such a resolution will not come, however, without goodwill on both sides. Inaccurate claims by the Department for Education do nothing to achieve this aim.
The government is being “counterproductive” by not passing a Bill that would compel ministers to maintain good air quality, a Green MP has said.
Caroline Lucas and Baroness Jenny Jones are pushing for the Clean Air Bill, also known as Ella’s Law, to receive royal assent.
If passed, it would give the UK Health Security Agency enhanced powers to review pollutants and their limits and would establish a Citizens’ Commission for Clean Air that could institute legal proceedings.
It has been called Ella’s Law after Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who died aged nine from an asthma attack brought on by traffic fumes. Since her daughter’s death, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah has campaigned for cleaner air in London and other cities.
She believes that passing Ella’s Law would raise more awareness about the ill effects of air pollution and save more lives. Speaking to the PA news agency outside parliament, Lucas said:
A cross-party group have signed a letter calling on Rishi Sunak to meet with us and crucially to meet with Rosamund to talk about the need for more ambitions when it comes to air pollution targets.
This is the Bill that would make the right to clean air a human right. Sadly, the government isn’t giving it parliamentary time. So we’re not going to reach it today. But, in spite of that, I think our message is loud and clear that this is a massively urgent issue.
More and more evidence is coming out by the day about the health impacts of air pollution. The public are deeply concerned and it’s about time the prime minister was as well.
Sir Bernard Ingham dies
Sir Bernard Ingham, the longstanding press secretary to Margaret Thatcher, has died after a short illness, his family has said. They said the former reporter, who was 90, died with his relatives around him on Friday lunchtime.
His family described him as a “journalist to his bones” and he continued to file a column for the Yorkshire Post until as recently as last month. His son John Ingham said:
To the wider world, he is known as Margaret Thatcher’s chief press secretary, a formidable operator in the political and Whitehall jungles. But to me he was my dad – and a great dad at that. He was a fellow football fan and an adoring grandfather and great-grandfather. My family will miss him greatly.
Born on 21 June 1932 and educated at Hebden Bridge Grammar School, Ingham started his career in journalism aged 16 years on his local paper in West Yorkshire.
He worked with the Guardian before becoming a government press officer, but positioned himself as a bitter enemy of “spin”, criticising those who practised the “black art”.
Ingham would handle the media as Thatcher’s press secretary for all but the first few months of her premiership. He was knighted in her resignation honours and wrote a book, Kill The Messenger, about his life in No 10.
Ingham was married to Nancy Ingham, a former policewoman, for 60 years. She died in 2017. He leaves a son, two grandchildren and a great-grandchild. John Ingham thanked his father’s nursing home, Tupwood Gate in Caterham, Surrey, and his previous in-home carers for their “wonderful care and support”.
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Some politicians have called for an end to the criticism of Forbes, the Scottish finance secretary over the comments, with Joanna Cherry urging senior figures in the party to “call off the dogs”. Forbes herself condemned the “illiberal discourse” around her faith.
But Mhairi Black rubbished the claims.
The idea that Kate is being ‘persecuted’, or that there is a ‘witch-hunt’ or ‘unionist media plot’ against her is utterly fanciful at best and a dangerous conspiracy theory at worst.
Holding candidates to account, and scrutinising what they have said themselves – on camera, voluntarily, as a pitch to be the next FM of Scotland – is not abuse.
Black went on to say how she and others can support a leader who believes her marriage should not be legally recognised is “beyond me”. She added:
Kate hasn’t just jeopardised a lot of activists and members, she has alienated swathes of the population before she’s even started. We need, and should expect, better judgment, communication, and leadership skills if we are to ever convince others of independence.
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The SNP’s deputy Westminster leader has said she was “incredibly hurt” by Kate Forbes’ comments on gay marriage.
Mhairi Black hit out at the party leadership contender on Twitter, saying allowing religion to dictate how to vote on policy is a display of “intolerance”.
We reported earlier that Forbes faced a backlash after saying that, had she been an MSP when the vote was held, her religious convictions would have precluded her backing legislation legalising gay marriage. She has since said she was “burdened” by the hurt she caused and has tried to portray the issue as evidence she will speak her mind – even if it harms her career prospects.
Just hours after Forbes was named alongside Ash Regan Humza Yousaf as an SNP leadership candidate, Black – who married her wife last year – tweeted:
A lot of people have asked me my views of the leadership contest. Truthfully, I have been incredibly hurt so far. Hurt originating with the statements [Kate Forbes] has made and since stood by. I, like most people in Scotland, could not care less about someone’s religion.
If your faith says you cannot drink alcohol, then don’t. If your religion says you cannot enter same sex marriage, then don’t. If your religion does not allow for abortion, then do not have one.
However, the moment you use your religion to justify voting against me having access to any of the above, then it is you who is showing intolerance.
What you practise in your own time, and how you subscribe to live your life, is your business, but as a lawmaker, if you choose to allow your religion to try and deny me my basic human rights, then you make it my business.
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The DUP has issued seven tests to win its backing for any deal, including addressing what it calls the “democratic deficit” meaning the nation is subject to EU rules.
Meanwhile, Johnson has declined to say whether he would back any new deal negotiated by his successor Sunak – the latest sign the prime minister faces a rebellion on the Tory backbenches.
Instead, the former prime minister backed his own Northern Ireland protocol bill, which could effectively rip up parts of the original agreement he brokered, as the best solution. Johnson has told Sky News:
I think that it is important to wait to see what there may be but I think the best way forward, as I said when I was running the government, is the Northern Ireland bill, which cleared the Commons very comfortably, I think unamended, when I was in office and only a few months ago. So, I think that is the best way forward.
A Downing Street spokesperson responded:
Negotiations are continuing so there isn’t a finalised deal for people to take a judgment on.
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The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has indicated ministers will not sign off on a deal over the protocol until the DUP’s concerns are addressed.
The original protocol – signed by Boris Johnson in 2020 – was designed to prevent a hard border with Ireland after Brexit. But unionists have been incensed by the trade barriers it has created between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Cleverly told Times Radio:
The things they’re concerned about, the things we’re concerned about, are absolutely in alignment and we are focused on resolving all the issues that need resolving.
Some of them are technical trade issues and very complicated and some of them are really simple but important principles, like Northern Ireland’s place as an integral part of the United Kingdom. And that sense of sovereignty, the importance of a democratic voice.
So when, hopefully, we get those issues resolved then I would hope that the DUP would recognise that we’ve addressed their concerns and until we have addressed those concerns we’re not going to sign off on the deal.
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Hopes grow for NI Brexit deal as Tory MPs ordered to attend Commons on Monday
A new post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland appears to be close, with Conservative MPs being ordered to be in parliament on Monday.
The prime minister Rishi Sunak would be expected to hold final discussions over the Northern Ireland protocol with the European Union’s Ursula von der Leyen before making any formal announcement.
The PA news agency reports that Tory MPs have received a three-line whip for Monday, meaning they must be in the Commons. And, according to the Times, cabinet ministers have been put on alert for a possible conference call over the weekend.
Sunak has promised MPs parliament will be able to “express its view” over any deal, which he hopes will get the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland.
But he would come under intense pressure if he does not give them an explicit vote, amid fears there could be a rebellion from hardline Brexiters.
There were hopes a deal could be announced this week. But Downing Street has said “intensive discussions” with the EU are still going on. Unusually, Downing Street declined to set out Sunak’s plans for the weekend, only saying that he was working in No 10 on Friday.
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Students in England are getting deeper in debt because their student loans are failing to keep up with the rising cost of living, according to a new survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Three in 10 students who responded told the ONS they had taken on extra debt, with the majority saying they did so because their student maintenance loans weren’t enough to meet their living costs.
About 16% of all students said they were in major financial difficulties, while more than three-quarters were concerned that the cost of living might affect how well they did in their studies. Tim Bradshaw, the chief executive of the Russell Group of universities, said:
Today’s figures highlight the concerning impact that growing financial pressures are having on university students across the country. This pressure is only going to increase as maintenance loans for students in England only increase by 2.8% in 2023-24, far below current inflation levels – and even more out of touch with rates of food inflation.
Steve West, the president of Universities UK and vice-chancellor of UWE Bristol, said:
With inflation still in double digits, it’s imperative that the maintenance support package is looked at more closely – the recently announced uplift for next year will not recover the real terms cut students are seeing.
The ONS said it contacted 230,000 students in England and received fewer than 2,000 responses, increasing the uncertainty and chances of “non-response bias” in the results.
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Junior doctors in England are to strike for three days next month in the increasingly bitter dispute over pay, it has been announced.
The British Medical Association (BMA) said the doctors had “no option” and would strike from 13 March, having voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action earlier this month, PA Media reported.
The BMA said that junior doctors have called on Health Secretary Steve Barclay twice in the past week to meet with them urgently, but added that no date had been set.
A meeting with Department of Health civil servants earlier this week yielded nothing in terms of meaningful progress, said the BMA, adding that the minister had refused to attend.
The co-chairs of the BMA junior doctors’ committee, Dr Rob Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, said patients and public alike need to know the blame for the strike action “lies squarely at the Government’s door”.
Humza Yousaf said that if elected to succeed Nicola Sturgeon, he would “be a first minister for all of Scotland”.
He also promised party members: “I will be the SNP leader and first minister that takes our movement over the line and achieves independence for Scotland.
“We are within touching distance of that prize. It’s time for experience and unity to ensure that becomes reality.”
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Humza Yousaf, the current Scottishhealth secretary, said he was “honoured by the trust” SNP members had shown by nominating him to be the party’s next leader.
Yousaf pledged to set out more about his plans should he become Scotland’s next first minister, including his “ambition for driving forward Scotland’s economy”, proposals to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and how to use “all the talents of the party to win independence”.
He promised to take his campaign to be the next first minister around Scotland, saying he would listen to SNP members in “every corner” of the country.
Yousaf also said he was the only candidate running who could “protect our pro-independence majority government in Holyrood” as the Scottish Greens – who are in power with the SNP – remain committed to introducing gender recognition reforms, which both Regan and Forbes are opposed to.
He added: “As a minority in this country, I know how important it is to protect the rights of all. This is something I will not falter on.”
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Rishi Sunak is resisting calls to ban government officials from using TikTok, leaving the UK out of line with the US and much of Europe.
It comes amid renewed concerns from some Tory MPs about the use of the popular Chinese-owned video sharing app by government and parliamentary staff following the European Commission’s decision to suspend the use of TikTok on devices issued to staff or personal devices that staff use for work.
A similar ban has already been introduced in the US for federal government employees.
Alicia Kearns, the Commons foreign affairs committee chairwoman, is leading the call for the government in the UK to follow suit. She told the Telegraph:
We’ve now seen both the EU and the US take action on TikTok over security concerns: the acquisition of our personal data by a hostile state.
The government needs to review its policies and look to ban government officials and parliamentary staff from installing the app on any mobile phones utilised for work, if not any device.
Parliament’s TikTok account was shut down last year after MPs raised concerns about the firm’s links to China. The app has nonetheless become increasingly popular among politicians in recent years, with some MPs amassing tens of thousands of followers.
The former health secretary Matt Hancock is a regular user, while the energy security and net-zero secretary, Grant Shapps, also has an account. A No 10 spokesperson said he was “not aware” of any ban on Downing Street staff using TikTok.
We have got a TikTok account but I don’t think we’ve put anything on it for a little while now. It’s for individual departments and ministers to choose which social media platforms they want to use.
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Confirmed: three candidates to stand for SNP leadership
Scotland’s health secretary, Humza Yousaf, its finance secretary, Kate Forbes, and former community safety minister Ash Regan have all secured sufficient backing to put their names on the ballot to be the next SNP leader and Scottish first minister, the party confirms.
Nominations closed at midday, with candidates required to get at least 100 nominations from at least 20 local party branches to advance. An SNP spokesperson said:
With the 12pm deadline now past, we can confirm that all three declared candidates for the leadership of the SNP – Kate Forbes, Ash Regan and Humza Yousaf – have passed the threshold of nominations by at least 100 SNP members drawn from at least 20 SNP branches.
Members will now be asked to vote using the single transferable vote (STV) system, with a winner announced on 27 March.
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Forbes interrupted her maternity leave following the birth of her baby daughter last summer to run to be the next SNP leader.
I want to lead Scotland into better days. I have a vested interest in achieving this, not least for the sake of my daughter’s future.
The Scottish finance secretary placed a strong emphasis on her economic credentials, saying:
Scotland needs a leader who is bold, brave and energised. My vision centres on delivering a strong growing economy that expands the tax base and reinvests in tackling poverty and making our public services sustainable.
We need somebody competent, who voters trust, who speaks the truth, who has integrity and commitment … I’m the only candidate with a strong grip on the economy and our finances.
Looking at the cost-of-living crisis, and the unrealised potential of some of Scotland’s key industries, we need to focus on the economy.
All our work to tackle poverty and invest in public services relies on a growing economy.
One of Regan’s rivals for the SNP leadership and post of first minister is the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Kate Forbes; an evangelical christian who has been criticised recently for opposing both same-sex marriage and having children outside of marriage.
She has now said she wants to “lead Scotland into better days”, while insisting the country must have tolerance as its “ruling ethic”.
Forbes is a member of the socially conservative Free Church of Scotland. Her political views are informed by her religious beliefs; debate over which has dominated the first week of campaigning.
Seeking to gain control of the narrative, Forbes has now sought to portray herself as someone who is willing to express her beliefs, even at personal cost.
If anything, can be said of me in the past week it is that I am willing to be honest and open, even at the cost of my leadership bid and my career.
Writing for the Times, she said her vision for Scotland was to be “a country where tolerance is the ruling ethic, differences are welcomed, fairness is the norm”.
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The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, speaking in Cardiff as he marks the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, has said:
It is a very important day and it is very important that we mark it. I had the privilege last week of being in Ukraine and to see first-hand the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people was really humbling, and I think today is a day for repeating what I said to them, which is whatever other political divides there are in the UK, we stand united in our support of Ukraine. Putin must be defeated in Ukraine.
He added he backs the government’s approach to supporting and arming Ukraine; including on the issue of sending fighter jets to Kyiv.
The defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said backfilling allies with the UK’s jets to free up their own would be a quicker way to bolster Kyiv’s defences than providing them with British Typhoons. Starmer said:
As you know, President Zelenskiy is very keen that more support is sent to Ukraine. He raised that with me last week, understandably. But I think we should provide all the support that we can, we should do it in lockstep with Nato.
The government has said, the prime minister has said, that fighter jets are part of the conversation, and I think the government is right about that. We are not going to politically divide on this. We will support the government in the decision that it makes.
I think the government is already pushing allies to go further and they are right to do that.
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Pitching herself to members as the candidate who would govern the country best, Regan has said:
I respect everything that my predecessors have achieved since 2007, but recently we have lost our way. Under my leadership we will reestablish our track record, we will reform our team, we will reiterate the vision of an independent country with parity of esteem in the world.
Regan has previously claimed an SNP led by her would seek to launch negotiations on leaving the UK with Westminster after a majority vote for independence-supporting parties at any UK or Holyrood election in the future.
At the launch, Regan described the policy as a “voter empowerment mechanism”, although it is unclear how this differs from the current leadership’s position of treating the next election as a de facto referendum.
In her first 100 days, Regan has pledged to focus on “running the country wisely, fairly and competently”, and would reconvene the council of economic advisers and other bodies to bring in “the best minds”, as well as “move on” from the Sustainable Growth Commission, claiming “too much has changed”.
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Following the theme of her interview with the Herald, Regan has said the Scottish independence movement has been divided by “petty differences and personal agendas”, as she officially launches her SNP leadership campaign.
Speaking in North Queensferry on Friday, Regan has pitched herself as the unity candidate in the hours before nominations close.
Our campaign is built on hope, optimism and a belief in the power of our people. The truth is that our movement has been divided for far too long by petty differences and personal agendas.
But we can’t afford to let these differences tear us apart any longer and we must come together as one united force for Scotland because the challenges facing our country are too great for us to face them if we are divided.
Asked by journalists after her speech what differences and agendas she was referencing, Regan was not specific, but appeared to hint at gender reforms as being one such issue.
I think everyone, the kids in the playground can see that there have been some issues in the SNP of late.
I think I’m the only candidate on the slate that’s credible on some of the top issues that have been a problem for the SNP recently, that can draw a line under this so that we can all move forward together because we need to do that for the betterment of the country.
The SNP, she said, has always been a “broad church”, and the Edinburgh Eastern MSP pledged to “heal the divisions that have emerged in the past few years”.
Everyone is going to make up and move on.
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MPs observe minute's silence for Ukraine
MPs have observed a minute’s silence in the Commons chamber to mark a year since the invasion of Ukraine began.
Proceedings were halted at 11am during a Friday sitting, when a small group of backbench MPs usually attend to consider private member’s bills.
Several ministers and shadow ministers joined the cohort of backbench Labour and Conservative MPs in the Commons for the occasion.
The deputy Commons Speaker Dame Rosie Winterton said “Slava Ukraini” – meaning “Glory to Ukraine” in the Ukrainian language – as the silence came to an end.
Outside the Commons chamber, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, led the national silence from Downing Street.
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We reported earlier on the Regan-backing Joanna Cherry’s view that Nicola Sturgeon’s husband should quit. Here’s Regan’s own view on the matter:
I think this situation that we’ve got ourselves into, where you’ve got a party leader who’s married to the chief executive of the party, I don’t think we would accept that in a corporate setting, I don’t think it’s appropriate.
I think the fact that Peter Murrell is running this contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon is a clear conflict of interest.
Asked if he should stand down, Regan has said: “I think it’s a conflict of interest, that’s my position on that.”
Murrell, who married the first minister in 2010, is ultimately in charge of the contest to replace his wife.
Regan has become more outspoken in her opposition to the party’s leadership in recent months, following her resignation in opposition to gender reforms, with her most high-profile backer Joanna Cherry calling for party chief executive Peter Murrell – who is Nicola Sturgeon’s husband – to quit.
Regan has said she will seek to reset relations between the SNP groups at Westminster and Holyrood as leader, attending meetings at the House of Commons and allowing MPs to do the same in Edinburgh.
We need to adopt a far more collegiate approach and deploy all of the talents we have at our disposal properly by appointing the best people to the jobs that best suit their abilities.
Regan would not be drawn on cabinet positions for her rivals during her Herald interview, but described fellow candidate Forbes as one of the SNP’s “top talents”, adding:
If I’m elected to serve, there will be some very important jobs up for grabs in my government, and I want to ensure that only the very best people get them, irrespective of whether I agree with them on everything.
We have to have the very best people advising us, even if they don’t back independence. What’s important is that they have the gifts and the desire to help us make Scotland better.
She has also restated her position of dropping any potential legal action against the UK government over its blocking of the gender recognition reforms (Scotland) bill, saying she will not be “wasting any more time” on a court battle that is unlikely to be won.
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Ash Regan launches bid to succeed Nicola Sturgeon
The SNP has “dismantled” the yes movement since the independence referendum, the leadership candidate Ash Regan has said.
Speaking to the Herald, the former community safety minister hit out at the party’s current leadership, saying she will return the independence movement “back to the people”. Regan launches her campaign on Friday. She has told the paper:
In recent years, the wider yes movement has become marginalised in the fight for independence. If elected, I intend to change that.
As a party, I don’t think we’ve listened enough to the groups who got us here. I know these people, because I campaigned side-by-side with them throughout the first referendum. The party has effectively dismantled the yes campaign, but I want to reconstitute it once more.
It’s also important that we get on with the business of governing on the day-to-day issues affecting all of the people of Scotland.
And, as much as possible, allow some of the groups who did amazing work for the yes cause in 2013 and 2014 to do what they did so well back then. I want to get the band back together, if you like.
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SNP leadership nominations to close
Ash Regan is joining the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon today. Assuming no one else decides to jump in before nominations close at midday, she will be facing Kate Forbes and Humza Yousaf, who are also running for the party’s leadership.
The Edinburgh Eastern MSP has the support of about 7% of SNP voters as the race starts, according to a poll released on Friday. As she launches her campaign, she gas intimated she wants to let groups who worked for the wider Yes movement in the run-up to 2014 take the lead on independence, while the Scottish government focuses on running the country.
She has accused her colleagues in the SNP of failing to listen to such groups.
Also today, the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said the UK will not directly supply Ukraine with its Typhoon fighter jets because their complexity and the lack of training among Ukrainian forces would also require the deployment of a large number of RAF ground crew to the warzone; a step the UK is not willing to take.
Instead, he has said, Britain could offer air cover for eastern European nations who want to provide aircraft the Ukrainian forces are already trained to operate and maintain.
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