Scottish Parliament Elections: Your Candidates

The candidates nominated to stand in the City of Edinburgh’s six constituencies and the Lothian Region in the Scottish Parliament Elections on Thursday, 6 May have been announced.

Nominations for candidates closed earlier today (Wednesday 31 March). The nominated candidates for each constituency are listed in full below.

Edinburgh Central Constituency

BOB, Bonnie Prince – Independent
DOUGLAS, Scott – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
JOHNSTONE, Alison – Scottish Green Party
KIRKMAN, Maddy – Scottish Labour Party
LAIRD, Tam – Scottish Libertarian Party
MACKAY, Donald Murdo – UK Independence Party (UKIP)
ROBERTSON, Angus – Scottish National Party (SNP)
WILSON, Bruce Roy – Scottish Liberal Democrats

Edinburgh Eastern Constituency

COOK, Bill – Scottish Labour Party
DENHAM, Ash – Scottish National Party (SNP)
HUTCHISON, Graham – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
REILLY, Jill – Scottish Liberal Democrats

Edinburgh Northern and Leith Constituency

BELL, Rebecca – Scottish Liberal Democrats
FACCENDA, Katrina – Scottish Labour Party
LAIDLAW, Callum – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
MACPHERSON, Ben – Scottish National Party (SNP)
PULLMAN, Jon – Scottish Freedom Alliance
SLATER, Lorna – Scottish Green Party

Edinburgh Pentlands Constituency

CAMERON, Lezley Marion – Scottish Labour Party and Scottish Co-operative Party
GRAHAM, Fraser John Ashmore – Scottish Liberal Democrats
LINDHURST, Gordon – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
LUCAS, Richard Crewe – Scottish Family Party
MACDONALD, Gordon – Scottish National Party (SNP)

Edinburgh Southern Constituency

BRIGGS, Miles – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
HOLDEN, Philip – Scottish Family Party
JOHNSON, Daniel – Scottish Labour Party and Scottish Co-operative Party
MACDONALD, Catriona Mary Elizabeth – Scottish National Party (SNP)
MACKINTOSH, Fred – Scottish Liberal Democrats

Edinburgh Western Constituency

COLE-HAMILTON, Alex – Scottish Liberal Democrats
FRASER, Daniel – Scottish Libertarian Party
GRAHAM, Margaret Arma – Scottish Labour Party
MASSON, Sarah – Scottish National Party (SNP)
WEBBER, Sue – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

Lothian Region list:

PARTY: Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party

CANDIDATES: LECKIE, John Johnson; NICHOL, David Lindsay

PARTY: Alba Party

CANDIDATES: MACASKILL, Kenneth Wright; ARTHUR, Alexander; HENDRY, Christina Mary; AHMED, Irshad

PARTY: All for Unity

CANDIDATES: MORLEY, Charlotte; SINGH, Parvinder; HOGG, Alan; MACAULAY, Andy; HAMILTON, David; KNOX, Mike; CLARK, Derek

PARTY: Animal Welfare Party

CANDIDATES: MOIR, Vivienne; RIDLEY, Gavin

PARTY: Communist Party of Britain

CANDIDATES: WADDELL, Matthew Finlay

PARTY: Freedom Alliance – Integrity, Society, Economy

CANDIDATES: PULLMAN, Jon; WASE, Cara Patricia; MCCANN, Patricia

PARTY: Reform UK

CANDIDATES: WINTON, Derek Steven; BROWN, Mev; MORSE, Iain Murray; MACDONALD, Lesley

PARTY: Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

CANDIDATES: BRIGGS, Miles; WEBBER, Sue; BALFOUR, Jeremy; FRASER, Rebecca; OFFORD, Malcolm; DOUGLAS, Scott; LINDHURST, Gordon; MUNRO, Marie-Clair; HUTCHISON, Graham; WHYTE, Iain; LAIDLAW, Callum KENNEDY, Charles

PARTY: Scottish Family Party

CANDIDATES: LUCAS, Richard Crewe; HOLDEN, Philip; COLVILLE, Norman David; KIRK, Gareth; IRELAND, Amy

PARTY: Scottish Greens

CANDIDATES: JOHNSTONE, Alison; SLATER, Lorna; NEVENS, Kate; BOOTH, Chas; BURGESS, Steve; MUMFORD, Alys; FROOD, Emily; PARKER, Ben; TAYLOR, Elaine; WILSON, Bill; WESTON, Evelyn; STANIFORTH, Alex

PARTY: Scottish Labour Party

CANDIDATES: JOHNSON, Daniel; BOYACK, Sarah; CHOUDHURY, Foysol; KIRKMAN, Madelaine; SULLIVAN, Kirsteen; WARD, Nicholas; HESSLER, Frederick; CURRAN, Stephen Robert

PARTY: Scottish Liberal Democrats

CANDIDATES: COLE-HAMILTON, Alex; MACKINTOSH, Fred; REILLY, Jill; BELL, Rebecca Louise; PATTLE, Sally; GRAHAM, Fraser John Ashmore; LINDSAY, Caron Marianne; WILSON, Bruce Roy; DUNDAS, Charles Christopher

PARTY: Scottish Libertarian Party

CANDIDATES: LAIRD, Tam; PATERSON, Cameron Paul

PARTY: Scottish National Party

CANDIDATES: CAMPBELL, Graham; ROBERTSON, Angus; HYSLOP, Fiona; MACPHERSON, Ben; MACDONALD, Catriona; MASSON, Sarah; MCCARRA, Greg; DICKIE, Alison; ORR, Alex; EWEN, Andrew; CONNELL, Rob

PARTY: Scottish Renew

CANDIDATES: ASTBURY, Heather Jane; FREEMANTLE-ZEE, Anna

PARTY: Scottish Women’s Equality Party

CANDIDATES: WATT, Emma Jane; RENTON, David Malcolm Alexander; HAMMOND, Lucy

PARTY: Social Democratic Party

CANDIDATES: YOUNG, Alasdair James; MANSON, Neil Peter; EDWARDS, Lawrence Sebastian

PARTY: UK Independence Party (UKIP)

CANDIDATES: MACKAY, Donald; MUMFORD, John Laurence; HOLLIS, Steve; LOWRY, Kenneth

INDEPENDENT:

GRACZYK, Ashley

Find out more about where, when and how to vote.

Lib Dems announce candidate list and pledge to “Put Recovery First”

As nominations close, Scottish Liberal Democrats have announced their list of candidates for Lothian and are pledging their commitment to make recovery from the pandemic their number one priority as MSPs.

Today the Scottish Liberal Democrats submitted their nomination papers for the upcoming Scottish parliament election to be held on the 6^th May.

The Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Edinburgh Northern and Leith will be Rebecca Bell (above). She is also the mental health spokesperson for the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Rebecca Bell said: “People are under huge pressure from the pandemic. There’s a lot of work to be done to recover from this crisis. It will not be easily done and we will need our complete focus on the project at hand.

“As an MSP, I want to focus on cutting mental health waits, a bounce back plan for education, creating jobs and tackling the climate emergency.

“After years of arguing about independence and Brexit, the last thing we need right now is another independence referendum.

“As the MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, I will put the recovery first.”

Willie Rennie said: “This election is about priorities. Liberal Democrats will put recovery first. After the dreadful year we have endured, people want a needle-sharp focus on jobs, mental health, our NHS, schools and the climate crisis.

“With ten years of experience as leader I have won support for areas like mental health, education and nursery education. For me it has always been about investing in people so they can do great things.

“For the next five years the divided nationalists will put independence first, dividing the country too.

“For the next five years I will put the recovery first, cut mental health waits, help pupils bounce back, create jobs and take action on the climate. The SNP will prioritise another independence referendum.

“Honest Politics for Real People by Real People”

Renew Scotland launches Scottish Election campaign

Renew Scotland has launched its campaign for the Scottish Parliament election in May 2021 and unveiled its initial set of candidates who will stand on the regional lists.

“Renew Scotland aims to give the people of Scotland the choice of a different path, one that will lead to political reform, consequences for politicians who break the rules, elected officials that put the needs of their constituents first and a raft of policies that put Scotland’s people and their needs at the heart of government,” said Renew Scotland’s Joint Leader, Heather Astbury.

“Scotland has been governed by the SNP since 2007, 14 years, and in that time, they have failed to improve the lives of Scots in the crucial devolved issues that they have been responsible for.

“As a reminder, the issues that are devolved to the Scottish Parliament are the economy, education, health, justice, rural affairs, housing, environment, equal opportunities, consumer advocacy and advice, transport and taxation. The power to set a Scottish rate of income tax has also been added recently.

“The latest statistics show that Scots now have the lowest life expectancy of any country in Western Europe and lower than many in Eastern Europe, with the causes being linked to poverty and deprivation.”

Renew was set up in 2017 by a group of people disillusioned by the current state of British politics. The party has fielded candidates in some local council elections, the EU Parliament election in 2019, the 2019 General Election in 2019 and several by-elections. Renew now has elected Councillors and a growing grassroots support base.

Not funded by large corporations, overseas donors, trades unions or lobby groups, but by its membership, Renew Scotland believes it can genuinely represent the people.

Bruce Henderson, Joint Leader of Renew Scotland, explained: “We have no party whip system, and we are not funded by any group with an agenda to push, so we can propose the policies we believe will benefit our constituents and fight for what is best for them and for Scotland.

“We believe strongly in the need for a criminal code that politicians and elected officials are subject to. The ongoing destruction of the moral code of people in public office is becoming normalised and we must put an end to it.

“People in positions of responsibility, such as elected officials, must be held to a higher standard than the rest of society, not use their power and influence to break or bend the rules for their own personal gain.

“The rise of poverty in Scotland has also become normalised and this is a disgrace. We seem to accept that older people will die in winter because they can’t afford to heat their homes properly; that children will go to school hungry because their families can’t afford to feed them.

“This needs to stop. We are a relatively rich country and yet we have levels of poverty that should be a national embarrassment. Renew Scotland will work to end poverty in Scotland; not just child poverty or fuel poverty but all poverty.”

Renew Scotland supports the right of the Scottish people to decide their future and would support calls for a second referendum on Independence if that was the will of the people.

Bruce Henderson added: “Much has changed since the 2014 referendum, especially Brexit, and what the people voted for then, to remain in the UK and the EU, is no longer an option. However, we don’t believe it should be just a binary yes or no, in or out Brexit-style question.

“If Independence is chosen as the path the people of Scotland want to go down, then we need to spend time working out what that path would lead to. We need an agreement from the rest of the UK about our continued relationship and we need to reach an agreement with the EU.

“We need a blueprint for how our finances and currency would work and we need to have a realistic view on what impact becoming independent would have on the people of Scotland. Once all of that is clear, then it needs to go back to the people of Scotland for a confirmatory vote before any final decision is taken.

“Without that we are voting based on assumptions and potentially misleading information from people or groups with vested interests. The future of Scotland and its people is too important to be used as a political football.”

Renew Scotland is working with Volt Scotland in this election and is fielding candidates on the regional lists as follows:

Glasgow

Ben Meechan

Andrea Kozlowski, Volt Scotland, standing for Renew Scotland

West of Scotland

Peter Morton

North East Scotland

Colin McFadyen

Mid Scotland & Fife

Bruce Henderson

Stefan Diesing, Volt Scotland, standing for Renew Scotland

Lothian

Heather Astbury

Anna Freemantle-Zee

Boris Johnson: April will be England’s ‘Second Dose Month’

PM Boris Johnson’s statement at yesterday’s Coronavirus press briefing:

Good afternoon and welcome to this press conference on what has been a big day for many of us – with the first chance to see friends and family outdoors, whether as six people or two households.

And I want to congratulate the members of Ilkeston cycling club in Derbyshire that set off at midnight, the swimmers who broached the chilly waters of the Hillingdon Lido at the crack of dawn, and more than anything I know how much it will have meant to millions of people to have joined someone else for a cup of tea in the garden.

And I must stress that it is only because of months of sacrifice and effort that we can take this small step to freedom today. And we must proceed with caution.

It is great to see that yesterday we recorded the lowest number of new infections for six months, deaths and hospital admissions across the UK are continuing to fall.

But that wave is still rising across the Channel and it is inevitable as we advance on this roadmap that there will be more infections, and unavoidably more hospitalisations and sadly more deaths.

So what we need to do is continue flat out to build the immunity of our population, build our defences against that wave when it comes.

And now that we have vaccinated more than 30 million adults across the United Kingdom it is more vital than ever to protect the most vulnerable.

The evidence seems pretty clear that vaccinating the elderly and vulnerable has helped to drive down rates of hospitalisation and death and now we want to reinforce that protection with a second dose so for many people April will be the “Second Dose Month” – and please take up your appointment when it’s your turn.

And at the same time as we push forwards with our programme to offer a vaccination to all adults by the end of July we’re building up our own long-term UK manufacturing capabilities.

I’ve already told you that Novavax – a potentially significant new weapon in our armoury against Covid – is going to be made at Fujifilm in the North East.

And I can today announce that the Vaccine Task Force has reached an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline to finish and bottle this precious fluid also in the North East giving us between 50 and 60 million doses of UK made vaccine subject to the right approvals from the MHRA.

And then, of course, there is one other way we can all build our own individual defences against Covid and enjoy ourselves at the same time – and that is to take more exercise.

So I am personally thrilled that I will be able to play tennis for instance, and without being remotely preachy I do hope that we can take advantage of this moment and the beautiful weather – to play sport, to take exercise, to have fun and build our national resilience in that way too.

And remember that outdoors is generally much safer than indoors and the way to continue on our cautious but irreversible roadmap to freedom is to follow the rules and remember hands, face, space and fresh air.

In Scotland, lockdown restrictions will ease from Friday with a move from Stay at Home to Stay Local

Stay at Home regulations will be lifted on 2 April and replaced with guidance to Stay Local, with more services including hairdressers, garden centres and non-essential click and collect services able to open from 5 April.

More college students will also return to on-campus learning and outdoor contact sports will resume for 12-17 year olds on 5 April if progress on vaccination and suppression of Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues.

The Scottish Government then hopes to lift all restrictions on journeys in mainland Scotland on 26 April.

The Scottish Cabinet meets later today.

Campaign group urges tactical vote to oust Nicola Sturgeon

Campaign group Scotland Matters has erected another billboard calling for voters to vote tactically for Anas Sarwar and oust Nicola Sturgeon from her Glasgow Southside constituency.

The billboard is part of a wider tactical voting campaign backing Anas Sarwar in Ms Sturgeon’s seat. Thousands of voters in the Southside constituency have also been reached with paid-for social media posts.

The new image is entitled “Education not Separation” and focuses on the SNP’s ‘failed education policies’.

Scotland Matters, the Electoral Commission-registered campaign group, was also instrumental in the #ResignSturgeon billboards along with The Majority and UK Union Voice, and additional billboards in Inverclyde calling for the SNP to concentrate on “Vaccination and not Separation”.

Allan Sutherland, Scotland Matters Director and spokesman, said: “This is the second in a series of billboards we will be erecting across Scotland in support of pro-UK parties and their candidates.

“Scotland needs to focus on what matters: health, jobs, education, and housing; not separation and we urge people to vote tactically for the pro-UK candidates most likely to best the SNP/Green candidate and avoid splitting the vote.”

This is the first time in British history that two party political leaders have gone head-to-head in a constituency in a major election. Scotland Matters are working to encourage and help pro-UK parties to get the SNP/Greens out of Government in the 2021 Holyrood elections and are advocates of tactical voting to achieve this.

Scotland Matters believes that many ‘No’ voters will back Anas following a YouGov survey showing 550,000 voters across Scotland are considering voting tactically against the SNP. That is around 22% of the Scottish electorate.

According to research by the Electoral Commission, 24% of Scots tactically voted in the 2017 General Election resulting in 21 SNP MPs losing their seats.

Mr Sutherland added: “If we can persuade five percent of voters to vote tactically in the constituency part of the Holyrood Elections there is every chance many SNP constituency seats will fall. As our YouGov poll showed, there is a growing determination among pro-UK people to tactically vote against the SNP.”

It’s early days, but it does seem that this Holyrood election – just like the last – is being turned into one-issue Union vs Independence choice all over again …

Crack down on tech firms ‘immoral’ profiting from online pension scam adverts, urge MPs

A report from Westminster’s Work and Pensions Committee is calling on the UK Government to ‘act quickly and decisively’ to protect pension savers, more than five years on from the introduction of the pension freedoms, which have put people at risk of a much wider range of scams and fraud.

The report warns that commonly cited figures of the scale of pension scamming are likely to substantially underestimate the problem.

The situation is likely to be getting worse rather than better, with the covid-19 pandemic offering scammers new opportunities.

The Committee heard throughout its inquiry that pension scammers have moved online, with regulators powerless to hold search engines and social media to account for hosting scam adverts as they do traditional media.

Tech firms such as Google are accepting payment to advertise scams and then further payments from regulators to publish warnings – a practice the Committee describes as ‘immoral’.

The Government must now rethink its decision to exclude financial harms from the forthcoming Online Safety Bill and use it to legislate against online investment fraud.

In the same way as traditional media, online publishers should be required to ensure financial promotions are authorised.

The report also calls for the multi-agency task force set up to tackle pension fraud to be strengthened.

The existing Project Bloom should be renamed the Pension Scams Centre and given dedicated funding and staffing to manage an intelligence database and law enforcement.

Currently the fragmentation of reporting, investigation and enforcement has made tackling pension scams more difficult.

The Financial Conduct Authority must also ‘raise its game’ and publish information about its enforcement action, with the Committee hearing numerous criticisms that it is not effective in stopping scams, punishing scammers or retrieving scam proceeds.

Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, said: “The pension freedoms brought more choice for savers on how to use their pension pots, but the reforms have also opened up a whole new world of opportunity for scammers and fraudsters.

“At the same time, a woeful lack of online regulation has helped them reach more people than ever before.

“The result is an online free for all, where scammers can advertise with impunity while the tech giants line their pockets from the proceeds of their crimes.

“With global firms such as Google being increasingly influential as providers of information, consumers looking for financial advice are being let down by not being afforded the same level of protection they receive from adverts which appear on television or in a newspaper.

“There must now be parity across the media to ensure all adverts are regulated and the Government should use its Online Safety Bill to act.

“Tighter online regulation must be just the first step in improving protections for savers. Stronger enforcement with a new Pensions Scams Centre, a more effective FCA and extra support for victims are also desperately needed.

“Pension scams can cause huge financial harm and psychological distress and any one of us saving for the future is at risk of falling prey to a scammer.

“The Government and the regulators have been left playing catch-up following the pension freedom reforms and must now act quickly to protect savers and their hard-earned money.”

Rocio Concha, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Which?, said: “This report is a damning indictment of the approach of tech giants like Google to tackling scams.

“These companies have some of the most sophisticated technology in the world, yet they are failing to utilise it to prevent scammers from abusing the platforms by using fake and fraudulent content on an industrial scale to target victims and devastate lives.

“The case for including scams in the Online Safety Bill is overwhelming. Online platforms must be given a legal responsibility to identify, prevent and remove fake and fraudulent content from appearing on their sites and give their users the protection they deserve. The government must not miss the opportunity to act now.”

Scottish Tories ‘pro-Union’ plans rebuffed

Scottish Labour and the Liberal Democrats have rebuffed a Conservative invite to work together to defeat the independence movement.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1375542962029989892

The offer was launched in the wake of Friday’s announcement of the formation of the new Alba Party, to be led by fomer First Minister Alex Salmond.

The new party aims to deliver a ‘supermajority’ for independence in May’s Holyrood elections.

The Scottish Conservatives said: “Labour have refused our offer to work with pro-UK parties against the new threat of an independence super-majority. They’re in coalition with the SNP in six councils. They abstained in the vote against Nicola Sturgeon. They supported the SNP’s Hate Crime Bill.

“You can’t trust them to stand up to the nationalists anymore.”

Rejecting the Tory offer, Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “We deserve better than your desperate attempts to take us back to old arguments and the politics of the past.

“In case you hadn’t noticed Scotland is in the middle of a pandemic.

“This election is not some kind of game, it is about focussing on a national recovery.

“This election cannot be about an SNP psychodrama. It cannot be about Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond settling old scores. And it cannot be about your petty agenda of game playing.

This election must be about the people of Scotland, their families and a national recovery.

“As you have recognised yourself, one of the largest threats to the Union is the leader of your own party.

“Scotland has had enough of divisive politics which you and Nicola Sturgeon share. Both you and the SNP want to waste time and energy on the imagined conflicts that divide us.

“But in Scotland, child poverty has risen – and was rising before the pandemic hit.

“This is among countless issues where the blame lies at the feet of both your party in Westminster and the SNP at Holyrood.

“A heartbreaking example of how the obsession with past disagreements fails people today.

“Rather than entertain your latest desperate plea for attention, I am focusing our energy on what matters – guaranteeing a fairer recovery and a stronger Scotland.

“Scotland deserves a better government and – as your letter demonstrates – it deserves a better opposition.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat campaign chair Alistair Carmichael MP said: “Lib Dems will work with others to deliver a constructive and ambitious plan for recovery but Douglas Ross’s politics are far too dark and divisive.

“We will focus on winning seats and ensuring that the next government is focused on putting the recovery first, not independence.

“As a football referee Douglas Ross has a knack for uniting the fans of opposing teams. As a party leader he seems to do the exact opposite.”

Covid recovery strategy must not exacerbate existing inequalities, finds MSPs

Issues faced by protected and disadvantaged groups should be proactively addressed as the country navigates its post-Covid recovery to ensure that nobody is left behind, according to a report from the Equalities and Human Rights Committee.

MSPs on the Committee are calling on their successor Committee in the next Parliament to prioritise these issues to ensure that existing inequalities are not further exacerbated by the Covid pandemic.

Convener of the Equalities and Human Rights Committee, Ruth Maguire MSP, said: “As the country navigates its way out of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s vital that those who are already disadvantaged, should not face any further inequality.

“As this parliamentary term comes to a close, we need to ensure that these issues are given the utmost priority as we move forward to creating a more equal country after Covid.

“We need a strengthened approach that puts equalities and human rights at the core of what we do and urge our successor committee to play a key role in this by actively progressing the key issues highlighted in this report”.

In the report, published today, the Committee also called on all Scottish Parliament committees to prioritise equalities and human rights from the outset and to actively pursue and encourage participation from those least likely to engage to ensure their voices are heard.

MSPs also want to ensure the Scottish Parliament continues to develop as an effective human rights guarantor, demonstrating strong human rights leadership. The Committee has set out a number of actions to achieve in the new Session, building on the actions taken this Session.

A copy of the report is attached.

Salmond Inquiry: Lessons will be learned, says Swinney

Scottish Government comments on Committee report

The Scottish Government says lessons will be learned from the Scottish Government’s handling of harassment complaints, following the publication yesterday of the parliamentary inquiry’s report.

Responding to the findings of the Committee on the Scottish Government’s Handling of Harassment Complaints (SGHHC), Deputy First Minister John Swinney said it was clear that the women who had raised complaints had been let down.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “I welcome the report of the Committee, which, alongside the independent report produced by James Hamilton and externally led review by Laura Dunlop QC, will assist the Scottish Government’s in learning lessons for the future.

“I also welcome the Committee’s acknowledgement that the Scottish Government was motivated by doing the right thing – creating a culture and procedure for investigating any claims of harassment.

“I agree with the Committee’s finding that James Hamilton’s report is the most appropriate place to address the question of whether or not the First Minister breached the Ministerial Code. He found there was no breach.

“The Scottish Government has acknowledged that it made mistakes and that these led to the Judicial Review being conceded, and I know that this had a real, and damaging, impact for the women who raised the complaints. We have apologised for this and we do so unreservedly again today.

“I remain absolutely determined that the Scottish Government should ensure this does not happen again and that together we create a culture where these behaviours do not arise.

“Given the timing of the report it is not possible to respond fully and in detail, not least because the three reports have overlapping areas of interest, and some recommendations are in conflict with those in other reports.

“Together, all three reports highlight a range of important issues and provide the basis for improvement work which now be taken forward in consultation with others including the Parliament, Trades Unions, and those with lived experience.

“The Scottish Government will carefully consider the recommendations from the Committee, alongside the other two review reports, in order to put improvements and an implementation plan in place.”

Mr Swinney chose not to address the committee’s contention that the First Minister mislead parliament, referring instead to Mr Hamilton’s findings.

But the Hamilton report clearly states: “It is for the Scottish Parliament to decide whether they were in fact misled”.

The committee DID decide … and found the First Minister guilty.

Mr Hamilton also expressed ‘deep frustration’ at redactions made to his report.

In a note accompanying the published report he stated: “A redacted report that effectively erases the role of any such individual in the matters investigated in the report cannot be understood by those reading it, and presents an incomplete and even at times misleading version of what happened.

“It is therefore impossible to give an accurate description of some of the relevant events dealth with in the report while at the same time complying with the court orders.

“I am deeply frustrated that applicable court orders will have the effect of preventing the full publication of a report which fulfils my remit and which I believe it would be in the public interest to publish.”

The Conservatives, the biggest opposition party at Holyrood, initiated a vote of No Confidence in the First Minister, but with the Greens supporting the government – and both Labour and the Lib Dems abstaining – the Tory motion was doomed to failure.

Nicola Sturgeon will face her final First Minister’s Questions session of this parliament later today; I wonder what the questions will be about!

Then, the next test comes in six weeks time when Scotland goes to the polls in the Holyrood elections.

Report of the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints | Scottish Parliament

UK Government announces more staff for Edinburgh trade hub

New trade hubs will channel the economic benefits of international trade directly into Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the North of England.

Four major new trade and investment hubs will be established in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the North-East of England to boost trade and investment and level-up the country, the International Trade Secretary will announce today (23 March 2021).

The trade hubs in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and a new second major DIT site in Darlington, will be established as part of a new strategy to boost exports and bring the benefits of the government’s global trade policy to the whole of the UK, including benefits from future free trade agreements with the US, Australia, New Zealand and CPTPP.

They will mean exporters have a direct feed into UK trade policy, and can better take advantage of opportunities in fast-growing markets like the Indo-Pacific region.

The trade hubs will also create a critical link between the regions and the resources of the Office For Investment – a joint initiative with the Prime Minister’s Office – to channel investment money into every UK nation and region.

The trade hubs will be home to teams of export and investment specialists, who can provide businesses with expert support and advice to help them:

maximise their export potential and boost their trade in new markets overseas
better access major trade markets like India, the US and Japan
feed directly into DIT’s free trade agreements programme

The launch of the trade hubs marks the start of a major export drive, which will see DIT focussed on promoting British exports from all parts of the UK, to help level up the country, build back better, and support a resilient economy as outlined in the government’s Integrated Review.

Earlier this month government-led research showed exports support 6.5m jobs across the UK, 74% of which are outside London. The research estimates jobs directly and indirectly supported by exports pay around 7% higher than the national median, with Office for National Statistics estimating that goods exporting businesses are also 21% more productive.

The new trade hubs will also support the launch of high-profile export campaigns due to launch later this year, that will seek to maximise export potential and boost UK enterprise in global markets, following the recent launch of the food and drink export campaign.

Last year, goods exports from the North of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were £98.4bn.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: “I’m determined to use UK trade policy to benefit every part of the UK. These Trade and Investment Hubs will help this country to an export and jobs-led recovery.

“They will mean we can channel investment into all corners of the country, and that exporters – whether they’re selling Scotch beef, Welsh Lamb or cars made in the North of England – have access to the expertise they need to sell into the fastest growing markets.”

550 staff are expected to be present in the hubs by 2025, with an ambition to increase this to 750 staff by 2030.

The existing DIT Hub in Edinburgh, announced in September last year, will see a ‘significant increase in headcount’ (i.e. mair staff! – Ed.) – following its relaunch today.