Liz Truss ‘symptom of Westminster dysfunction’, SNP conference to hear in opening speech
Liz Truss has “showed the world she is unfit to be prime minister” and is a “symptom of the Westminster dysfunction”, SNP’s deputy leader will say in his opening speech at the party conference.
Keith Brown will accuse the prime minister of delivering “more chaos and confusion than even the most pessimistic prediction” when he addresses delegates gathered in Aberdeen.
In a scathing assessment of her first month in the job, he is expected to say: “In less than a month, she has tanked the economy; risked the pensions of millions; scrapped the cap on bankers’ bonuses; announced and then U-turned on income tax cuts for the wealthy; created a debt crisis; and showed the world she is singularly unfit for the job.”
He will say the “chaos she has created is no surprise”, pointing to her record in government under the past three prime ministers.
“From austerity to Brexit, she’s been complicit in inflicting the worst Tory policies on the people of this country.”
Mr Brown will also take aim at Westminster in his speech, which will open the first in-person SNP conference since before the pandemic.
He will say: “It is a sobering thought indeed that when the history of 2022 is written, it will record that Boris Johnson was not even the worst prime minister this year.
“What is clear is that Liz Truss is a symptom of the dysfunction at Westminster – not the cause.”
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Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says the decisions taken by Liz Truss since she became prime minister have been catastrophic
Mr Brown will also condemn Labour, describing leader Sir Keir Starmer as “just another Tony Blair” and accusing the party of being “as Trumpian as the Tories in their denial of Scottish democracy”.
He will tell delegates: “It is an incontrovertible fact that the SNP has a cast-iron mandate to hold an independence referendum.
“But Labour always side with the Tories to protect Westminster control – no matter how high a price the people of Scotland pay.”
‘Height of self-indulgence’
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie has hit back, saying: “They don’t care about kicking out this disastrous Tory government, all they care about is their narrow nationalist obsessions.”
And Scottish Tory constitution spokesman Donald Cameron MSP said: “The SNP are kicking off their conference in the only way they know how – by talking about independence.
“Keith Brown’s speech is the height of self-indulgence to pander to the party faithful. It sets the tone for another SNP conference that will be dominated by independence, rather than talking about the real priorities of Scots.”
The conference comes days before the Supreme Court is due to hear arguments that could allow the Scottish government to legislate for another independence referendum.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is also due to release a paper next week setting out her plans for the economy and currency of an independent Scotland.
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Earlier, she told Sky News she won’t resign if her government loses the Supreme Court battle.
She said Ms Truss’s premiership has been “utterly catastrophic” for the UK economy and revealed she is yet to have a phone conversation with the prime minister, a month into her tenure.
Ms Sturgeon spoke to David Cameron within hours of taking office, and to Theresa May and Boris Johnson within days of their arrival at Number 10.
“It is just unusual that Liz Truss hasn’t decided to do the same thing,” she said. “Why is that the case? Lack of respect, arrogance, insecurity, who knows.”
Ms Truss sparked a row with the first minister during the Conservative Party leadership race when she called her an “attention seeker” and said the best thing to do over Ms Sturgeon’s desire for an independent Scotland is “ignore her”.
On Friday, a UK government spokesperson insisted the prime minister has made clear her priority “is to deliver economic growth across the Union” and said ministers engage with devolved administrations regularly.
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
Trump criticises Putin – latest updates
Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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Hundreds of drones fired at Ukraine
‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
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Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
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Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
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