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’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada have come into effect, as has an additional 10% on Chinese products, bringing the total import tax to 20%.
The US president confirmed the tariffs in a speech at the White House – and his announcement sent US and European stocks down sharply.
The tariffs will be felt heavily by US companies which have factories in Canada and Mexico, such as carmakers.
Mr Trump said: “They’re going to have a tariff. So what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.”
There’s “no room left” for a deal that would see the tariffs shelved if fentanyl flowing into the US is curbed by its neighbours, he added.
Mexico and Canada face tariffs of 25%, with 10% for Canadian energy, the Trump administration confirmed.
And tariffs on Chinese imports have doubled, raising them from 10% to 20%.
Canada announced it would retaliate immediately, imposing 25% tariffs on US imports worth C$30bn (£16.3bn). It added the tariffs would be extended in 21 days to cover more US goods entering the country if the US did not lift its sanctions against Canada.
China also vowed to retaliate and reiterated its stance that the Trump administration was trying to “shift the blame” and
“bully” Beijing over fentanyl flows.
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Mr Trump’s speech stoked fears of a trade war in North America, prompting a financial market sell-off.
Stock market indexes the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.48% and 2.64% respectively on Monday.
The share prices for automobile companies including General Motors, which has significant truck production in Mexico, Automaker and Ford also fell.
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Consumers in the US could see price hikes within days, an expert has said.
Gustavo Flores-Macias, a public policy professor at Cornell University, New York, said “the automobile sector, in particular, is likely to see considerable negative consequences”.
This is due to supply chains that “crisscross the three countries in the manufacturing process” and ” because of the expected increase in the price of vehicles, which can dampen demand,” he added.
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The Trump administration is gearing up to bring in other tariffs in the coming weeks.
On 2 April, reciprocal tariffs will take effect on all countries that impose duties on US products.
He is also considering 25% tariffs on goods from the EU “very soon” after claiming the bloc was created to “screw the United States”.
A truck has collided with a bus in southern Bolivia, killing at least 31Â people, according to police – just two days after a deadly crash claimed at least 37 lives.
Officers said the bus rolled some 500m (1,640ft) down a ravine after the collision on Monday, which took place on the highway between Oruro, in the Bolivian Altiplano, and the highland mining city of Potosi.
The driver of the truck has been arrested, while the cause of the accident is under investigation.
Police spokesperson Limbert Choque said men and women were among the dead, and 22 people suffered injuries.
Rescue teams operating at the site of the crash. Pic: Bolivia’s attorney general/Reuters
Bolivia’s President, Luis Arce, expressed condolences for the victims on social media: “This unfortunate event must be investigated to establish responsibilities,” he said in a post on Facebook.
“We send our most sincere condolences to the bereaved families, wishing them the necessary strength to face these difficult times.”
The crash happened between Oruro and Potosi
On Saturday morning, a crash between two buses killed more than three dozen people in the same region.
It happened between Colchani and the city of Uyuni, a major tourist attraction and the world’s largest salt flat.
People stand near the wreckage of one of the two buses involved in a crash on Saturday. Pic: Reuters/Potosi Departmental Command
Coincidentally, one of the buses was heading to Oruro, where one of the most important carnival celebrations in Latin America is currently taking place.
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More than 30 people were also killed after a bus crash on 17 February.
In that crash, police said the driver appeared to have lost control of the vehicle, causing it to drop more than 800m (2,600ft) off a precipice in the southwestern area of Yocalla.
Bolivia’s mountainous, undermaintained and poorly supervised roads are some of the deadliest in the world, claiming an average 1,400 fatalities every year.
The Pope has had two episodes of “acute respiratory failure”, the Vatican has said.
The 88-year-old has been in hospital since 14 February with a severe respiratory infection that triggered other complications.
The Vatican said the respiratory failures were caused by “significant accumulation” of mucus in his lungs and a “bronchospasm”, akin to an asthma attack.
Doctors were then required to perform two bronchoscopies – a test which sees medics use a long, thin, telescope with a light to look into the lungs – to evaluate the Pope’s air passages, the statement said.
“In the afternoon, non-invasive mechanical ventilation was resumed,” the Vatican continued. “The Holy Father has always remained vigilant, oriented and collaborative. The prognosis remains reserved.”
Vatican sources said the situation had been calm this morning, before becoming worse this afternoon.
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Behind the scenes at the Vatican
The respiratory issues the Pope suffered today are due to an ongoing infection rather than a new one but he is not out of danger, they added.
Asked if the Pope is in good spirits, they gave no answer. When asked if the Vatican’s apartment is getting ready to welcome Francis back, the source said it was too premature to discuss this.
His clinical picture remains complex, they said.
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Earlier on Monday, Pope Francis issued a written message after Vatican officials begged him to let his voice be heard following more than two weeks out of public view.
He thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers, before praying for peace in Ukraine and elsewhere.
“From here, war appears even more absurd,” he wrote.
People at a nightly rosary prayer for the Pope in St. Peter’s Square yesterday evening. Pic: AP
This has become the longest public absence of his 12-year papacy.
Cardinal Konrad Krajewski presided over the evening rosary prayer in St Peter’s Square on Sunday night.
“Let us pray together with the entire church for the health of the Holy Father Francis,” he said.
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