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Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf has cancelled a speech he was due to give in Glasgow this lunchtime as he fights for his political life.

The event at Strathclyde University, where the SNP leader was also due to take part in a question and answer session and take questions from the press, was scratched with just a few hours notice.

The move will fuel speculation over his future, particularly after sources said Mr Yousaf would “come out fighting” after his former allies in government, the Scottish Greens, said they would join the other opposition parties in a vote of no confidence next week.

Scotland’s first minister battling to save job – follow live

The crisis was triggered after Mr Yousaf dramatically brought the powersharing deal with the Greens to an end on Thursday, following tensions over the SNP’s climbdown on climate targets and the decision to pause the prescription of new puberty blockers at Scotland’s only gender clinic.

The ditching of the deal means the SNP will now operate as a minority administration at Holyrood.

The Greens joining forces with the other opposition parties, means Mr Yousaf faces a knife-edge vote that ranges 64 out of 128 MSPs against him.

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The SNP have 63 MSPs at Holyrood while there is also Ash Regan, a former SNP minister who defected to Alex Salmond’s Alba Party, who has not yet confirmed which way she will vote.

Her support could be crucial in getting the embattled first minister over the line.

Presiding officer Alison Johnstone can cast tie-breaking votes but would be expected to vote in favour of the status quo.

In the light of her pivotal role, Ms Regan has written to Mr Yousaf to argue that Scotland “deserves and demands a reset”.

She said her priorities were Scottish independence, “the dignity, safety and rights of women and children” and providing competent government.

She also said her “door is open” to discuss a proposed bill on holding a referendum on whether the Scottish Parliament should have the powers to hold another independence vote.

Any vote is likely to take place next week, with timings to be confirmed by parliamentary authorities.

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Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

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Why Boris's best mate is off to Reform

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

The trial is part of Project Acacia, an initiative from the RBA exploring how digital money and tokenization could support financial markets in Australia.

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Starmer and Macron agree need for ‘new deterrent’ to stop small boat crossings

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Starmer and Macron agree need for 'new deterrent' to stop small boat crossings

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a “new deterrent” to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as part of the French president’s state visit to the UK, which began on Tuesday.

High up the agenda for the two leaders is the need to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel, which Mr Macron said yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.

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The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.

Sir Keir is hoping he can reach a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which will involve ministerial teams from both nations.

The deal would see those crossing the Channel illegally sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.

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However, it is understood the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.

French newspaper Le Monde reports that up to 50 small boat migrants could be sent back to France each week, starting from August, as part of an agreement between Sir Keir and Mr Macron.

A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.

“They reflected on the state visit of the president so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.

“Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.”

It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.

“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.

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“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, seized on the statement to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories claim would have sent asylum seekers “entering the UK illegally” to Rwanda.

He said in an online post: “We had a deterrent ready to go, where every single illegal immigrant arriving over the Channel would be sent to Rwanda.

“But Starmer cancelled this before it had a chance to start.

“Now, a year later, he’s realised he made a massive mistake. That’s why numbers have surged and this year so far has been the worst in history for illegal channel crossings.

“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he’s lost control of our borders.”

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