SNP stands at a crossroads – but what direction will party take?

Published

9 months ago

April 29, 2024

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Humza Yousaf will no doubt be riddled with regret at the colossal miscalculation to bin the Greens last week.

His options to fight on, despite the severe headwinds, eventually evaporated and, short of striking a deal with Alex Salmond, he was boxed in.

Mr Yousaf inherited a lot of his problems. The Green pact was signed by Nicola Sturgeon and the ongoing police investigation is out of his control.

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Many senior SNP figures feel governing as a minority government, free from the shackles of the Greens, is exactly what the party needs right now to win back its supporters who have fled.

There is no doubt the SNP is still the biggest political force in Scotland, but a series of controversial policies have grabbed the headlines and dominated all the public narrative.

Mr Yousaf presided over a heavy loss to Labour in the Rutherglen by-election and was defeated in a court battle over the notorious gender recognition reforms.

The biggest focus now is who comes next and the process that follows.

Labour looks set to gain in the polls from any strife the SNP endures – but could a new leader unite the party in a way Mr Yousaf failed?

It got extremely messy when Ms Sturgeon departed last year. No one in the party wants to rip open old wounds.

John Swinney is seen as a party heavyweight and many current cabinet ministers will rally behind him.

But others fear he is yesterday’s man and will not deliver that change the SNP must have if it is to cling on to power.

If one-time leadership candidate Kate Forbes throws her hat in the ring, will the Yousaf wing of the party listen to what she has to say? Will they recognise she got almost 50% of the vote in the contest last year?

She is seen by many as competent and controversial. Her leadership could be plagued by old rifts from colleagues who believe her premiership would be a lurch to the right.

The SNP and Scotland stand at a crossroads.

The turmoil is becoming a familiar rhythm in a parliament where views are increasingly entrenched and tribal.

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Thailand’s former PM bullish on legalizing crypto, online gambling

Published

3 hours ago

January 14, 2025

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Thailand’s former PM bullish on legalizing crypto, online gambling

Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra urges stablecoin adoption and online gambling legalization to boost Thailand’s revenue and innovation.

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Tulip Siddiq faces new corruption investigation in Bangladesh

Published

5 hours ago

January 14, 2025

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Tulip Siddiq faces new corruption investigation in Bangladesh

Anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq has been named by investigators in Bangladesh who allege she was involved in the illegal allocation of land to members of her family while serving as an MP.

Sky News has obtained an affidavit – or legal written statement – filed by the anti-corruption commission in Bangladesh that accuses Ms Siddiq and others of being involved in fraudulently obtaining plots in the diplomatic zone of a development near to the country’s capital Dhaka.

The document states: “While serving as a Member of the British parliament, it is known that [Ms Siddiq] exerted pressure and influence on her aunt, the former prime minister, to take measures for the allotment of plots in the same project in the names of her mother, Mrs Rehana Siddiq, her sister Ms Azmina Siddiq, and her brother Mr Radwan Mujib Siddiq.”

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The director general of the Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission Akhtar Hossain told Sky News: “Tulip Siddiq and former prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina misused… power to take the plot from the Purbachal New Town Project.”

Investigators allege that planning officials were bribed and pressured into fraudulently allocating land.

A Labour source said Tulip Siddiq totally refutes the claims and had not been contacted by anyone on the matter.

The source also said no evidence had been presented for the allegations.

Tulip Siddiq had already been named in Bangladeshi court documents, also seen by Sky News, relating to alleged embezzlement from a nuclear power project in the country.

Labour sources suggested the accusations were not genuine.

That court claim was made by Bobby Hajjaj, a political opponent of Ms Siddiq’s aunt – the former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Ms Hasina fled Bangladesh in August and resigned her post amid weeks of deadly protests.

The new government has since accused the previous Awami League administration of crimes and corruption while in office.

Tulip Siddiq has come under increasing pressure over her links to her aunt’s political party, with Sky News revealing she boasted about her connections to the Awami League in blog posts from 2008 and 2009.

The anti-corruption minister has also been found to have lived in several London properties with links to alleged allies of her aunt’s regime.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has since called for her to be suspended as a minister.

The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition has also said Ms Siddiq should step aside from the money laundering and economic crime brief she currently holds.

“The clear conflict of interest surrounding Tulip Siddiq presents a key test for the new government… as anti-corruption experts, it is clear to us that she should not hold responsibility for these sensitive areas in her portfolio”, said Peter Munro, senior coordinator at the anti-corruption coalition.