There are 58 days until the election and the major news concerning Glasgow this week was the large fire by Central Station. Many MSPs have come forward to express their sadness at the loss of Glasgow’s architecture and have called for a ban on vape shops.
- The Alba Party has decided not to run in the Scottish Election due to investigations into “irregularity” in their finances. The pro-independence party was formed in 2021 by Alex Salmond. His successor, Kenny MacAskill, stated that the decision not to run was made with “considerable regret”.
- MSPs are currently in the process of debating amendments to the Assisted Dying Bill. There are 300 proposed changes to discuss.
- The leader of the Scottish Reform Party, Malcolm Offord, has been criticised for his inflammatory remarks about a stabbing that occurred in Edinburgh last Monday. Offord stated that the stabbing could be blamed on a “massive insurgence of immigrants” to the area. These racist comments have added to misinformation online about the details of the incident.
- John Swinney is considering banning the US military from using Prestwick Airport after the Ministry of Defence said that the airport was not being used to launch military strikes against Iran. The number of US planes using the airport has considerably increased since the initial strike against Iran. It was the Scottish Greens who initially pushed for this ban.
- A Scottish Labour MP has stood down from the party after her husband was arrested due to his suspected spying for China. Joani Reed has stated that she is not under investigation but will not stand as a Labour MP so as not to cause a distraction in government.
- Anas Sarwar’s father has publicly paid tribute to the assassinated Iranian Ayatollah in posts on social media. Sarwar’s father stated that the US’s assassination has made a martyr of the Ayatollah and that it has “left hearts in grief”. Anas Sarwar has rejected his father’s tribute.
In the next week, the Central Station fire and the US’s use of Prestwick Airport, as well as the Assisted Dying Bill developments, will be the focus of MSPs ahead of the election.
She/Her