Former SNP leader Alex Salmond says Humza Yousaf is in 'a difficult position' and believes the Scottish First Minister is looking for a 'significant change in direction'.#TrevorPhillips https://t.co/fhIHlpTGAF Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/sx6kYNSLrA — Sky News (@SkyNews) April 28, 2024 The post Yousaf is in ‘a listening mode’, claims Salmond appeared first on Conservative Home ..read more

"The Rwanda scheme is a very expensive gimmick" Labour's @wesstreeting says ‘even if it works at the PM's best expectations, it's still not going to deal with the problem of small boats'#TrevorPhillips https://t.co/fhIHlpTGAF Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/W7gMTu3Yz7 — Sky News (@SkyNews) April 28, 2024 The post Rwanda scheme is ‘a very expensive gimmick’ – Streeting appeared first on Conservative Home ..read more

Tory rebels on warpath after MP defects to Labour “Conservative rebels are working on a 100-day roadmap to turn around the party’s fortunes after a Tory MP defected to the Labour Party. A group of Conservative MPs has crafted a “100 days to save Britain” plan including “quick wins” to convince colleagues to oust the Prime Minister and unite around Penny Mordaunt, the current Leader of the Commons. It comes as Dr Dan Poulter, a former Tory minister, crossed the floor on Saturday to join the Labour Party just days before the local elections, cutting Rishi Sunak’s majority to 49. Dr Poulter is th ..read more

“My experience of developments in Asia has led me to conclude we need good men to have good government. However good the system of government, bad leaders will bring harm to their people…The single decisive factor that made for Singapore’s development was the ability of its ministers and the high quality of the civil servants who supported them.” – Lee Kuan Yew Few leaders in post-war history are as impressive as Lee Kuan Yew. In the space of a single generation, as Singapore’s Prime Minister from 1959 to 1990, he took a former British colony forced out of a union with Malaysia by ethnic tensi ..read more

How the SNP’s tanking poll ratings doomed its alliance with the Greens  Henry Hill “Whatever the specific issues upon which the Bute House Agreement foundered, the two parties are suddenly competing for votes in Holyrood’s regional lists.” — A summer election may be Sunak’s only hope of avoiding a wipeout  William Atkinson “The Chancellor has little headroom for another tax-cutting Budget. The Rwanda plan is a dud. A Nigel Farage return looms. How much worse can the Tory position become in the next six months?” — Truss shows in her book how fatal an ideology can be to a conservative ..read more

The post ‘Excellent news, and I wish him the best.’ Hill on the King’s return to public duties. appeared first on Conservative Home ..read more

Events are rapidly overtaking the Scottish National Party. Last Thursday Peter Murrell, Nicola Sturgeon’s husband and for more than two decades the party’s Chief Executive, was arrested and charged in connection with a fraud investigation into the SNP’s finances. Then this week, with the Scottish Government still off-balance from that disastrous development, the Scottish Greens announced that they were going to put the future of the Bute House Agreement, their coalition deal with the Nationalists, to a membership vote. Seeing which way the wind was blowing, Humza Yousaf tore it up himself. All ..read more

Angus – Arbroath West, Letham & Friockheim Conservatives 1,682 (41.9 per cent, +10.6) SNP 1,175 (29.3 per cent, -6.9) Labour 644 (16.1 per cent, +9.6) Lib Dems 333 (8.3 per cent, +3.9) Green Party 176 (4.4 per cent, +1.1). First preferences. Conservatives gain from an independent Cardiff – Grangetown Labour 1,470 (47.5 per cent, -5.6) Plaid Cymru/Green Party 573 (18.5 per cent, -9.3) Conservatives 387 (12.5 per cent, +3.5) Propel 292 (9.4 per cent, +6.2) Independent 205 (6.6 per cent, +6.6) Lib Dems 123 (4.0 per cent, -0.9) Independent 44 (1.4 per cent, +1.4) Labour hold Forthcoming contes ..read more

Adrian Lee is a solicitor-advocate in London, specialising in criminal defence, and was twice a Conservative parliamentary candidate. The recently resolved delay of Joe Biden’s $61 Billion aid package to Ukraine by Congress has drawn attention to the phoenix-like rebirth of an ancient Republican Party (G.O.P.) tradition: isolationism. Isolationism is defined as a country unilaterally deciding not to engage in the affairs of others. This involves a reluctance to enter into international agreements, military alliances, treaties, or trade deals. It may come as a surprise to those whose knowledge ..read more

Marcus Solarz Hendriks is a Research Fellow at Policy Exchange. Last Friday Ali Khamenei, the Iranian Supreme Leader, woke up to the news that Israel may have already delivered his 85th birthday present: in the early hours, several explosions rocked Isfahan province, home to nuclear storage and research facilities, an airbase, and a drone manufacturing site. Although Jerusalem has not claimed responsibility, this appears to be its anticipated response to Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone salvo into Israeli territory on April 13. Iranian officials have played down the incident (blaming a l ..read more