Alex Salmond obituary

The Scottish politician Alex Salmond, who has died suddenly at the age of 69, was a commanding figure who came close to breaking up the United Kingdom in the 55.3 to 44.7% independence referendum of 2014.The decision by David Cameron to grant the powers to hold a referendum on Scottish independence marked the apex of Salmond’s formidable career and reflected his achievement in leading the Scottish National party to power at Holyrood.Salmond’s power base lay in north-east Scotland but, under his leadership, the SNP transformed its electoral fortunes in the Labour heartlands of the central belt

Alex Salmond normalised concept of Scottish independence as he led SNP to power

Alex Salmond cemented his place in British political history in May 2011 when he and the Scottish National party did something extraordinary.They won an overall majority at Holyrood, under a proportional system designed to promote coalitions, not one party’s domination. With the SNP winning 69 of Holyrood’s 129 seats, the result delivered two things that defined Salmond’s legacy.It established the SNP as a formidable political force, forged largely by what John Swinney described on Sunday as Salmond’s “absolute determination” to win. And second, it established that a referendum on Scottish independence was inevitable

Tributes paid to Alex Salmond’s ‘colossal contribution’ to Scottish and UK politics

John Swinney has paid tribute to Alex Salmond’s “colossal contribution” to Scottish and UK politics, as allies of the former first minister mourned his sudden death on Saturday.Swinney, the incumbent first minister, said Salmond had had a huge impact on public life by forging the Scottish National party into a force capable of winning successive elections and then by bringing Scotland “incredibly close” to independence.“Alex made a colossal contribution to Scottish politics,” Swinney told Trevor Phillips on Sky News on Sunday. “I think it’s been universally acknowledged that politically, Alex Salmond had a huge impact on our public life within Scotland and the United Kingdom.”Salmond had “a sense of absolute determination to succeed in his politics”, married to an ability to bring people together, he added

Budget could include rise in employers’ national insurance, minister suggests

The business secretary has said Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise national insurance applied to employees but he did not rule out raising employers’ contributions in the budget.Speaking on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Jonathan Reynolds was asked if the pledge applied to employees’ and employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs).He replied: “That pledge, it was taxes on working people, so it was specifically in the manifesto, a reference to employees and to income tax.”He said he would not say anything more before the budget, but his comments have fuelled speculation that a rise in employer contributions is being considered. “There’s a lot already in the manifesto, but you have to wait for the detail of a budget,” he said

Tory switchers warm to ‘no-nonsense’ Badenoch over Jenrick’s ‘more of the same’

Winning back voters lost in the disastrous general election of this summer will be top of the to-do list for the newly installed Conservative party leader when he or she is appointed in a little over three weeks’ time.With Keir Starmer’s government off to a shaky start, buffeted by the freebies scandal and the loss of his chief of staff, could either of the Conservative leadership candidates capitalise on early disappointment with Labour? If so, they may need to begin by introducing themselves.For the first time in the more than a dozen focus groups we’ve conducted on the candidates, a couple of participants knew enough about them to express views without prompting – a sign perhaps that the contest is starting to cut through. But most still knew little about either of the finalists and the coming weeks will be key to each defining themselves in the public’s mind.Shown clips of the two contenders, it was Kemi Badenoch who wowed the group, made up of former Conservative voters from Weston-super-Mare, which elected a Labour MP for the first time in its history, and North East Somerset and Hanham, a new seat replacing one formerly held by Jacob Rees-Mogg

Government housing targets unrealistic and unfair, English councils warn

Councils have raised the alarm over what they describe as unrealistic government targets for new housing, saying these penalise local authorities when the fault often lies with developers sitting on sites that already have planning permission.Local authorities have also complained that targets under the proposed new national planning policy framework (NPPF) for England are sometimes totally unrealistic, both in terms of what can be built and, in some cases, the amount of homes needed.It follows earlier concerns that the wording of the NPPF, which is being consulted on, could result in large expanses of pristine green belt being built over so councils can reach their targets.The leaders of every political group on one council, including Labour, have written jointly to Angela Rayner warning that councils are “being set up to fail” with a planning framework based on an overly simplistic view of the housing market.Under the NPPF, set out in July with a blueprint to deliver 1