Don’t let Farage and Reform divide us, Labour’s Sarwar urges Holyrood leaders
The Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, has warned other Scottish political leaders not to spend the next Holyrood parliament “shouting about Nigel Farage”, saying his job is to ensure there is a credible opposition at Holyrood “that holds the SNP’s feet to the fire”,While the Scottish National party won a fifth successive Holyrood victory and ended up with 58 MSPs, Labour had its worst result since devolution in 1999, tying for second place with Reform UK as both parties secured 17 MSPs,Speaking for the first time since he conceded defeat on Friday, Sarwar said he did not believe it was Reform’s intention to do anything more than create division, and he said he would work with other political parties in the Scottish parliament that shared his views,Interviewed on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, Sarwar refused to be drawn on speculation about Keir Starmer’s future as Labour leader and batted away questions about his own position, saying: “I’ve got a job to do and I intend to do it,”He said: “If we think the next parliament is all about shouting about Nigel Farage, that only serves the purpose of those who want to use politics to divide us.
We need the parliament to make sure it’s actually getting things done for people in Scotland, and that’s holding the SNP government to account and making sure they deliver the promises that they make,“I don’t believe Reform can do that, I don’t think it’s their intention to do that,And it’s my intention, working with other political parties who share those same views, to make sure there is a credible opposition that holds the SNP’s feet to the fire,”The results mean Reform’s Scottish leader, Malcolm Offord, now has the right to ask the opening questions at first minister’s questions with the expectation he would alternate with Sarwar, while Reform could get committee convenership posts,This is the first time Holyrood has had to navigate two parties coming joint second.
The SNP is seven seats short of a majority, meaning it will have to rely on other parties to pass legislation.On Saturday the SNP leader, John Swinney, pointed to previous successful budget negotiations with the Greens and the Liberal Democrats, and said the party had worked constructively with the Tories and Labour in the past.But all parties have ruled out working with Reform, and Swinney said he would not invite its representatives to Bute House for talks as he would the leaders of all other Holyrood parties in the coming week.On the same programme, Reform’s deputy leader in Scotland, Thomas Kerr, said Swinney and Sarwar were ignoring the electorate and accused them of “political posturing before we’ve even set foot in the chamber”.He said: “It’s ridiculous, it’s anti-democratic.
”There has been some speculation that Reform may try to augment its Holyrood group with a further defection from the Tories to push Labour into third place, but on Saturday Offord reiterated Farage’s vow not to have any further Conservative defections,“We’re happy with the 17 that we’ve got,” he said,Kerr told the Sunday Show his party was “not interested in making sure everybody is media-trained”,He defended Senga Beresford, newly elected in South Scotland, who previously stated her support for Tommy Robinson and for the deportation of Muslims, saying her posts had been taken out of context,The Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay was asked on the programme about Q Manivannan, one of her Edinburgh MSPs, who is studying in Scotland on a student visa.
The Scottish parliament recently passed legislation to allow people without permanent leave to remain to stand in elections,Mackay said she was confident Manivannan’s visa process would be completed during the term of the next parliament,Earlier on the programme, the SNP’s Màiri McAllan pointed to “the single largest pro-independence majority” in the parliament’s history, combining SNP MSPs with the Scottish Greens’ 16 MSPs, their best ever result,McAllan said the UK was “hurtling towards Nigel Farage as prime minister” and that Scots “must have the power to protect themselves from that”,On Saturday, Swinney confirmed he would table a draft bill next week calling for Holyrood to be given the powers to stage a second independence referendum, a document that will have no legal force while the UK government continues to refuse Holyrood the powers to do so.
‘Degree of complacency’: are supply chains prepared for impact of ongoing Iran war?
The biggest energy shock in modern history, jet fuel shortages “within weeks”, a global recession – since Iran throttled shipping flows through the strait of Hormuz at the end of February the economic warnings have become increasingly dire.Yet 10 weeks on from the first US-Israeli attacks, share indices, companies and governments have been surprisingly sanguine. Every day the divergence grows between the eerie quiet on markets and alarming warnings of an imminent supply chain crunch.It is true that some countries have taken significant steps to mitigate soaring fossil fuel prices, with many in Asia that depend on Gulf oil urging citizens to take action to conserve energy – or, in some cases, resorting to outright rationing.Yet in Europe, the response has been more muted: motorists are feeling the pinch from higher petrol and diesel costs, and central banks have warned they may raise interest rates to constrain inflation, but wider supply chains appear to be holding up
Advisers urge JP Morgan investors to vote to split chair and CEO positions
Investors in JP Morgan have been urged to vote in favour of splitting the role of chief executive and chair at America’s largest bank, amid concerns over the power wielded by its billionaire boss Jamie Dimon.ISS and Glass Lewis, which issue advice to some of the world’s biggest fund managers on how to vote at annual investor meetings, have thrown their weight behind a shareholder resolution that would ensure two separate people hold the office of chair and chief executive “as soon as possible”. Investors are due to vote on the resolution at the bank’s annual general meeting on 19 May.Dimon, who is worth an estimated $2.6bn (£1
Mistaking AI behaviour for conscious being | Letter
Richard Dawkins’ reflections on AI consciousness are striking – not because they show that machines have crossed some hidden threshold into inner life, but because they reveal how readily we can be persuaded that they have (Richard Dawkins concludes AI is conscious, even if it doesn’t know it, 5 May).Many will recognise the experience: a system that responds with fluency, humour and apparent understanding. At some point, simulation starts to feel like presence. But that shift tells us more about human cognition than machine consciousness. The error is a category one
What I saw at the Musk-OpenAI trial: petty billionaires, protests and a stern judge
For the past couple of weeks, on the fourth floor of a courthouse on a quiet street in downtown Oakland, the world’s richest man and one of the world’s most valuable startups have been at war over the future of artificial intelligence.Being one of the reporters in the room has felt like watching an updated, opposite-coast version of Tom Wolfe’s The Bonfire of the Vanities – ambition, ego, greed and the spectrum of social class on full display. The supporting cast has included Elon Musk fanboys, a stern judge and a who’s-who of Silicon Valley’s most influential people.All courtroom battles are theatre, but this one has proved to be a unique spectacle, with the judge chastising the lawyers for leading the witness, raising meritless objections and even too much coughing. With Musk on the stand, he griped that an opposing attorney had asked a leading question, to which the judge told him to “tell the jury you’re not a lawyer”
England v New Zealand: first women’s cricket ODI – live
28th over: England 118-5 (Bouchier 39, Gibson 1) Dani Gibson gets off the mark with a single to third. Plenty of pressure on her now, on debut with a big Hundred price tag hovering above her head. Can she get England home?That is not what the Doctor ordered. Amy Jones plays a loose drive and plinks a simple catch to Amelia Kerr at cover.27th over: England 114-4 (Bouchier 37, Jones 3) Jones shows Andrex soft hands with a glide for two behind point
Nottinghamshire v Surrey, Glamorgan v Somerset, and more: county cricket – live
A slow slow finger of doom from the umpires, as Ethan Bamber picks up his third, and Adam Lyth shuffles, disconsolate, away, Yorkshire 14-3. Enter Harry Brook – does he dig in here?Bad news for Glamorgan fans, Kiran Carlson is out, shortly after Zain ul Hassan. A great chance for England Lions Kellaway and Tribe here.Glamorgan 97-2 need another 186.Home and pondering my streams, quite something for Yorkshire to be 12-2 after Warwickshire piled on 537
Reflections on the Festival of Britain | Letters
‘Tisio peint? Or: Do you fancy a pint? | Letters
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