The tragedy in Scotland has further worsened the broader British political situation, where support for the ruling Conservative Party has been undermined by concerns over immigration, health care and government spending.
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LONDON (AP) – Scotland's leader is struggling to build consensus to rescue the government and comes under pressure to resign after abandoning key goals in the fight against climate change and breaking his coalition with the Greens. exposed.
With his Scottish National Party weakened by campaign finance scandals and divisions over transgender rights, First Minister Humza Yousaf is desperate to win support from a breakaway nationalist party that can survive a no-confidence vote with just one seat in the Scottish Parliament. It has become. I'll vote later this week.
The crisis began earlier this month when Mr Yousaf abandoned Scotland's target of cutting carbon emissions by 75% by 2030, then abandoned his coalition agreement with the Green Party and unceremoniously removed two of his party's representatives from his cabinet. It started with me kicking him out. Yousaf is scheduled to hold a press conference at noon local time (11pm Japan time) in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, where he is expected to resign, the BBC reported.
Murray Pittock, an expert on Scottish nationalism at the University of Glasgow, told The Associated Press: “Battered egos have destroyed countries before, and that's why they're causing the mess we're in now. That's not surprising.” “And you can't do more to hurt people's egos than to take all your party members and force them directly out of ministerial positions without any warning.”
The tragedy in Scotland has further worsened the broader British political situation, where support for the ruling Conservative Party has been undermined by concerns over immigration, health care and government spending.
The Conservative Party and the main opposition Labor Party have each proposed a no-confidence motion against Yousaf and his government in a bid to weaken the SNP ahead of UK-wide parliamentary elections scheduled for later this year. Local elections will be held in England and Wales on Thursday, a measure of support for the government.
To save the government, Yousaf had written to all party leaders requesting separate meetings to discuss concerns “hopefully in a constructive spirit”.
But given the toughness of the Scottish election campaign, Mr Yousaf's fate will depend on the upstart Alba Party, which holds just one seat in the Scottish Parliament. The SNP won 63 of the 128 voting members, one vote short of the number needed for Yousaf's victory.
Founded in 2021 by former SNP leader and First Minister Alex Salmond, Alba sees itself as a true voice for Scottish independence. Mr Alba's only member of the Scottish Parliament is Ash Regan, who opposed Mr Yousaf in the last SNP leadership election before defecting to Mr Alba.
In exchange for supporting the government, Mr Alba has called on Mr Yousaf to make independence his top priority, move away from divisive “identity politics” and focus on issues such as jobs, education and investment in Scottish industry. There is.
Mr Salmond said on Sunday that he expected a “positive outcome” from the talks, but that Alba's leaders would meet to prepare for elections in case things did not go well.
He told the BBC: “Obviously we have to be prepared for things to go wrong, in which case there could be an election in Scotland.”
Mr Alba's central role in the crisis is emblematic of the turmoil facing the Scottish independence movement 10 years after voters rejected the SNP's plan to sever ties with the UK.
Mr Yousaf became SNP leader and Scotland's first minister in March 2023, after former leader Nicola Sturgeon resigned due to the burden of more than eight years in office.
Ms Sturgeon's resignation comes amid a police investigation into her party's alleged misappropriation of donations to fund a second independence referendum.
Ms Sturgeon was questioned in June last year and released without being charged. Her husband, former SNP treasurer Peter Murrell, was charged with embezzlement earlier this month. Both have denied any wrongdoing in the incident.
Support for the SNP comes as the party backs legislation to make it easier for people to change their gender, and hate crime legislation that would make transgender identity a protected characteristic, despite not giving all women the same protections. It also decreased with the implementation of
Mr. Yousaf subsequently decided to rescind the 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target.
He said Scotland would reach its target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2045, but the decision caused tensions with coalition partners. The Green Party initially supported the changes, but party leaders said they would survey wider membership and change course if necessary.
Last Thursday, Yousaf abruptly decided to end the coalition government.
Labor has been the biggest beneficiary of the turmoil within the SNP because it supports left-wing policies on issues such as workers' rights and government spending. This has major implications for this year's general election, as Labor seeks to wrest control of Britain's parliament from the Conservatives.
Scottish Labor's voter turnout fell from 45.6% in 1997 to 18.6% in the 2019 general election. Over the same period, support for the SNP jumped from 22.1% to 45%. There is currently only one Scottish MP from Labor, compared to 43 from the SNP.
Mr Pittock said an early election in Scotland could help Labor build momentum for a general election campaign across the UK.
“The flip side of the picture is that pragmatism is very important in politics,” Pittock said. “Populism, virtue-signalling, ideology, ideologically-based legislation, all of this has a real cost, and Scotland is paying that price right now.”
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