Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Yousaf’s plan for Scotland’s independence may not work: SNP MP

The first minister suggested that if SNP wins the ‘most MPs' in the next election, it should count as a vote to break away

Yousaf’s plan for Scotland’s independence may not work: SNP MP

A VETERAN SNP MP has said first minister Humza Yousaf’s plan to secure Scotland’s independence is unlikely to succeed.

Yousaf told an SNP conference in Dundee on June 24 that a referendum was the preferred way to break away from the UK. But if it fails, the SNP would ask people to “vote SNP for independence” in the next general election expected next year and then negotiate with the UK government.

He told Sky News later: “We will put a very simple proposition to the people of Scotland… a vote for the SNP is a vote for Scotland to become an independent country.”

And if the SNP wins the election, “we will then seek to negotiate with the UK government how we give democratic effect to that proposition.”

He suggested that if his party wins “the most” MPs in the election, it should be considered as a vote for Scotland’s independence.

His predecessor Nicola Sturgeon had proposed 50 per cent plus one vote as a de facto referendum.

But Pete Wishart, the SNP MP for Perth and North Perthshire, does not expect a positive response from the UK government.

“We are not responsible for how the UK responds to these situations and what we will have done is demonstrate to the UK and the world that Scotland has decided to be an independent nation,” he told Holyrood magazine.

“Whether that elicits some sort of positive response from the UK, I don’t know, but they might actually go, ‘Oh, all right, you’ve done it’, and will move things forward,” he said.

The government in London has repeatedly asserted that the 2014 referendum, in which Scots voted in favour of being part of the UK, settled the independence question for a generation.

But Sturgeon revived the issue after the Brexit vote two years later when Scotland opted to remain in the European Union while a majority in the UK voted to leave.

She pushed for another independence vote and moved the Supreme Court which in November last year ruled that the power to do so rested with the UK government.

The SNP currently represents 48 of Scotland's 59 constituencies in the UK parliament but a YouGov forecast it could lose 21 of them if there were a general election.

More For You

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

TWO brothers accused of assaulting a man inside a Starbucks and later attacking police officers at Manchester Airport are standing trial, with the prosecution arguing they used "unlawful and extreme violence".

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his older brother Muhammad Amaad, 26, both from Rochdale, are said to have acted aggressively on July 23 last year while at the airport to pick up their mother, who had arrived on a flight from Qatar.

Keep ReadingShow less
Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case
Bhim Kohli

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case

THE seven-year prison sentence handed to a 15-year-old boy convicted of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Sen Kohli is to be reviewed under the UK’s Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Friday (5) that the teenager’s sentence will now be considered by the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attends a prayer meet held for his long life at the Dalai Lama temple in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

THE Dalai Lama said on Saturday (5) he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday (6), and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK heatwave by mid-July

Daytime temperatures meeting or exceeding set thresholds of 25°C

iStock

Met Office warns of potential third UK heatwave by mid-July

Key points

  • Met Office forecasts rising temperatures by mid-July
  • Possible third heatwave after record-breaking June
  • High pressure system likely to bring hot air from the Atlantic
  • Yellow rain warning and flood alerts issued in parts of Scotland and Cumbria

Possible heatwave to return by mid-July

The UK could experience its third heatwave in a month by mid-July, the Met Office has said. Forecasters expect rising heat and humidity during the second weekend of July, following two weekends of unusually warm weather in late June.

June was officially the hottest on record in England, and the return of high temperatures could mean another heatwave for parts of the country. However, the Met Office cautioned that it is too early to confirm how hot conditions will get.

Keep ReadingShow less
crypto

Two men have been jailed for defrauding investors of £1.5 million through a fake crypto investment scheme. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Two jailed over £1.5m crypto investment scam

TWO people who duped investors of £1.5 million by selling fake investments in crypto have been jailed for 12 years, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

Raymondip Bedi, of Bromley, and Patrick Mavanga, of Peckham, conned at least 65 people by cold-calling them between February 2017 and June 2019. They operated companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP.

Keep ReadingShow less