All posts tagged: Scotland

Euro 2024 preview: Groups A and B … including the hosts, Germany – Football Weekly | Football

Euro 2024 preview: Groups A and B … including the hosts, Germany – Football Weekly | Football

Published by skeptic

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today; we begin with Group A. What shape are the hosts Germany in under Julian Nagelsmann? Does the country expect? Will Kai Havertz lead the line? And what of Scotland? Can they spring a surprise and make it through a major tournament group stage for the first time in their history? Hungary and Switzerland will also be in their way. Then we turn our attention to the group of death: Group B. Spain and Italy are both there, but are either of them any good? Then there’s a Croatia team who must be tired by now and an Albania squad who we suspect may just be happy to be involved. Plus: your questions answered and another listener encounters a deadly animal while listening to the pod. You can now also find Football Weekly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA Support The Guardian The Guardian is editorially independent. And we …

Starmer admits he flew by private jet to clean energy jobs rally in Scotland | Labour

Starmer admits he flew by private jet to clean energy jobs rally in Scotland | Labour

Published by skeptic

Keir Starmer has admitted he used a private jet to travel to a campaign rally in Scotland where he promised to create “tens of thousands” of clean energy jobs with a new publicly owned energy company in the country. Responding to media questions after speaking to activists in Greenock, Inverclyde, Starmer said: “We did use a private jet because we did need to get very quickly to Scotland from Wales yesterday and it was the most efficient form of transport in the middle of a very busy general election campaign.” He added: “We offset the carbon, we always do when we use transport in the air, but it is a practical situation because I need to get across the country to speak to as many people as possible, and when time is tight we need to do it as efficiently as possible.” Labour flew private jet to Scotland, Keir Starmer admits – video Speaking alongside his deputy, Angela Rayner, Ed Miliband and the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, Starmer told supporters his party would be …

Majority in Scotland have no religion, Census finds

Majority in Scotland have no religion, Census finds

Published by skeptic

The majority of people in Scotland are nonreligious, the latest Census has found. Results from the 2022 Scottish Census, published today, found that 51.1% of people in Scotland have no religion. In 2011 the figure was 36.7%. The findings are fairly consistent with 2018 survey data which found 59% of Scots are nonreligious. Christianity in particular has seen a dramatic decline. In 2011, 53.8% of Scottish people were Christian, including 32.4% in the Church of Scotland and 15.9% in the Catholic Church. But in 2022, only 20.4% of Scots said they belonged to the Church of Scotland. Roman Catholics and members of other Christian denominations have also seen a decline in numbers. Members of minority religions including Islam and Hinduism have seen a steady increase. The nonreligious are now the largest group in Wales. Christians are now a minority in England, while in Northern Ireland those without a stated religion are the second largest group. NSS: Census underscores “need for a secular approach to public policy” The National Secular Society has said the findings show …

Palestinian charity CEO to stand for Labour in Fife in boost for Starmer | Scotland

Palestinian charity CEO to stand for Labour in Fife in boost for Starmer | Scotland

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The chief executive of the aid charity Medical Aid for Palestinians has been chosen as a Labour candidate to fight a key seat in Scotland, after the original candidate was suspended. Melanie Ward, who was born in Helensburgh, west of Glasgow, has been parachuted in to compete for the Westminster seat of Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy in Fife after a row over allegedly racist tweets led to the previous candidate standing down. Her appointment will delight Keir Starmer’s allies after repeated criticism over his stance on the Gaza crisis, which has led some Muslim voters and councillors to desert the party and caused tensions with Labour MPs and shadow ministers. It may also highlight previous differences between Starmer and the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, over calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. Sarwar was highly critical of Starmer’s initial failure to condemn Israel’s tactics after the Hamas attacks last October. Medical Aid for Palestinians has repeatedly called for Israel to stop attacking hospitals and civilian areas; it backed demands by aid charities and Labour parliamentarians for …

Man linked to viral dress pleads guilty to endangering wife’s life | Scotland

Man linked to viral dress pleads guilty to endangering wife’s life | Scotland

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A man who became famous after a dress bought for his wedding “broke the internet” has pleaded guilty to endangering his wife’s life after admitting to strangling her. Keir Johnston, 38, pleaded guilty to the attack at the high court in Glasgow on Thursday and was remanded in custody until a sentence is passed next month. Johnston and his wife, Grace, who lived on the Isle of Colonsay after their 2015 marriage, found fame when the mother of the bride wore a dress that caused a global debate over its true colours – black and blue, or white and gold. The blue and black dress. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA Named “the dress that broke the internet”, it turned into a social media storm when Caitlin McNeill, a guest at the wedding, first shared an image on Tumblr, appealing for help in solving the colour dilemma. Celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Ellen DeGeneres were caught up in the debate, with the latter inviting the couple on to her talkshow, where they were given $10,000 and a trip …

Scotland’s reluctant new leader didn’t really want the job – POLITICO

Scotland’s reluctant new leader didn’t really want the job – POLITICO

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She opted not to stand and instead backed Swinney — and was rewarded with the position of deputy first minister, bringing two of the party’s brighter lights from different political wings together and avoiding a costly, and likely acrimonious, leadership contest. Party chiefs were delighted. “Swinney and Forbes together is the last thing either the Tories or Labour wanted,” a senior SNP official said.  Others in the party welcomed the fact that Forbes’ allies — who were often critical of Yousaf — are now in the same tent as Swinney’s leadership, and hope this will unite a party where differing strands of opinion have become more pronounced since Sturgeon’s departure. The Scottish Greens, whom Swinney may need to rely on in some parliamentary votes, were considerably less delighted about her appointment, however, while the SNP’s official LGBT wing has said it has concerns about Forbes’ socially conservative views. But beyond bringing in Forbes and ditching the largely symbolic role of “minister for independence,” Swinney made no other changes to the governing Cabinet he inherited from Yousaf. …

The Guardian view on John Swinney’s Scotland: a new start but also more of the same | Editorial

The Guardian view on John Swinney’s Scotland: a new start but also more of the same | Editorial

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Scotland’s new first minister is an experienced and unflashy politician who can read the public mood. Almost everything that John Swinney has said and done since replacing Humza Yousaf this week shows he grasps the palpable wish – south of the border as well as north – for more effective government that is led by more sensible politicians who do not spend their time playing to the gallery. The question, after 17 years governing Scotland, is whether any SNP leader can now deliver this. Mr Swinney’s election speech on Tuesday and his debut at first minister’s questions at Holyrood on Thursday were each designed to show that he gets it. On Tuesday, after accepting that cross-party parliamentary cooperation would be necessary under the minority government he now leads, he perambulated through the chamber to shake hands with other party leaders. It was a small gesture, of a kind that newly elected leaders sometimes make before things get more serious, but it was a good start nonetheless. At first minister’s questions, Mr Swinney had a much …

Kate Forbes elected Scotland deputy first minister despite Green opposition | Scottish politics

Kate Forbes elected Scotland deputy first minister despite Green opposition | Scottish politics

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The Scottish Greens have voted against Kate Forbes becoming Scotland’s new deputy first minister in a fresh row over her conservative views on equality. Ross Greer said it felt as if Scotland ‘was going backwards’ on LGBT rights. Photograph: Duncan Bryceland/Rex/Shutterstock Ross Greer, a Scottish Green MSP, said that as a gay Christian he was unable to support a minister “who feels there is something wrong with us” and said all seven Green MSPs would oppose her appointment. During the vote on John Swinney’s cabinet nominations, the Greens were joined by Labour and the Conservatives in opposing her appointment. The Liberal Democrats abstained, giving Swinney a narrow majority because some opposition MSPs were absent. The dispute opens up a fresh rift between the Scottish government’s former coalition partners and the first minister, Swinney, the day after he confirmed Forbes would be his deputy and also deleted the post of minister for independence. Swinney appointed Forbes partly in return for her dropping her bid to stand against him for the Scottish National party’s leadership, but chiefly …