Interesting times
Yesterday was a momentous day in Scottish politics. Rather than wait for the members of the Scottish Green Party to debate and make up their minds about quitting the Bute House Agreement – the formal coalition document between the Greens and the SNP – the First Minister decided to end the deal.
He did so by inviting the two Green ministers to Bute House early in the morning and sacked them before holding an emergency Scottish Cabinet meeting afterwards.
He has said nice enough things about Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie in the letter he sent to them, but the relationship is now so broken that Patrick Harvie said the Greens would back the motion of no confidence which was lodged by the Scottish Conservatives.
In their response they said the First Minister “could no longer be trusted”.
It is, as always in politics, all about the numbers.
There are 129 MSPs in The Scottish Parliament: 63 are SNP, 1 Alba Party – Ash Regan, 31 Scottish Conservatives, 22 Scottish Labour, 7 Scottish Green, 4 Scottish Liberal Democrats, and the Presiding Officer who has no affiliation.
The 64 opposition MSPs might vote against him (and one has to presuppose there are no defections in the SNP group). If Ash Regan decides to vote with the SNP then the First Minister’s future could be secured. If not and the position is tied then the Presiding Officer has to vote for the status quo. The Times reports that Ms Regan – the only MSP from Alex Salmond’s Alba Party and a former contender for the leadership of the SNP – has already set out her demands to Mr Yousaf. The paper quotes Salmond as saying that Ms Regan is “the most powerful MSP in The Scottish Parliament”.
The confidence vote might be held on Wednesday or Thursday next week but some sources are saying that Humza Yousaf may not hang on until then.
PICTURED: Ash Regan MSP during the leadership contest in 2023.
Credit: Colin D Fisher/CDFIMAGES.COM—
Picture Alan Simpson First Minister Humza Yousaf attended Ukrainian memorial service in February.
The Wyllieum
Not strictly Edinburgh news, but the opening party at the new Wyllieum in Greenock was peppered with many people in the arts world from Edinburgh including 93-year-old Ricky Demarco who knew George Wyllie who died in 2012 and who described himself as a scul?tor.
Robert McDowell of Summerhall attended and the guest of honour was Murray Grigor who is a philanthropist and trustee of the Dunard Fund. This is the fund which will largely pay for Edinburgh’s new concert hall and is contributing to the new National Centre for Music which is planned for the former Royal High School on Regent Road.
The highlight of the opening ceremony conducted by Inverclyde Provost Drew McKenzie has to be the singing of the Paper Boat Song. And Liz Lochhead read from her poem written for George on the occasion of his 75th birthday.
Richard Murphy the architect of the building which houses the museum and Scotts Restaurant was spotted signing many copies of his book Ten Houses which is on sale in the gift shop.
Chair of The Wyllieum Board, Michael Dale: “I first met George Wyllie in 1984 when I was director of the Edinburgh Fringe and I like to think I was the first person to commission him to do a large-scale outdoor event, for Fringe Sunday in 1984. We worked together over the next 25 years on various public installations including the Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988.
“As a result, when I was asked to be a Trustee, I was very pleased to take on a role to promote the man, his work and to find a way to honour his memory through Art in the new Gallery. Now, as Chair, it is most important that we work together to create a destination in Inverclyde, his home, to inspire and entertain the many people who like to go and see culture on an accessible level, just as he would have wanted. The gallery will open in 2024 thanks to the efforts of many people, and it is our responsibility to combine with partners across the region to sustain the legacy of this remarkable man.”
The Wyllieum is open from today.
Demonstration on Saturday
Critical Mass Edinburgh
This is a friendly protest for safer cycling every last Saturday of the month, meeting at Middle Meadow Walk at 2pm.
This month is relatively short and will end at the Museum of Edinburgh where there is a new exhibition Pedal Power:Cycling and Activism in Edinburgh on display. No idea where everyone will park their bikes though!
Support The Edinburgh Reporter
We are writing all the articles for the May edition of The Edinburgh Reporter newspaper which will be out next week, although the way the news is going we may have to do some rewrites…
If you would like to support independent news then please sign up here for a subscription or to book advertising for your business.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
