The Snippet: 29th March 2025 📰
Christina McKelvie passes away, more university chaos and Douglas Ross to stand down ...
Hi folks, apologies for the slightly late Snippet this week! Here’s your roundup of the top stories of the week. If you enjoy what you read, please don’t forget to subscribe and share.
💛 Christina McKelvie passes away
MSP and SNP Government minister Christina McKelvie has died aged 57, her family said on Thursday. McKelvie was the SNP MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse and was the Scottish Government Minister for Drugs and Alcohol policy (Dale Miller, The Scotsman)
Her partner, Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane and the current deputy leader of the SNP, confirmed McKelvie’s death in a statement, which you can read here
MSPs and MPs from across the political spectrum have paid tribute to Christina. First Minister John Swinney said “Christina was such a big-hearted woman, with compassion and social justice at her core”, while former first ministers Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon also paid tribute 👇
She had the biggest heart of anyone I have ever known. I will never forget the friendship and kindness she showed me over many years.
- Nicola Sturgeon
Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone and John Swinney led a minute of silence in Holyrood on Thursday, as flags were raised to half mast. A book of condolences has been opened, and the public can also contribute online by clicking here.
📈 UK benefits cuts will impact Scottish Budget
Down in England, Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave her Spring Statement on Wednesday. She announced further benefits cuts as the OBR (the public finances watchdog, basically tasked with doing the Government’s homework) estimated that the £5 billion in cuts first announced by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall wouldn’t actually amount to £5 billion.
On top of the cuts on PIP and Universal Credit which have already been announced, Reeves said the Universal Credit health element would be cut by 50% and frozen for new claimants.
Here’s a handy explainer on the Spring Statement via STV News...
Finance Secretary Shona Robison has warned that these cuts are going to affect the Scottish Budget, creating a “very, very challenging situation”. She added that the Scottish Government would do “absolutely everything we can to avoid going anywhere near replicating what the UK Government has set out" by “starting from a principled point of not pushing people into poverty” (Andrew Learmonth, The Herald)
Meanwhile, Scotland’s top financial institution, the Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde University, warned Scotland faces £900 million in cuts as a result of the Spring Statement (Laura Pollock, The National)
(In Scotland, PIP is currently being phased out by Adult Disability Payment. This process is ongoing so some people remain on PIP while others receive ADP - the hope is that this transfer will be complete by the end of the year).
The criticism we’d expect to see from the opposition benches has come - but we’ve also seen a growing number of Labour politicians who say they will oppose the cuts when it comes to a vote. In Scotland, only one Labour MP has so far said they will vote against the plans - Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman 👇
After the Spring Statement, Leishman said: “These proposed cuts to welfare are not real Labour Party values. To reiterate my position, I’ll vote against these cuts. Please find your MP’s email address and write to them and tell them how you feel about 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, being put into poverty.” (via Twitter @BrianLeishmanMP)
✊ Glasgow University Gaza encampment
Students at Glasgow University started an encampment in solidarity with Gaza on Monday (Amy Myles, Glasgow Times)
Members of the Glasgow University Justice for Palestine society have recently ramped up action, including building takeovers and protests, while some students are taking part in a hunger strike. The society claims the university’s investments in arms companies such as BAE Systems make it complicit in war crimes
On Monday, a group of students set up an encampment on the university’s campus. It’s been named the Dima Alhaj Liberated Zone in memory of the former Glasgow University student who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in November alongside her six-month-old baby, her husband and her two brothers
The group has claimed the university hasn’t reached out to offer support to any of the students on hunger strike - something the university has denied.
🎓 Dundee University saga continues
In case you’ve not been following along with everything that’s going on at Dundee University, the university is axing 632 jobs to plug a £35 million deficit - around 20% of its workforce.
The university has been handed multiple loans and is now the subject of an independent investigation commissioned by the Scottish Funding Council which will look at the reasons for the "deterioration" in the institution's finances and attempt to understand how this came as a surprise to the university leadership" (via BBC Scotland News)
Meanwhile, Holyrood’s Education Committee is set to grill university bosses on April 2. Former principal Iain Gillespie - who resigned from his position in December - declined an invitation to attend because he is currently “travelling” (Justin Bowie, The Courier)
And on Thursday, a university town hall meeting descended into chaos after around 20 members of staff marched on the principal’s office, demanding University Executive Group (UEG) members answer questions about its financial crisis and their futures (Connor Bertie and Justin Bowie, The Courier)
💰 Is free university tuition a good thing?
A new poll commissioned by The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland found that 48% of people backed the idea of charging university tuition fees in Scotland, based on the ability to pay.
The poll, carried out by Ipsos UK, found of the 1057 adults questioned 44% believed the the Scottish Government should continue to support all first-time undergraduates, while 43% said they would prefer those whose households could afford it to pay at least some of their tuition fees.
More than two fifths (43%) agreed too many people in Scotland continue to face barriers to going to university, with those from low-income households (65%) and disadvantaged backgrounds (55%) considered most likely to have difficulties with this.
First Minister John Swinney has defended free tuition fees in Scotland, as he said: “I believe access to higher and further education should be based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay.” (Steph Brawn, The National)
👀 Douglas Ross leaving Holyrood
Former Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross is stepping down from Holyrood at next year’s election in the hopes of returning to Westminster (Kirsteen Paterson, Holyrood Magazine)
Ross stood in July’s General Election, after essentially ousting then-MP David Duguid - who was recovering from spinal surgery but said he wanted to stand. Ross ultimately lost to the SNP’s Seamus Logan…
In a statement, Ross said: “In the General Election last year, I said I would stand down as an MSP if elected. As I hope to stand for Westminster again at the next General Election, I believe it is right that I don’t seek election to Holyrood in 2026.” (via Twitter @Douglas4Moray)
🗳️ Alba members elect new leader
Kenny MacAskill has been elected as leader of the Alba Party. On Thursday, members chose the former justice secretary over MSP Ash Regan in a ballot to replace the late leader Alex Salmond after his sudden death last October.
MacAskill was elected with 52.3% of the vote to Regan’s 47.7% (1331 votes against 1212) on a turnout of 50.8%.
An election for deputy leader took place at the same time. Neale Hanvey won with 77.8% of the vote, while Chris McEleny won 22.2%.
🗣️ FMQs
Before this week’s FMQs, MSPs held a moment of silence for Christina McKelvie. Understandably, this week’s exchange was much quieter and there isn’t too much to report. But here’s a quick rundown…
John Swinney was grilled by Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay on an Audit Scotland report that highlights GP problems
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar asked about a "devastating" report into emergency departments in Glasgow - Swinney said the findings are not acceptable
(via BBC Scotland News live blog)
And Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie used his question to pay tribute to Christina McKelvie, asking how all MSPs can show the kindness and compassion she did
Swinney said that the UK Government’s Spring Statement choices would make eradicating child poverty in Scotland “more challenging” (Danyel VanReenen, STV News)
The First Minister also pledged to visit a primary school in Busby after it was targeted in an “unprecedented series of sectarian attacks” (Xander Elliards, The National)
Thanks for reading and have a lovely weekend!