The Snippet: 4th April 2025 🗞️
Tory MSP quits, Scottish Greens co-leader to step down and US trade tariffs to hit Scotland...
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Snippet, your weekly round-up of the top Scottish politics stories written especially for young people.
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💛 MSPs pay tribute to Christina McKelvie
MSPs have paid tribute Christina McKelvie, an SNP MSP and Scottish Government minister who sadly passed away last week. SNP MSPs wore yellow roses as flags were raised at half mast outside – with tributes made from across the political benches (Steph Brawn, The National)
McKelvie’s partner and SNP depute leader, Keith Brown, gave an emotional tribute, as he said: “Planets revolve around stars. I just don’t know what a planet does when its star has been extinguished.” (Andrew Learmonth, The Herald)
🟢 Scottish Greens to elect new co-leader
Patrick Harvie has announced he will step down as co-leader of the Scottish Greens after almost 17 years.
The MSP, who was first elected as the party's co-convener in 2008 and is the Greens’ longest serving MSP, said he wouldn’t stand in the leadership contest set to take place this summer but would continue to serve as an MSP and intends to put himself forward in the 2026 Holyrood election.
🔷 Tory MSP quits party
Scottish Conservatives MSP Jamie Greene has quit the party, claiming it is pursuing a “Reform-lite” agenda…
The West Scotland MSP hit out at party leadership and their advisers over a shift further to the right to combat the threat of Nigel Farage’s party
You can read the full resignation letter sent by Greene to party leader Russell Findlay HERE.
Responding, Findlay said: “When I was elected, I promised to take the party in a new direction and said that we needed to be different. I promised change and I keep my promises”
Meanwhile, Scottish LibDems leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “I have a lot of respect for Jamie Greene. It takes courage to leave and do what you think is right.” (via Twitter @agcolehamilton)
🗣️ FMQs
Findlay questioned Swinney on the trade tariffs announced by US president Donald Trump (we’ll get onto that in a bit, don’t worry…) (via BBC Scotland News live blog)
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie (substituting for Anas Sarwar, who is currently in New York for Tartan Week) said the SNP have "broken the NHS", challenging Swinney on patient waiting times and the state of healthcare (via Twitter @ScottishLabour)
Meanwhile, the Scottish Greens said the Scottish Government was being “complacent” over rent rises in Scotland, as the rent freeze came to an end this week (Steph Brawn, The National)
This question comes after an investigation by Abbi Garton-Crosbie found that hundreds of landlords were attempting to hike rents above government limits
💰 US tariffs impacting Scotland
On Wednesday evening, US president Donald Trump unveiled a range of tariffs, with a 10% “baseline” import tax slapped on every country that sends goods to the US. On top of this, the UK has also been hit by a 25% tariff on cars
Here’s a handy piece of analysis from The Scotsman’s Alexander Brown on the impact of these tariffs on Scotland…
Speaking at FMQs on Thursday, Swinney said: “The imposition of tariffs is not good news. It will be damaging for economic activity not just in Scotland, and the United Kingdom, but across the world.” (Gabriel McKay, The Herald)
Earlier on Thursday, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes also released a statement warning that the tariffs imposed by Trump will impact on some of Scotland’s key industries (Andrew Quinn, Daily Record)
For example, the Scotch Whisky Association has estimated the 10% tariff could result in between £200 million and £400 million worth of export losses annually (Keiran Fleming, STV News)
🇺🇸 Tartan Week
Speaking of the US, party leaders in Scotland have been heading to New York for Tartan Week. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar is already there (as is the UK Government’s Scotland Secretary Ian Murray), with the First Minister set to join from Friday
Journalists were told after FMQs on Thursday that Swinney will not be meeting with US government officials during his visit to New York amid uncertainty over the tariffs (Chris McCall, Daily Record)
(It comes after Swinney met with Eric Trump, the US president’s son, a few weeks ago in Bute House)
In other news, it emerged on Thursday that Anas Sarwar also met with Eric Trump on the same day as Swinney (Alasdair Ferguson, The National)
🎓 Dundee University update
Bosses at Dundee University initially announced the institution would be looking to cut 632 full-time equivalent jobs to plug its £35 million deficit, but on Monday Holyrood’s Education, Children and Young People Committee was told that the decision would be likely to hit around 700 members of staff (via BBC Scotland News)
Senior government insiders said SNP ministers went “volcanic” at the news, as Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said she was “surprised” (Alasdair Clark, The Courier)
On Thursday, trade union Unite announced it would be balloting its members at Dundee University on strike action (Mark McDougall, The Herald)
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