Liz Truss has resigned as Prime Minister after just 44 days, with Tory MPs already going public with demands for Boris Johnson to return.
View email online | | | | | | | | | | | Oct 21, 2022 | | | | | | | | | | | Neil McIntosh | | Editor of The Scotsman |
|
Hello from The Scotsman. It has been quite a week for news, once more - and that's even before we consider the drama being played out at Westminster. So we might as well start with the obvious: The Scotsman is carrying a rich package of Scottish perspective on events at the top of the UK Government to try and make some sense of the last week or so. Political editor Alistair Grant runs the rule over the race to replace Truss. The media chatter is all of Boris Johnson - what an extraordinary mess we're in if we find ourselves looking at his time in office as any kind of happier time - but don't rule out former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who may be less popular among party members, but would be more likely to win votes in the rest of the country. The choice is hugely important for the country, of course, as we face uncertain times economically and globally. But it's existential for the Conservatives. Scotsman columnist John McLellan - a former Scottish Conservative media chief and Edinburgh city councillor - believes the next throw of the dice is the last for the Conservatives. Even before the Truss-managed meltdown of this week, "conversations amongst Scottish party members were of least worst options", he writes. Also on The Scotsman today, Joyce McMillan offers a typically powerful column on how the Tories are adding great weight to the Scottish independence case. Joyce makes a point that I think is vitally important, and too often lost in the circus of coverage around Westminster's machinations: "As millions in Britain have learned to their horrifying cost in recent weeks," she writes, "political game-playing can have shocking real-life consequences, in the shape of weakened currency, soaring interest rates, and threatened pensions; and when I contemplate that real political battlefield, this autumn, I cannot help feeling humiliated and grief-stricken, by the shameful shambles the politics of this country has become." As for The Scotsman's view... well, we called for a general election earlier in the week, but that seems unlikely given Conservative MPs would have to vote for their own electoral wipeout. On that basis, Rishi Sunak seems the best choice for some stability and - whether you approve of his policies or not - a sense that there's a serious figure at the helm. But if you sense a lack of enthusiasm there, you would not be mistaken, and we suspect many of our readers feel the same way, judging by our letters and online comments. Away from Westminster, and I mentioned at the start that it had been quite a week for news. We had some strong exclusives in The Scotsman - including poll data showing one in three Scots would be put off independence by the threat of a higher cost of living, and the revelation that Scotland's ferry bosses closed ranks in an attempt to avoid scrutiny in a BBC documentary. Meanwhile, the SNP unveiled its plan for an independent Scotland, the "perfect storm" of problems battering Scotland's cultural and natural heritage sector. So lots to keep an eye on. But if all that's been too much, we will offer a little escapism too: in tomorrow's Magazine, and online too, we have yoga in North Berwick, pizza (Gordon Ramsay-style) in Edinburgh, new wines, great books, fascinating film and Scottish sporting estates. And, on the cover, Gabby Logan is talking to Janet Christie about her new autobiography. If you're thinking Gabby's a little young to be writing up her life story, have no fear - her book, called "The First Half", is a mid-life memoir in which, she says, she tries not to project the perfect life, and owns up to mistakes. One can't help but think there would be some fat political memoirs if everyone took such an honest approach... Best wishes, Neil McIntosh Editor, The Scotsman | |
| | | | | | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | You have received this email as you have an opted in to exclusive Insider communications from The Scotsman, published by National World Publishing Ltd. To manage your individual newsletter preferences with us, please click here and log in to your account. | | | | Alternatively, update your global email preferences with us to choose the types of emails you receive from National World Publishing Ltd or unsubscribe from all types of future emails.
| | | | National World Publishing Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales with registered number 11499982, having its registered address at No 1 Leeds, 4th Floor, 26 Whitehall Road, Leeds, England, LS12 1BE, United Kingdom.
We will process your personal data in accordance with our Privacy notice. | |
|
