Steerpike

To Scotland, where the Holyrood exodus continues. Now SNP veteran Fergus Ewing – son of Winnie Ewing, one of the first nationalist politicians to be elected to Westminster – has announced that he will not stand for the party at the 2026 election. But on whether he will leave frontline politics altogether, Ewing is less sure – with the Inverness and Nairn politician suggesting he could stand as an independent candidate to rival his party. How very interesting… As reported by the Press and Journal, Ewing has announced that he will not stand as an SNP candidate next year, saying that he 'cannot defend the lack of delivery' by his party on key issues.

Uh oh. As the news about the closure of Heathrow airport circulates around the country, Mr S has been rather concerned to see instances of faulty reporting by the media. Both Sky News and, surprise surprise, the Guardian got rather confused in their coverage this morning – mixing up the Swedish airline SAS with British special forces unit, the Special Air Service. Awkward… Sky News broadcasted that 'the Special Air Service says all 12 of their round trips to and from Heathrow are cancelled', while the Guardian reported at 7 a.m.: 'The Special Air Service, or SAS, has said that it [is] also impacted by Heathrow's closure.' An hour later the newspaper's online site updated its coverage, noting: 'This post was amended at 7.38 a.m. GMT.

Back to Scotland, where former chief executive of the SNP, Peter Murrell, has appeared in court charged with embezzlement. The ex-husband of Dear Leader Nicola Sturgeon was charged in connection with the ongoing police probe into the party's funds and finances last April – and this morning appeared in Edinburgh Sheriff Court. And now, it transpires, Sturgeon and ex-treasurer Colin Beattie are no longer under investigation by Police Scotland. It's the latest set of developments in the Operation Branchform investigation, which has limped on for a staggering four years. Speaking outside her Glasgow home today, Sturgeon told reporters it was 'a day of mixed emotions', adding: I am completely in the clear. That is the outcome I had always expected.

What does it take to be excluded from the SNP's candidate list? Quite a lot, it seems, as being arrested in connection with a police probe into your party's funds and finances doesn't appear to be a barrier anyway. Colin Beattie, the SNP's ex-treasurer who was arrested as part of the Operation Branchform investigation, has revealed his intentions to stand again for the SNP ahead of 2026's Holyrood elections. How very interesting… John Swinney has refused to comment on whether Beattie would be a liability to his party, with the First Minister telling reporters on Wednesday: 'I'm not going to talk about any issues that have any proximity to a police investigation.

As if Brits haven’t had enough elections and leadership competitions lately, north of the border political parties are gearing up for the 2026 Scottish parliament poll. While the embattled SNP has had a rocky few months, now Scottish Labour is under fire thanks to Sir Keir Starmer’s unpopular policies. But there is one party that only seems to be picking up support: Reform UK. New Survation polling for Quantum Communications reveals support for the Nigel Farage-led party in Scotland has surged again. Reform is predicted to pick up 17 per cent of the constituency vote share and 16 per cent on the regional list – leaving the group with 14 MSPs in Holyrood next year from a standing start.

The Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced a range of cuts to benefits payments in the Commons on Tuesday in a bid to save money and get people back to work. On the evening broadcast round that followed, Labour MP and pensions minister Torsten Bell was quizzed on Newsnight about what exactly the reforms would mean. But rather than reassuring viewers, Bell’s tone-deaf interview has left benefits-receiving Brits even more concerned about their futures.  Challenging the Labour minister on how the welfare reforms will affect young people, the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire put it to him that ‘some young people are going to be living on around £70 a week’.

To Donald Trump's America, where outrage spread across the nation's left-wing papers at the weekend after it emerged that a Brown University professor had been deported from the country. Dr Rasha Alawieh had, the New York Times reported, a valid visa and a court order temporarily blocking her removal – and yet that didn't stop Trump's team from expelling her. But so desperate were lefty broadsheets – including the Guardian – to kick up a furore about it all, they didn't wait to hear exactly why the Department of Homeland Security had made the move. On Monday, the DHS explained in more detail about why it had deported the doctor, a kidney transplant specialist and academic, after the details of her recent trip to Lebanon came to light.

After The Spectator's Spaff probe brought the rather alarming extent of government waste to light, the Labour lot have hastened their crackdown on frivolous spending. The latest target? Credit cards. Thousands of government credit cards will be cancelled in a bid to crack down on wasteful spending, the Cabinet Office has said. Whitehall departments and their associated agencies will be instructed to freeze their cards this week with 'only a minority' to be exempt from the cull – after figures revealed that over the last four years, credit card spending quadrupled. Sir Keir Starmer's crowd is keen to reduce the number circulating by half as it ploughs ahead with its efficiency drive – after data showed a staggering £675 million was spent on government cards in 2024/25.