Salmond refuses to confirm whether he was a hacking victim
Scotland's first minister asked three times during question time about whether he had been hacked by the News of the WorldAlex Salmond has refused to confirm whether he was a hacking victim after coming under intense pressure from his Holyrood opponents to tell the Scottish parliament.The first minister was asked three times by the Scottish Labour, Tory and Liberal Democrat leaders to state whether he had been hacked by Rupert Murdoch's News of the World during rowdy scenes at question time, but each time refused to do so.Their questions came after Jack McConnell, Salmond's predecessor as Labour first minister, revealed he and his two adult children were believed to have been hacking victims about 10 years ago, soon after he took office.On Tuesday, Salmond's parliamentary aide, Joan McAlpine, an SNP MSP for South of Scotland and a former News International journalist, used her column in the Daily Record to reveal that she was a potential hacking victim in 2004 to 2005.Salmond insisted |
Scottish local elections: not good enough news for the SNP | John Curtice
Scottish Labour is back on its feet – and Alex Salmond no longer looks like a man who can command all before himIn some ways these were elections that could hardly have failed to deliver some good news for the SNP. The seats up for grabs in Scotland were last fought over as much as five years ago, on the same day that Salmond narrowly edged past Labour and found himself in a position to form his first – albeit very much a minority – administration.At the time that achievement was regarded as a spectacular success. But the nationalist bandwagon has moved on a long way since then. In last year's Scottish parliament elections the SNP won 45% of the vote, up no less than 13 points on 2007, and enough to deliver the party a Holyrood majority. Even if the nationalist tide had since ebbed somewhat, the SNP could still confidently look forward to substantial gains.Yet at the same time these were also elections with significant risks for the SNP. Buoyed by their success 12 months ago, the |
SNP won 'remarkable victory' in Scottish elections, says Alex Salmond
First minister praises party for making history by winning highest percentage of votes out of all the parties competingAlex Salmond has insisted the Scottish National party won a "remarkable" victory in last week's council elections after gaining the highest number of votes of all the parties competing in the contests. This is the first time in the SNP's history it has won the most votes.As parties in Scotland began talks on forming ruling coalitions in more than 20 hung councils, the first minister downplayed his party's failure to win clear victories in many Scottish cities and its heavier than expected defeat in Glasgow.He said the SNP had won the election by attracting above 500,000 votes. With only a few weeks until the launch of the SNP's independence campaign, he said the party was maintaining its momentum from last year's landslide in the Holyrood elections.Speaking on BBC1's Sunday Politics show, Salmond said the overall results were highly impressive given his party had been |
Labour frustrates SNP with significant gains in Scotland
Alex Salmond's party fails to win in Glasgow but takes councils elsewhere meeting goal to overtake Labour by share of voteAlex Salmond's hopes of sweeping SNP gains in Scottish council elections have been dented after Labour won a morale-boosting victory in Glasgow and secured the most seats in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.Johann Lamont, leader of Scottish Labour, was jubilant after her party secured a majority in Glasgow, its most significant political power base, despite widespread predictions it would struggle to remain the largest party and faced losing control to the SNP.After Labour lost the popular vote and a swath of seats in the city in last year's Holyrood elections, Friday's result sent a warning to Salmond. While the turnout in Glasgow was at a historic low at just 32.42%, Labour claimed the result, if reflected in a Holyrood poll, would have seen Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy first minister, lose her seat.Lamont said the result was "fantastic". She said it would boost Scottish Lab |
