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I made a duplicate thread,
https://forums.sherdog.com/threads/...d-arrested-snp-hq-searched-by-police.4286067/
and asked for it to be merged nearly 3 hours ago, however that doesn't seem to be happening so I'll copy my posts across.
/
The Scottish National Party has been the biggest party in the Scottish Parliament since 2007 and the biggest party in terms of Scottish seats in the UK Parliament since 2015.
Referendum (2014)
The SNP's central policy is that Scotland should leave the UK (and immediately rejoin the EU). There was a referendum on this in 2014, which they lost. Although the referendum was billed as a once in a generation decision, the result of which they would abide by, they quickly began agitating for another referendum. Polls show that the majority of Scots do not want another referendum, and if there is one they will vote no again. I have posted about this in more detail before so I will just leave this summary here.
Alex Salmond Scandal (2017)
Alex Salmond led the SNP from 1990 - 2000 and 2004 - 2014. He was the First Minister of Scotland from 2007 - 2014, resigning after losing the independence referendum. Nicola Sturgeon replaced him as SNP leader but Salmond remained an MP. Interesting that they both have fish names. A feud developed between him and his faction and Sturgeon and her followers.
In 2017 Salmond was accused of sexual harassment that had occured from 2013 on. He resigned from the SNP in 2018. The Scottish Government investigated and no charges were brought. Salmond launched a judicial review of the investigation, which was successful - the Government ruled that the investigation had been flawed and awarded Salmond £512,250 for his legal expenses.
16 days later Salmond was arrested and charged with:
2 counts of attempted rape
9 counts of sexual assault
2 counts of indecent assault
1 count of breach of the peace.
He pled not guilty and in 2020 was found not guilty of 12 charges, not proven of 1 and the last charge was dropped. Many believe that the accusations and prosecution were orchestrated by Sturgeon's faction. Sturgeon was investigated by the Government and was cleared of wrongdoing in 2021.
Salmond is now leader of the Alba party, a small pro-independence party which has never won a seat.
Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell (2023)
Nicola Sturgeon was leader of the SNP and First Minister of Scotland from 2014 till the 29th of March 2023. She has been married to Peter Murrell since 2010 but has no children, although she claims to have had a miscarriage in 2011. Rumours that she is a secret lesbian have dogged her for many years and have recently again come to a head as she is accused of having an affair with a female French diplomat. For the first time she recently publicly denied the allegations
Declining support for the SNP and independence
also played a role in her recent resignation. Sturgeon's government attempted to order a second Scottish independence referendum without the cooperation of Westminster but this was denied by the UK Supreme Court in November 2022. Her response, that in the next election a vote for the SNP is a vote for independence, was also rejected by the majority of Scots.
There have also been allegations of financial impropriety
Sturgeon has also overseen the ongoing Ferry Fiasco,
and finally criticism of her management of the Isla Bryson transexual rapist scandal is also held to have played a role in her decision to resign. Isla Bryson is a male to female transexual who raped 2 women while a man, changed sex to female, then was convicted of the rapes and sent to a women's prison. This raised a surprisingly large amount of protest and political opposition. Bryson was soon moved to a male prison. Sturgeon resigned as First Minister and Leader of the SNP on the 28th of March 2023 but remains an MSP.
Murrell was Chief Executive Officer of the SNP from 1999 till the 18th of March 2023 (3 days after his wife announced her intention to resign). He was arrested today as Police Scotland have launched an investigation into SNP finances:
Humza Yousaf (2023)
Humza Yousaf won the SNP election to replace Sturgeon. He has courted controversy by taking his oath on entering parliament in Urdu, in traditional Pakistani dress, which he does not normally wear, and introducing his Muslim fath into politics with discussions and pictures of Ramadan celebrations and prayer.
The next Scottish Parliament election will be no later than 2026 and the next British election no later than 2025.
https://forums.sherdog.com/threads/...d-arrested-snp-hq-searched-by-police.4286067/
and asked for it to be merged nearly 3 hours ago, however that doesn't seem to be happening so I'll copy my posts across.
/
The Scottish National Party has been the biggest party in the Scottish Parliament since 2007 and the biggest party in terms of Scottish seats in the UK Parliament since 2015.
Referendum (2014)
The SNP's central policy is that Scotland should leave the UK (and immediately rejoin the EU). There was a referendum on this in 2014, which they lost. Although the referendum was billed as a once in a generation decision, the result of which they would abide by, they quickly began agitating for another referendum. Polls show that the majority of Scots do not want another referendum, and if there is one they will vote no again. I have posted about this in more detail before so I will just leave this summary here.
Alex Salmond Scandal (2017)
Alex Salmond led the SNP from 1990 - 2000 and 2004 - 2014. He was the First Minister of Scotland from 2007 - 2014, resigning after losing the independence referendum. Nicola Sturgeon replaced him as SNP leader but Salmond remained an MP. Interesting that they both have fish names. A feud developed between him and his faction and Sturgeon and her followers.
In 2017 Salmond was accused of sexual harassment that had occured from 2013 on. He resigned from the SNP in 2018. The Scottish Government investigated and no charges were brought. Salmond launched a judicial review of the investigation, which was successful - the Government ruled that the investigation had been flawed and awarded Salmond £512,250 for his legal expenses.
16 days later Salmond was arrested and charged with:
2 counts of attempted rape
9 counts of sexual assault
2 counts of indecent assault
1 count of breach of the peace.
He pled not guilty and in 2020 was found not guilty of 12 charges, not proven of 1 and the last charge was dropped. Many believe that the accusations and prosecution were orchestrated by Sturgeon's faction. Sturgeon was investigated by the Government and was cleared of wrongdoing in 2021.
Salmond is now leader of the Alba party, a small pro-independence party which has never won a seat.
Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell (2023)
Nicola Sturgeon was leader of the SNP and First Minister of Scotland from 2014 till the 29th of March 2023. She has been married to Peter Murrell since 2010 but has no children, although she claims to have had a miscarriage in 2011. Rumours that she is a secret lesbian have dogged her for many years and have recently again come to a head as she is accused of having an affair with a female French diplomat. For the first time she recently publicly denied the allegations
https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/new...la-sturgeon-addresses-rumours-secret-26618264 - 3/4/23
Nicola Sturgeon says rumours about her private life contributed to her decision to quit, as she laughed off claims she has had a lesbian affair with a French diplomat.
Rumours have been circulating for years with many claiming they have proof the politician, who is married to the former chief executive of the SNP Peter Murrell, has been living a double life report the Express.
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...line-rumours-played-a-part-says-ex-snp-leader - 2/4/23
Now Sturgeon, who has been the subject of a series of lurid and unfounded rumours about her personal life that have circulated on the internet in recent years, has told a new BBC Scotland podcast that online gossip about her was “part of the reason” behind the decision.
Nicola Sturgeon says rumours about her private life contributed to her decision to quit, as she laughed off claims she has had a lesbian affair with a French diplomat.
Rumours have been circulating for years with many claiming they have proof the politician, who is married to the former chief executive of the SNP Peter Murrell, has been living a double life report the Express.
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...line-rumours-played-a-part-says-ex-snp-leader - 2/4/23
Now Sturgeon, who has been the subject of a series of lurid and unfounded rumours about her personal life that have circulated on the internet in recent years, has told a new BBC Scotland podcast that online gossip about her was “part of the reason” behind the decision.
Declining support for the SNP and independence
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/poll-shows-slump-support-snp-29136720 - 5/2/23
Support for the SNP at Holyrood and Westminster has dropped, a new YouGov poll has suggested.
The Sunday Times survey showed support for the party dropped from 50% to 44% in the Holyrood constituency vote and from 40% to 36% in the regional list.
This was compared to the results of the same poll in December.
Support for independence also dropped substantially, from 53% to 47% among decided voters.
https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/more-snp-misery-party-lose-29448350 - 13/3/23
The new opinion poll that found support for Scexit had plunged to 39 per cent also suggested the SNP is on course to lose a significant number of seats at both Holyrood and Westminster.
The YouGov survey for Sky News prompted calls for the three leadership candidates to "take another referendum off the table" as it shows people are increasingly turned off by their Scexit obsession.
Support for the SNP at Holyrood and Westminster has dropped, a new YouGov poll has suggested.
The Sunday Times survey showed support for the party dropped from 50% to 44% in the Holyrood constituency vote and from 40% to 36% in the regional list.
This was compared to the results of the same poll in December.
Support for independence also dropped substantially, from 53% to 47% among decided voters.
https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/more-snp-misery-party-lose-29448350 - 13/3/23
The new opinion poll that found support for Scexit had plunged to 39 per cent also suggested the SNP is on course to lose a significant number of seats at both Holyrood and Westminster.
The YouGov survey for Sky News prompted calls for the three leadership candidates to "take another referendum off the table" as it shows people are increasingly turned off by their Scexit obsession.
also played a role in her recent resignation. Sturgeon's government attempted to order a second Scottish independence referendum without the cooperation of Westminster but this was denied by the UK Supreme Court in November 2022. Her response, that in the next election a vote for the SNP is a vote for independence, was also rejected by the majority of Scots.
There have also been allegations of financial impropriety
https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/nicola-sturgeon-resigns-murky-snp-29221489 - 15/2/23
The story actually starts in 2017 when Scexit supporters raised £600,000 to be ring-fenced for the SNP's indyref fight. Yet, within two years that money was gone.
By the end of 2019, the party had just £96,000 in the bank. So where did it go?
That was a question asked by SNP activist Sean Clerkin, who had stood as a Glasgow council candidate in 2003. In March 2021, he lodged a complaint with Police Scotland suspecting fraud.
In April that year, three members of the SNP's Finance and Audit Committee resigned. It was reported that Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell - who is also the SNP's chief executive - refused to let them see the accounts.
A month later, party treasurer Douglas Chapman stood down, citing frustration over not being able to carry out his duties. That was followed by Joanna Cherry MP - no fan of Sturgeon - stepping down from the party's National Executive Committee. Ms Cherry claimed she was prevented from improving "transparency" and "scrutiny" within the party.
In July 2021, Police Scotland confirmed it was opening a probe into alleged fraud relating to the 'missing' £600,000. There have been huge complaints over the slow pace of the investigation, but in January this year, it was confirmed a report had been handed to the Crown Office while they consider the next move.
The story took another twist in August last year when the SNP accounts showed the party had received a £107,620 loan from 'executive management'. It soon emerged that the source of the cash was Peter Murrell.
Sturgeon was typically evasive when questioned on the loan, which broke electoral rules. Just last week she claimed she could not remember when she found out about the loan, saying: “My husband is an individual and he will take decisions about what he does with resources that belong to him in line."
The story actually starts in 2017 when Scexit supporters raised £600,000 to be ring-fenced for the SNP's indyref fight. Yet, within two years that money was gone.
By the end of 2019, the party had just £96,000 in the bank. So where did it go?
That was a question asked by SNP activist Sean Clerkin, who had stood as a Glasgow council candidate in 2003. In March 2021, he lodged a complaint with Police Scotland suspecting fraud.
In April that year, three members of the SNP's Finance and Audit Committee resigned. It was reported that Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell - who is also the SNP's chief executive - refused to let them see the accounts.
A month later, party treasurer Douglas Chapman stood down, citing frustration over not being able to carry out his duties. That was followed by Joanna Cherry MP - no fan of Sturgeon - stepping down from the party's National Executive Committee. Ms Cherry claimed she was prevented from improving "transparency" and "scrutiny" within the party.
In July 2021, Police Scotland confirmed it was opening a probe into alleged fraud relating to the 'missing' £600,000. There have been huge complaints over the slow pace of the investigation, but in January this year, it was confirmed a report had been handed to the Crown Office while they consider the next move.
The story took another twist in August last year when the SNP accounts showed the party had received a £107,620 loan from 'executive management'. It soon emerged that the source of the cash was Peter Murrell.
Sturgeon was typically evasive when questioned on the loan, which broke electoral rules. Just last week she claimed she could not remember when she found out about the loan, saying: “My husband is an individual and he will take decisions about what he does with resources that belong to him in line."
Sturgeon has also overseen the ongoing Ferry Fiasco,
in which the Scottish Island ferry fleet is ageing beyond its planned retirement date, causing delays, cancellations and escalating maintenance costs, and the 2 ferries ordered by the Scottish Government are currently 5 years late and running at triple the original projected cost. There have been allegations of corruption in the awarding of the contract to Ferguson Marine, which gave the highest quote of any applicant for the contract.
Investigations by the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee and Audit Scotland have found evidence of improper behaviour, including the disappearance of over £100 million, but no one has yet been disciplined or investigated criminally. Ferguson Marine was nationalised in 2019 with debts of £70 million. The Scottish Parliament’s Audit Committee and the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee are now investigating the fiasco.
Investigations by the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee and Audit Scotland have found evidence of improper behaviour, including the disappearance of over £100 million, but no one has yet been disciplined or investigated criminally. Ferguson Marine was nationalised in 2019 with debts of £70 million. The Scottish Parliament’s Audit Committee and the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee are now investigating the fiasco.
and finally criticism of her management of the Isla Bryson transexual rapist scandal is also held to have played a role in her decision to resign. Isla Bryson is a male to female transexual who raped 2 women while a man, changed sex to female, then was convicted of the rapes and sent to a women's prison. This raised a surprisingly large amount of protest and political opposition. Bryson was soon moved to a male prison. Sturgeon resigned as First Minister and Leader of the SNP on the 28th of March 2023 but remains an MSP.
Murrell was Chief Executive Officer of the SNP from 1999 till the 18th of March 2023 (3 days after his wife announced her intention to resign). He was arrested today as Police Scotland have launched an investigation into SNP finances:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...sband-arrested-over-snp-funding-investigation
Police Scotland said Murrell, the party’s former chief executive, had been “arrested as a suspect” on Wednesday morning and taken in for questioning “in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National party”.
Detectives mounted searches of the Glasgow home owned by Murrell and Sturgeon and the party’s headquarters in Edinburgh.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Branchform
Operation Branchform is a Police Scotland investigation into possible fundraising fraud in the Scottish National Party. The investigation was launched in July 2021 following seven complaints.
The investigation is over whether £666,953 raised for a Scottish independence campaign were in part improperly spent by the SNP on other activities. The SNP denies any wrongdoing. The police have also been asked to look at a loan of £107,620 made in June 2021 by Peter Murrell...
Police Scotland said Murrell, the party’s former chief executive, had been “arrested as a suspect” on Wednesday morning and taken in for questioning “in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National party”.
Detectives mounted searches of the Glasgow home owned by Murrell and Sturgeon and the party’s headquarters in Edinburgh.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Branchform
Operation Branchform is a Police Scotland investigation into possible fundraising fraud in the Scottish National Party. The investigation was launched in July 2021 following seven complaints.
The investigation is over whether £666,953 raised for a Scottish independence campaign were in part improperly spent by the SNP on other activities. The SNP denies any wrongdoing. The police have also been asked to look at a loan of £107,620 made in June 2021 by Peter Murrell...
Humza Yousaf (2023)
Humza Yousaf won the SNP election to replace Sturgeon. He has courted controversy by taking his oath on entering parliament in Urdu, in traditional Pakistani dress, which he does not normally wear, and introducing his Muslim fath into politics with discussions and pictures of Ramadan celebrations and prayer.
Attention has been drawn to the fact that the First Minister of Scotland, the leader of the Scottish Labour Party (3rd biggest in the Scottish Parliament and 5th biggest in share of Scottish seats in Westminster), the Prime Minister of the UK, the Mayor of London, the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister of Ireland are now all ethnic South Asians.
Yousaf is the son of Pakistani immigrants,
Anas Sarwar, the leader of the Scottish Labour Party, is the son of Pakistani immigrants
Rishia Sunak, the Prime Minister of the UK is an ethnic Punjabi whose parents immigrated from East Africa
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, is the child of Pakistani immigrants
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, is the daughter of Indian immigrants
(the previous Home Secretary, Priti Patel, is the daughter of Indians who immigrated to the UK from Uganda)
and Leo Varadkar, the Prime Minister of Ireland, is the son of an Indian man and an Irish woman who met in the UK. He is also openly gay.
People of Asian origin are about 9% of the UK population and people of South Asian origin are about 2% of the Irish population.
Yousaf is the son of Pakistani immigrants,
Anas Sarwar, the leader of the Scottish Labour Party, is the son of Pakistani immigrants
Rishia Sunak, the Prime Minister of the UK is an ethnic Punjabi whose parents immigrated from East Africa
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, is the child of Pakistani immigrants
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, is the daughter of Indian immigrants
(the previous Home Secretary, Priti Patel, is the daughter of Indians who immigrated to the UK from Uganda)
and Leo Varadkar, the Prime Minister of Ireland, is the son of an Indian man and an Irish woman who met in the UK. He is also openly gay.
People of Asian origin are about 9% of the UK population and people of South Asian origin are about 2% of the Irish population.
The next Scottish Parliament election will be no later than 2026 and the next British election no later than 2025.
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