Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

SNP Westminster leader tells Corbyn and Swinson to 'step out of the sand pit'

SNP Westminster leader tells Corbyn and Swinson to 'step out of the sand pit'

Ian Blackford calls on other opposition leaders to back vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson
Jeremy Corbyn and Jo Swinson must “step out of the sand pit” and back the SNP’s vote of no confidence in the prime minister, the party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford has said.

Accusing Labour of “running scared” from a general election, Blackford opened the SNP’s conference in Aberdeen with the challenge to other opposition leaders to “step up to the job” as his party’s leader, Nicola Sturgeon, piled pressure on Corbyn over a second independence referendum

Earlier in the day, Sturgeon warned the Labour leader that he should not “bother picking up the phone” seeking her support to form a coalition government, unless he was willing to grant another referendum.

Blackford told delegates: “Let’s come together – back a vote of no confidence – get rid of Boris Johnson, secure that extension and give power back to the people with a general election. Jeremy, Jo, the clock is ticking. The SNP is ready to act. Are you?”

Contrasting Westminster’s “dysfunctional, dangerous” government with the SNP’s administration at Holyrood, Blackford praised Sturgeon’s “outstanding leadership” of the party and in her role as first minister.

Blackford dismissed the Queen’s speech, to be held on Monday, as “simple electioneering,” adding that SNP MPs were ready to vote it down, and urging Labour and Liberal Democrats to do likewise.

While commending the work of his SNP colleague Joanna Cherry and others challenging Johnson’s government through the courts, he added that “this perpetual cycle of court cases and parliamentary defeats – while it is effective – is no way to run a country”.

He said: “We should not have to rely on the courts to solve our problems, or on arcane Westminster procedures to find ways to block the government. We should not be tolerating this Tory government in office at all.”

Blackford was also applauded by delegates as he cautioned them that only a legally-constituted independence referendum would be accepted by voters and by EU member states. “Plan Bs are by definition second best,” Blackford said.

Immediately after Blackford’s warnings, moves by a small group of rebels who believe the SNP should keep the option of demanding independence without a legally-constituted referendum were heavily defeated by the party leadership.

Chris McEleny, an SNP councillor in Inverclyde, said the party needed to have that so-called “plan B” option in reserve since Boris Johnson was expected to reject Sturgeon’s calls for a section 30 order authorising a referendum. He said that if Scotland voted for a majority of pro-independence MPs at the next election, that should be enough to trigger talks with the Westminster government.

McEleny’s measure is backed privately by a number of SNP parliamentarians close to Alex Salmond, the former party leader, including Angus MacNeil, the SNP MP for the Western Isles. The conference overwhelmingly defeated the proposal.

Earlier on Sunday, Sturgeon said that any Westminster leader seeking SNP support should “not bother picking up the phone” if they were not prepared to grant Holyrood the legal powers to hold a second independence referendum.

On Saturday, shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, insisted that there would be “no pacts, no deals, no understanding” with the SNP for supporting a Labour-led national unity government. McDonnell stunned colleagues in August and contradicted party policy when he suggested at an Edinburgh festival fringe event that Labour should allow Holyrood to stage a second independence referendum if MSPs vote for one.

Sturgeon told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show: “I don’t favour coalitions. We would favour a progressive-type alliance. But I would say this to Jeremy Corbyn, or any Westminster leader who is looking to the SNP for support, if you don’t accept Scotland’s right to choose at our choosing – don’t even bother picking up the phone to me.”

Speaking as a Panelbase poll for the Sunday Times showed that support for independence had risen to 50%, she added that she will request another independence referendum from the prime minister in “a matter of weeks”.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×