Election news in brief
SNP would look to be part of a 'progressive alliance' in hung parliament
Nicola Sturgeon has said SNP MPs would “look to be part of a progressive alliance” at Westminster if the General Election results in a hung parliament. While the Scottish First Minister and SNP leader said she did not think Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was “credible as an alternative prime minister” she said her party would work with others to implement “progressive policies”.
The Scottish Government Ms Sturgeon leads has already introduced a number of policies contained in Labour's manifesto, axing tuition fees for students and abolishing parking fees in hospitals. And she told The Andrew Neil Interviews on BBC One that SNP MPs at Westminster would “work for progressive policies ” She stated: “If there was to be a hung parliament of course we would look to be part of a progressive alliance that pursued progressive policies.
Corbyn denies honouring Munich massacre terrorist
Jeremy Corbyn has insisted he has dedicated his life to the search for peace and rejected reports he had honoured one of the terrorists involved in the Munich Olympics massacre. The Labour leader said he was “absolutely not” honouring Atef Bseiso when he laid a wreath at a Palestinian conference in Tunisia. Mr Corbyn travelled to Tunisia in October 2014, less than a year before becoming Labour leader, and attended a ceremony where wreaths were laid for those killed by an Israeli air raid on the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and on the graves of people “killed by Mossad agents in Paris”.
The Sunday Times reported that was an apparent reference to Bseiso, a PLO agent who was involved in the hostage-taking and massacre at the 1972 Olympics which killed 11 members of the Israeli team. Mr Corbyn told Sky News: “I was in Tunisia at a Palestinian conference and I spoke at that Palestinian conference and I laid a wreath to all those that had died in the air attack that took place on Tunis, on the headquarters of the Palestinian organisations there."
Scottish Green party to field only three candidates in 'focused campaign'
Scottish Green co-convener Patrick Harvie has said his party are running a “tightly focused campaign” after fielding just three candidates in the General Election. But Mr Harvie, who is standing in the Glasgow North constituency on June 8, insisted this decision gives Scots “the best chance” to have a Green representative at Westminster. The Scottish Greens, who are also standing in Falkirk and the Edinburgh North and Lieth constituency, unveil their manifesto for the June 8 election today.
As part of that the Greens say they will support Scotland's “right to choose its own future” in a second independence referendum, and will stand up to Conservative plans for a hard Brexit. The manifesto also claims a “Green industrial revolution” could create 200,000 new jobs in Scotland by making the switch from “unburnable fossil fuels to clean, green industries”.
Theresa May's a 'Liar' song reaches top 10 downloads
A song accusing Theresa May of being a “liar” has reached the Top Ten of the iTunes download chart. Performed and produced by the band Captain Ska and promoted by campaign organisation the People's Assembly Against Austerity, the song features speeches and news interviews from Theresa May followed by a chorus of “She's a Liar, Liar...you can't trust her, no no no no.”
The song over the NHS, education and levels of poverty. It was at number nine in the iTunes chart on Sunday night. The song has been available for download from Friday.