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Lorna Gordon
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Scotland correspondent
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Hello, and welcome to Politics Essential. “I am the man with the money,” Peter Murrell told a jeweller in 2019 when he bought a gold necklace for his wife, Nicola Sturgeon. But the money he used wasn’t his. The necklace was one of hundreds of items the former chief executive of the Scottish National Party (SNP) admitted purchasing using cash he stole from his own party. Senior SNP figures are now facing questions over why concerns raised by some about the party’s accounts were seemingly shut down. More on that below.
Plus, former health secretary Wes Streeting has commented on the government’s approach to keeping children safe online, and we answer a reader’s question about elections. Send yours to [email protected].
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BBC NEWS
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The family of a teenage victim whose attackers were spared custodial sentences said they hope “the correct outcome will prevail”.
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BBC NEWS
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The former health secretary said regulators were “asleep at the wheel” as the government concludes its consultation on the issue.
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Murrell is due to be sentenced on 23 June. Credit: PA
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The 125-pages of court documents, listing Murrell’s ill-gotten gains are rich with detail. His shopping spree using SNP money included expensive cars, a motorhome and computer games. Much of it was high end: one fountain pen cost £4,225, a wine coaster £3,500, some salt and pepper grinders £2,618.
The 61-year-old admitted to embezzling £400,310.65 between 12 August 2010 and 19 October 2022. He now faces a potentially lengthy prison sentence. It is a remarkable fall from grace for a man who served as chief executive of the SNP as it moved from a party on the fringes to power. He was also part of Scotland’s pre-eminent political couple: the man running the SNP married to the woman who was in charge of it. He and Sturgeon are now estranged.
In a statement following Murrell’s guilty plea, Sturgeon stressed she was “cleared of any wrongdoing after a lengthy and thorough investigation” by Police Scotland. She also said she’d had no knowledge or suspicion that personal items had been purchased using SNP funds. The couple didn’t have joint bank accounts and she had no access to Murrell’s financial records, she added.
There were figures in the SNP who raised concerns about transparency over the party’s finances. Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry - who wants an independent inquiry into what occurred - said Sturgeon showed “a remarkable lack of curiosity” over the party’s finances. Another former SNP MP Douglas Chapman, who resigned as national treasurer in 2021 after claiming he was not given enough information to do the job, posted on social media: “When you circle the wagons make sure you are protecting the right guys.”
First Minister John Swinney said the SNP’s internal processes had been bypassed by Murrell. He added that Murrell had stolen from “the hopes, dreams and aspirations of people across Scotland who gave money to the SNP in the hope it would contribute to a better country”.
The essential: The SNP are still facing questions over its handling of the scandal, but the party’s Swinney is keen to get his message across that “the SNP is the victim in this case” and move on.
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The boss of a major high street retail chain has issued a warning about jobs for young people. And find out why ministers have concerns about government-funded childcare.
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BBC NEWS
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Lord Wolfson said changes to employment law would make hiring more difficult and pointed to a “crisis” in youth unemployment.
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BBC NEWS
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Manchester City councillor Sarah Wakefield was chosen after the party’s first candidate, Chris Kennedy, withdrew from the race.
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BBC NEWS
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The review was requested by the education secretary over concerns that families are still facing costs to secure nursery places.
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BBC NEWS
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Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has pleaded not guilty to all 18 charges he faces, including one count of rape.
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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
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Politics Essential reader Jon asked:
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“Based on history, how much are council elections a good indicator of the next general election outcome?”
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Peter Barnes
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Political analyst
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At this month’s council elections in England, the Labour Party lost 1,498 seats, the largest number of seat losses they have ever recorded at a set of council elections. The Conservatives also did very badly whilst the Greens and, especially, Reform UK made huge gains. The Liberal Democrats also gained seats for the eighth year in a row.
There aren’t really any precedents for the success of Reform or the Greens at council elections. Other parties with not many MPs have made significant gains before, including UKIP between 2013 and 2015, but not on the same scale. So history doesn’t really tell us what to expect at the next general election, just based on the council results.
We can look at what’s happened before when parties have lost lots of council seats, though. Labour’s previous record for seat losses was in 1976, and at the subsequent general election in 1979, they were booted out of government. The Conservatives’ biggest ever loss of seats came in 1995 and they suffered the same fate at the general election in 1997.
So terrible council election results do sometimes foreshadow general election outcomes. However, it’s not always true. The Conservatives suffered over 1,000 seat losses in 1981 but Margaret Thatcher went on to win a landslide at the 1983 general election. One of Labour’s worst performances in council elections was in 1999 and Tony Blair went on to win another landslide at the 2001 general election. In other words, the picture is a bit mixed.
Got a question we can help answer? Email [email protected].
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BBC iPLAYER
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A girl who was raped by two teenage boys says a judge’s decision to spare them jail sentences was like a “rock straight in my face”.
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BBC SOUNDS
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In today’s weekly phone in, listeners share their experiences of working remotely as some employers call for a return to the office.
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BBC NEWS
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Read the inside story on how it took 18 months before the BBC could finally reveal allegations of sexual misconduct on the show.
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