It’s a day that ends in ‘y’ which means the leader of the SNP is once again harping on about independence. Today Humza Yousaf addressed a crowd at the the London School of Economics about the economic woes of Brexit and how, surprise surprise, ‘achieving independence’ is the only solution for the people of Scotland.
Yousaf started jovially, pointing out that both his host Emma McCoy and interviewer Iain Begg had Caledonian ties. ‘It just reminds me of that famous saying that there are two types of people in the world: Scots and those who want to be Scottish. There is a third, of course,’ he quipped, ‘those who lack any ambition whatsoever, but we shall look over those individuals.’ A rather ironic dig from a leader who has himself achieved, er, not a great deal…
But the First Minister grew serious as he was quizzed by the press. Asked about his position on the remarks made by Tory donor Frank Hester about Diane Abbott, Yousaf replied: ‘First and foremost, can I say that I stand in full solidarity with Diane Abbott.’ He went on to describe the Independent MP as a ‘trailblazer’, before stating:
Those comments from Hester are not just racist, they’re not just sexist, they are inciting hatred which is completely and utterly unacceptable. And if the Conservative party had any moral principle, then they would return every single penny and tell him where his money should go. That is my honest view.
Turning his attention to the Tory party, Yousaf continued:
There is simply no doubt in my mind that the Conservative party is not just riddled with Islamophobia, but institutionally Islamophobic.
How could it not be, when you hear the comments from Suella Braverman, when Lee Anderson who was a senior member of the Conservative party up to a few days ago was able to make the comments that he made about Sadiq Khan and not a single senior Conservative, including the Prime Minister, was able to call it Islamophobic? And that is of course the party who also elected a leader that described Muslim women as ‘bank robbers’ because of the way that they look.
Though a number of Tories backed Hester’s apology on the airwaves this morning, former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng slammed the jibes on Politics Live, saying: ‘They are clearly racist and they are clearly sexist… They were very stupid remarks.’
The Conservatives have had a rocky week — and it’s only Tuesday. The weekend can’t come soon enough for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak…
Watch the full clip here:
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