Alistair Carmichael MP

Willie is absolutely right: Island crofters and farmers were supposed to be targeted as beneficiaries of FFIS, but Shetland businesses were awarded less than 1.9% of the first round funds, and the Western Isles a miserly 0.2%. The SNP will not improve until they admit what went wrong the first time.

Funding for a second round of the Future Farming Investment Scheme is welcome, but the SNP government needs to learn from the mistakes it made in the first round.

Lorries skipping border controls raising animal and plant disease risk, MPs warn

MPs warn rising ‘drive‑by’ meat imports are bypassing UK border checks, raising risks of animal disease and exposing major flaws in current…

If there is a lesson from the war on Iraq, it is surely that wars of choice without a clear objective or endpoint have consequences that linger with us far beyond the initial moment of intervention. The PM – and those who would cheerlead us into war today – would be wise to reflect upon that legacy.

Few of us are going to mourn the loss of leaders of the Iranian regime, which led a murderous crackdown on protestors just weeks ago. Even so it is hard to look at the growing conflict throughout the Middle East today and see the attacks by the US and Israel as a long-term solution.

The Prime Minister was wrong, I believe, to get caught up in the distinction between defence and offence in his answer. The purpose of a parliamentary vote on the use of military force is to maintain national unity and legitimacy. That is a political aim, not a legal one.

Questioning the Prime Minister this afternoon on US-Israeli attacks on Iran - and calling for him to ensure that there will be a vote in the House of Commons on any prospective offensive operations by British forces.

Leading Scottish politicians urge caution on UK-EU SPS deal

Alistair Carmichael urges a 24‑month SPS transition amid warnings of major losses for UK farmers as negotiations with the EU intensify.

Efra chair outlines risks and opportunities in EU talks

Alistair Carmichael says a proposed EU SPS agreement could offer new opportunities but also significant challenges for UK farmers.

Energy bills to fall in April in price cap change and charges shake-up Changes announced in the Budget mean all energy bills will see some kind of reduction, but it will vary.

After a run of energy price cap hikes this cut to bills will be some welcome relief. That the price cut is focused on electricity bills is significant and will be a boost to islanders and others who are off the gas grid.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We will always stand strong with Ukraine. 🇺🇦🇬🇧

It really ought to go without saying, but if Morgan McSweeney leaving government would bring down Starmer as Prime Minister, Starmer should never have been PM in the first place.

Why the 'very clever' people in Starmer's inner circle are on a collision course with Labour MPs Labour MPs treated with contempt by Keir Starmer’s inner circle appear to be about to snap, if the mutterings in parliament are anything to go by

As good a time as any to repost my article from September on the *Very Clever* people in the government. For a group of people who think that they are smarter than everyone else Morgan McSweeney and co have a lengthy track record of fouling things up.

www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Anyone with experience of our party will know that these two groups might well have some crossover.

YouTube video by Scottish Liberal Democrats Alex Cole-Hamilton speaks in the Motion of Condolence for Jim Wallace

Jim Wallace was one of the architects of modern Scotland and one of the finest liberals our party has ever produced.

He believed deeply in devolution as a way to give people better services and more control over their lives and he lived a life of public service.

youtu.be/3m6tl2yKPDk

A lovely tribute to Jim Wallace from @amcarmichaelmp.bsky.social. Alistair mentions his experience in government benefitting his colleagues in the 2010 coalition.
Jim was also generous in his time talking to the first incoming devolved Justice Minister in NI.

Tribute to Lord Wallace of Tankerness: 'A man of profound faith and exceptional talent' Advocate, MP, deputy first minister of the Scottish Parliament and later a peer, Jim Wallace has left an enduring legacy

"Law, politics, the kirk. Jim Wallace’s role in any one of those would be considered exceptional. That he did it in all three marks him out as something truly special"

🕊️ Tribute to Lord Wallace of Tankerness – by @amcarmichaelmp.bsky.social
bit.ly/4tgqQ8P

Tribute to Lord Wallace of Tankerness: 'A man of profound faith and exceptional talent' Advocate, MP, deputy first minister of the Scottish Parliament and later a peer, Jim Wallace has left an enduring legacy

The House Magazine requested that I write a tribute to Jim Wallace this week - you can read it here.

www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

'I know what Scottish politics needs - more Lib Dems. Hear me out' The Liberal Democrats hold some of the most popular policy positions in the country, yet they continually underperform at elections. Andy Maciver…

Read more here 👇

www.heraldscotland.com/politics/hol...

My tribute to Jim Wallace in the House of Commons today.

My thoughts are with his wife Rosie, his daughters Helen and Clare, his mother and his brother Neil who I know are heartbroken at this moment. I hope that they may eventually take some comfort from the knowledge that the man that they loved in their family was loved by so many others too.

I shall miss his acute political analysis, his warm and occasionally waspish wit and, most of all, his easy company and friendship. He was never someone for whom I had to present a front.

Jim Wallace was my colleague, my mentor and my friend. In the world of politics, having people on whom you can truly depend is a rare and precious thing. For me, Jim was someone who was there through good times and bad and I am bereft at his passing.

Scotland's first deputy first minister Lord Jim Wallace dies, aged 71 The former Scottish Liberal Democrat leader was undergoing a procedure at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Jim Wallace gave his adult life to serving the people of the Northern Isles, Scotland and the United Kingdom. His sudden and tragic death leaves a huge gap in public life. For those of us who knew him that gap is one that we shall struggle ever to fill.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Scotland has so much going for it. But right now it feels like our country simply isn’t working. The Scottish Liberal Democrats believe Scotland deserves better than this. That’s why we have a realistic plan to get things done. In May, every vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the peach ballot paper will deliver change with fairness at its heart. - Alex Cole-Hamilton

No matter where you are in Scotland, you can elect a Liberal Democrat MSP on the peach-coloured regional ballot in just 100 days time.

Every vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on that ballot will deliver change with fairness at its heart.

If there was ever any likelihood of the SNP giving a more accurate prospectus for independence, warts and all, I suspect that died once they saw the (short term) success of the deny-all-tradeoffs Brexit campaign of 2016.

If Kemi Badenoch says that she and the British public are tired of political psychodrama, the same may not be universally true of her remaining Tory colleagues. Moments after the news broke of Jenrick’s defenestration, I overheard his colleagues in parliament gossiping – about who was going to get his office. One clown may have departed, but the circus goes on. - Alistair Carmichael

There is a genuine appetite for challenge to our current governments – but one based on ideas rather than incessant internal drama.

Many former Conservative voters will be looking at this latest eruption and see it as the last straw.

Other, more moderate parties are available.

I was delighted to participate in the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Select Committee’s Q&A sessions at the Oxford Real Farming Conference. We've led on vital work over the last year, pushing for the Government to make concessions on IHT hikes for farmers and demanding clarity on SFI payments.

How Robert Jenrick's former Tory colleagues revealed their true colours after his sacking After Kemi Badenoch’s decision to expel Robert Jenrick, she may be disappointed to hear that this Tory psychodrama is set to run and run

Writing in the Scotsman on the cloak-and-custard-pie mess of Robert Jenrick's expulsion and defection to Reform.

Months ago I described the Tories as a “clown car”. I now fear that this comparison was unfair to the noble profession of grease-painted artistes.

www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

It would take a heart of stone not to laugh.