There's something refreshing about the prospect of having a head of government who is clearly reluctant to take on the role.

Assistant Editor of the Spectator here pushing back on the government's plans to force people with mental illnesses into work.

Who are these cruel policies meant to appeal to?

Just come home to a letter from the NHS threatening me, a type 1 diabetic (incurable), saying I might be fraudulently claiming free prescriptions and that they're going to send me a £100 penalty if I don't respond within three weeks.

I hate this country.

Of course, the real reason Humza Yousaf resigned is [issue I care about]

SNP pulling ahead after a great week in the spotlight-

John Swinney does seem the perfect candidate to meet the dual criteria required to ensure a parliamentary majority: (1) uniting the SNP, and (2) being acceptable to the Greens (in the absence of support from any other party).

Find this sentiment on Scottish indy complacent.

Clearly the mechanics of another indyref are extremely difficult short term.

But public polling on indy q is tight, young very supportive. Is it so hard to see SNP resurgent under an unpopular Starmer govt in Westminster?

As Humza Yousaf resigns as First Minister of Scotland, he leaves office holding an approval rating across Great Britain of -17%.

Humza Yousaf Approval Rating in GB (28 April):

Disapprove: 32% (+6)
Approve: 15% (-1)
Net: -17% (-7)

Changes +/- 21 April

🧵I think the shift in messaging from being seen to help/encourage people with depression off benefits and into work (popular) to been seen actively punishing people with depression risks backlash - and in particular from swing voters. Some work we did with Rethink Mental Illness suggests why

Deeply saddened to see Humza Yousaf's career end so abruptly because of his failure to adopt my preferred policy positions. This is a salutary warning for other politicians to adopt my preferred policy positions as a matter of urgency.

I don't suppose John Swinney imagined in 2004 that in 20 years his party would be begging him to return as leader.

Humza Yousaf's resignation speech reminding me why I liked him. Which makes his decision to tear up his majority and burn relations with key allies - the latest of several rushed, poorly considered decisions - even more sad and unnecessary.

Glad to hear something important is happening in Holyrood today!

Haven't seen any polling but my sense is the Tories have miscalculated the value of a dividing line on benefits for people with mental illnesses.

Plenty of middle class professionals with depression/anxiety who are also being insulted with 'pull your socks up' BS.

By the way - all those anti-ADHD, anti-autism, anti-mental illness articles that have been blowing up in the news media pretending that depression, developmental neurodivergence, and other invisibilized disabilities aren't real - this is why. This was always coming.

I think the cool thing about living here is everything has got progressively worse every day of my adult life

Humza ditching the BHA was a panic-capitulation to social conservatives who claim to represent “ordinary Scots”, but it won’t fix the SNP’s woes.

LGBT people are “ordinary Scots” too: delivering good government and protecting our rights aren’t mutually exclusive.

🎙️ #Shereen :