Dear Voornaam, The SNP gathers this weekend not for a spring conference but a so-called 'Campaign Council' in Perth. Coming after a poll showed Humza Yousaf's party now neck-and-neck with Labour, it should be a lively event. We do not, of course, know when the General Election is going to be but we do not when it isn't after Rishi Sunak ruled out May 2 which would coincide with local elections in England. This weekend's event also comes amid pressure on former health secretary Michael Matheson who was found yesterday to have breached the MSPs' code over his £11k iPad data bill. The Tories have continued to attack on the issue today suggesting Mr Yousaf should remove the SNP whip. We will be at the event tomorrow with updates at scotsman.com, and Political Editor Alistair Grant's long-read scene setter will be live on the site and in paper tomorrow. What we can be sure of is the conference is very likely to wind-up by 4.45pm. That's when Scotland will be taking on Ireland in their final game of the Six Nations. Scotland could (technically but not really) still take the title, they could still claim a first Triple Crown since 1990 and the old days of the Five Nations - and they also could finish fifth if everything goes against them. We have full build-up running at scotsman.com led by Rugby Correspondent Graham Bean and much more to follow tonight and tomorrow. Have a great weekend Alan You should have seen an email notification from us, telling you I'll be sending the Scotsman's letter from the editor via a different mailing list. That change will happen from Monday March 18, so if you haven't signed on to the new list yet, please do before then. I'd hate to lose you! Here's the link to the sign up page - just choose the Letter from The Editor option. |