Summary
THIS time, Stewart Stevenson's judgment was spot on. The SNP's transport minister was right to insist that the misjudgments he made early last week while Scotland struggled to cope with the big freeze were bad enough to justify his resignation. Alex Salmond, it is plain from the tone of the letters exchanged with Stevenson and released last night, was reluctant to accept this. But with the opposition gathering behind a no-confidence motion, and with public anger at last week's weather foul-ups showing no sign of abating, the SNP leader realised he had little choice.
In accepting his friend's resignation, however, the First Minister has fundamentally altered the dynamic of Scottish politics at a crucial time in the electoral cycle, with the Holyrood election less than five months away.See the full content of this document
Extract
Leader: Stevenson Had to Go
The First Minister's bluff has been called. Previously when an SNP minister was under threat - when Nicola Sturgeon faced intense pressure in the Rauf affair, or when John Swinney came under scrutiny over the loss of Holyrood's tartan tax powers - Salmond made it clear that a...
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