Welcome to The Press & Journal’s morning politics briefing, it’s everything you need to know about politics in your region, and across the country, before you start your day.
New this morning:
- Dr Sally Witcher, the head of Scotland’s social security commission, has revealed how she resorted to contacting the government’s national clinical director after encountering problems getting help in the pandemic.
- Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross is giving money from his first Holyrood pay cheque to a charity in memory of a Moray teenager.
- Boris Johnson has dismissed farming industry fears that a post-Brexit trade deal with Australia and New Zealand could knock many out of business.
- Analysis: Nicola Sturgeon’s Cabinet picks show she values trust, loyalty and experience.
- A new report looking into patients being moved from hospitals to care homes in Scotland at the height of the coronavirus pandemic has raised legal concerns.
Coming up today:
- Appointments to Nicola Sturgeon’s new Cabinet and ministerial team will be put before MSPs at Holyrood for approval.
- At Westminster, there will be a statement from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on the future of Britain’s railways.
In case you missed it:
- Fergus Ewing profile: ‘Forthright’ SNP veteran was fixture in Scottish Government.
- Angus North and Mearns MSP Mairi Gougeon rises to the top with new role in Nicola Sturgeon’s cabinet.
- Shona Robison: Dundee MSP who endured torrid spell as health secretary returns to Cabinet.
- Tayside and the Scottish islands have the worst access to full fibre broadband in the nation, according to new research.