The Aporia
The Aporia
Bussey, K. (2026, September 28). Alexander urges Swinney to focus on drugs death ‘crisis’ instead of independence. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/douglas-alexander-scottish-snp-first-minister-europe-b1298632.html
Bussey, Katrine. “Alexander urges Swinney to focus on drugs death ‘crisis’ instead of independence.” Evening Standard, 28 Sept. 2026, https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/douglas-alexander-scottish-snp-first-minister-europe-b1298632.html.
Bussey, Katrine. “Alexander urges Swinney to focus on drugs death ‘crisis’ instead of independence.” Evening Standard, September 28, 2026. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/douglas-alexander-scottish-snp-first-minister-europe-b1298632.html.
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Alexander, the Scottish Secretary, urged Swinney, Scotland's First Minister, to prioritize addressing the country's drug crisis rather than focusing on independence. With an 11% increase in drug-related deaths last year, Alexander called it a "national shame" and emphasized that tackling this issue should be a high priority for the government. Last week, Holyrood backed a motion from Swinney asserting Scotland’s right to hold another referendum on independence. However, Alexander criticized this move, suggesting Swinney is using Parliament to manage SNP politics rather than addressing pressing issues like drug deaths. Alexander acknowledged that Scots have always had the right to decide their own future but argued that the conditions for another independence referendum are not currently similar to those before the 2014 vote.
