Latest news with #GeneralElection
Scotsman
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
Details of Iran attack still remain fuzzy from Trump and his team
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn upon arriving at the White House, Saturday, June 21 (PIcture: AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Next Friday marks the first anniversary of Labour's landslide win in the 2024 General Election – what a difference a year makes. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Much has changed in the 51 weeks since Keir Starmer was swept to power on the back of a thumping majority. Many loyal voters have been disappointed by him in government, including 120 of his own MPs, and he faces rebellion from within the ranks on the Treasury's proposed benefit cuts. Yet there is still enough spare change down the back of the sofa to buy 12 fighter jets from the USA which will be capable of launching nuclear missiles. I'm sure that is a huge consolation to disabled people already struggling to make ends meet. At least Starmer stopped short of going into full Tony Blair mode, and the UK did not get involved in the US bombing mission to Iran, which may have broken international law. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad While a year seems a long time in politics, much can change within the course of a week. Last weekend, many feared we were on the brink of World War Three, as Trump launched his raid on Iran's nuclear facilities and the Iranians responded with attacks on Qatar. By Thursday, the entire episode had descended into farce. The exact details still remain fuzzy at best. Trump claims Iran's entire nuclear capability had been obliterated and tweeted 'Bullseye!' Who knew he was such a fan of 1980s British TV game shows? By the start of this week, a leaked intelligence document suggested the impact had been limited, while the International Atomic Energy Agency said there was no leakage of radiation. To a lay person like myself, that suggests two possible scenarios. Either the mission was a failure or the underground nuclear facilities never existed in the first place. By midweek, the CIA had changed the official narrative. The nuclear site had received 'severe damage', which is a few steps down from obliteration. This was backed up by some grainy aerial photos which claimed to show what had happened, but actually proved nothing at all. This is all eerily reminiscent of 2003, with the false evidence trotted out to prove Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Kameini said the US failed to achieve anything significant and was claiming the incident to be a victory for Iran. The whole thing may have to referred to VAR for a final decision. On Thursday US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has faced allegations of alcohol abuse and anger management issues, weighed into the debate. The former Fox News presenter lambasted the press for their lack of patriotism in not believing the president. He called the mission a 'historic success' and repeated the claim that the facility had been 'obliterated' at the weekend. Or maybe he was referring to himself being 'obliterated' at the weekend. It's all very unclear. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The only thing we know with any certainty is that if Trump says he devastated Iran's nuclear capability then he definitely didn't. Judging by form, he's either rambling nonsense or deliberately lying. Although he did come up with an uncharacteristic gem of wisdom on Tuesday. He claimed neither Israel nor Iran 'knows what the f**k they are doing'. They're not the only ones, Mr President.
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Rod Stewart backs Reform and Nigel Farage as he criticises Starmer
Reform has been ranking highly in the polls over the past year since last year's General Election when they got five seats at Westminster. But now Stewart reckons they deserve more as he criticised Keir Starmer for his fishing deal. The singer insists he is not out of touch despite his 'extreme wealth' - which he says he deserves – and he says he 'likes Farage's brother' having got to know him quite well in recent times. Read More Speaking to The Times, Stewart said: 'It's hard for me because I'm extremely wealthy, and I deserve to be, so a lot of it doesn't really touch me. But that doesn't mean I'm out of touch. 'For instance, I've read about Starmer cutting off the fishing in Scotland and giving it back to the EU. That hasn't made him popular. We're fed up with the Tories. We've got to give Farage a chance. He's coming across well. 'What options have we got? I know some of his family, I know his brother, and I quite like him. 'But Starmer's all about getting us out of Brexit and I don't know how he's going to do that. Still, the country will survive. It could be worse. We could be in the Gaza Strip.'
New Paper
a day ago
- Politics
- New Paper
PAP leads GE2025 campaign spending with $9.4m, more than double opposition's combined $3.6m
Candidates spent slightly over $13 million at 2025's general election in a bid to garner votes from Singaporeans, with almost half of this going to non-online advertising such as posters and banners. Online advertising made up about 16 per cent of total costs, while political parties spent a combined $1.7 million - or about 13 per cent - on physical rallies, which made a return after being ruled out at the last general election due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The remaining spending went to other costs such as office rental, equipment, supplies and transport. Overall, spending by parties increased by about 42 per cent from the 2020 General Election, where total expenditure was $9.2 million. A total of 211 individuals contested the May 3 polls, and the full list of election expenses was posted on the Elections Department (ELD) website on June 27 for public inspection. The ruling People's Action Party spent the most - $9.4 million in its contests for all 97 seats in the House - against a combined $3.6 million from the 10 opposition parties and two independent candidates. The Workers' Party spent the most out of opposition parties, forking out a total of $1.6 million for its 26 candidates. Next up was the Singapore Democratic Party, which spent $583,440 for its 11 candidates, followed by the Progress Singapore Party, which spent $441,548 for 13 candidates. ELD had earlier released two tranches of election expenses for public inspection online. All parties spent below the limit of $5 per voter, which was raised from $4 at the last election to account for inflation.
CNA
2 days ago
- Business
- CNA
GE2025: Candidates spent S$13 million, up 42% from last election
SINGAPORE: Candidates in the 2025 General Election spent more than S$13.05 million (US$10.24 million) on their campaigns, a 42.4 per cent jump from the S$9.16 million declared in the 2020 polls. Nearly half of this year's spending went to non-online advertising such as posters, banners and flyers, according to expense declarations on the Elections Department's (ELD) website on Friday (Jun 27). The disclosures were released after candidate submissions were published in the Government Gazette. The People's Action Party (PAP) was the biggest spender, with total declared expenses of S$9.4 million, outspending all rivals in every contested constituency. Among the opposition, the Workers' Party (WP) led with S$1.64 million in declared expenses. Candidates had until Jun 16 to submit detailed declarations of their election spending – a requirement under Singapore law to ensure financial transparency and accountability of candidates' election finances. The ELD confirmed that all 211 candidates met this deadline. WHERE THE MONEY WENT S$5.6 million spent on print advertising in the previous election. Spending on online advertisements, such as paid content on social media and websites, rose slightly to S$2.13 million, up from S$2 million in 2020. This year's election also saw the return of physical rallies, which were paused in the previous election due to pandemic restrictions. Candidates spent S$1.72 million to organise a total of 48 rallies across the campaign period. Political analysts said the return to in-person campaigning reflects the enduring importance of face-to-face engagement in Singapore's elections. 'Singapore's electoral norms still emphasise in-person events and face-to-face contact,' said Associate Professor Chong Ja Ian, who teaches political science at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The 2020 election was seen as a 'one-off' with no rallies, and it was not surprising that rallies and physical ads continue to form a significant proportion of election spending, he added. Independent analyst Felix Tan said parties may have favoured physical ads because they reach a wider group of people, such as seniors who could be less active online.
AsiaOne
2 days ago
- Politics
- AsiaOne
Chan Chun Sing on defence: 'We are not at war, but neither are we at peace', Singapore News
While Singapore may not be fighting a war now, that doesn't mean we should be complacent, Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said in an interview with the media at the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) headquarters at Bukit Gombak on Wednesday (June 25). Chan, 55, highlighted some new developments in the global security order ahead of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Day on July 1, stating that there are more conflicts today — not just conventional, but also in cyberspace. "Today we are not at war, but neither are we at peace," he said. "Today — and every day — the SAF is operating somewhere in-between. "On the cyberspace, the number of threat incidents that we have to deal with every day with other government agencies is not a small number." Chan, previously Education Minister, was appointed Defence Minister following Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's cabinet reshuffle on May 21. The defence minister added that these "information operations" that are conducted on Singapore or when Singapore becomes a collateral are not something that Mindef will take lightly. Hundreds of threats every year: RSAF But threats in cyberspace aren't the only dangers that the SAF face. The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) deals with hundreds of threats every year to ensure the safety of our airspace, while the Republic of Singapore Navy keeps our seas clear amid the thousands of ships that the Maritime Security Task Force must deal with. Meanwhile, the SAF works behind the scenes with numerous operations to make sure "nothing appears in your news cycle", Chan said, explaining that this may mean many Singaporeans may not appreciate what the SAF is doing to keep the country safe. "There are many day-to-day activities that the SAF has to be on alert for in order to keep Singapore safe, and that our way of life, at least, won't be disrupted." Although some of the threats that we face in the present may be new, the concepts behind them are not, the minister said. "Frankly, even when I was in the SAF, we were talking about these kinds of threats 20, 30 years ago… I was dealing with these kinds of issues even when I was a major in the force in the 1990s. "But the volume and the intensity — these have changed." Chan served with the SAF between 1987 and 2011 where he became Chief of Army before leaving to run in the 2011 General Election. He was the Chief of Army from 2010 to 2011. Conflicts elsewhere can affect Singapore Chan also explained that conflicts across the globe may not directly involve our country, but can impact us. "A more uncertain global security environment will certainly lead to or reinforce the uncertainties in the economic environment," he said, explaining that job opportunities, wages and commodity prices here would all be impacted. "What is happening on the security front is closely intertwined with what is happening on the economic front," he added. He was referring to multiple conflicts around the world such as the Israel-Iran war which went on for 12 days before a ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday (June 25). Aside from the heightened security concerns, Chan also looked at the economic impact of the Iran conflict — among other conflicts — has had on the world. He explained risks of uncertainty in the global economic system and the global supply chain. "Once you start to break up the global supply chain, everybody is working on what we call the local optimum, rather than the global optimum. "Prices are likely to go up rather than down, so the impact is not to be underestimated," he said. "If prices go up, jobs go down, wages don't grow — it's a very tricky situation." Tokenism an 'injustice' to both individual and system Chan also dealt with questions raised by reporters about tokenism within the SAF and how individuals are promoted. Tokenism in this context refers to the hiring or promotion of an SAF employee who is also part of a minority in order to make the SAF appear more inclusive. He emphasised that selection in the SAF is based on merit, explaining that there are two fundamental considerations when selecting people. The organisation looks at a person's capacity to carry out his duty, which is based on merit, as well as how this person's abilities can be best applied when deployed, Chan stated. "We will never apply tokenism to any deployment," he said. "It does injustice to the individual, it does injustice to the system. "The SAF will continue to broaden our recruitment of people from diverse pools and walks of life." NS for women? On the topic of women serving National Service (NS), Chan said that even though the constitution says that "all able-bodied Singaporeans can be conscripted", women may not be needed to enlist, yet. "Whether it is men or women, if we want to do conscription, there must be a real operational need for it — that must always drive it," he explained. But even without full conscription, there are calls for more women to be given the chance to experience NS. "I think many of them want to experience, see and also contribute, that's why I think we have such strong support for the SAF Volunteer Corps." The SAF Volunteer Corps is a uniformed volunteer scheme to give Singaporeans and Permanent Residents a chance to contribute to national defence. "It's very heartening to see the support for the SAF Volunteer Corps," Chan added. "More and more women are coming forward not just to serve in the Volunteer Corps, but also in the regular corps." Mindef has also continued to expand deployment of female officers across the four services of the SAF, which has given them more opportunities to make contributions, he said. [[nid:718746]] khooyihang@
