THE BIG STORIES
Worries over China’s power in the UK | Swinney brings forward annual plan | Vance says UK deal is on

📣 Senior Labour figures have called for a review of Chinese investment in UK infrastructure in the wake of the British Steel crisis, in which there have been suggestions the company was being deliberately run down by its Chinese owners to create a dependency on steel imports from China. (Guardian)

• Labour supported Chinese investment in UK infrastructure little more than a month ago, with Ed Miliband signing a memorandum of understanding on a “clean energy partnership". (The Times £)

• How much vital UK infrastructure does China own? (Answer: lots. Britain is the third-largest recipient of Chinese investment over the last 20 years) (BBC)

• Long before the current crisis, concerns were being raised about Chinese investment in Scottish wind power projects. Former SNP MP Stewart McDonald was especially vocal almost exactly a year ago, saying handing a big chunk of the sector to an “entity from a hostile state” would not be in the UK’s interests. (From 2024 - BBC)

📣 The Scottish Government’s legislative programme will be unveiled four months early in an attempt to address the economic impact of Trump tariffs, the First Minister said yesterday. John Swinney said the programme for government, usually released in September, will be unveiled on May 6, to allow a “full year of delivery” ahead of next year’s Holyrood elections. (Herald)

• Swinney said there was scope within the £59.7 billion budget to reallocate spending to deal with lower economic growth caused by Trump’s tariffs. He also suggested the independent Scottish National Investment Bank might “consider the economic landscape in which we are now operating” when making investment decisions. (FT £)

📣 US Vice-President JD Vance says there’s a “good chance” of a US/UK trade deal. In an interview with the UnHerd website, published today, he said: “We’re certainly working very hard with Keir Starmer’s government”.

“The President really loves the United Kingdom. He loved the Queen. He admires and loves the King. It is a very important relationship. And he’s a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [Britain]. But I think it’s much deeper than that. There’s a real cultural affinity. And of course, fundamentally America is an Anglo country.” Thus, “I think there’s a good chance that, yes, we’ll come to a great agreement that’s in the best interest of both countries”.

Vance also takes aim at Volodymyr Zelensky, again, and policies on a variety of issues - defence, immgration, the economy - offered by European leaders. (UnHerd)

IDEAS
Your verdict on ministerial pay

🗣️ We asked you yesterday if Scottish Ministers should be getting a near £20,000 pay rise - a raise that’s long been deferred. Your verdict was clear:

Should Scottish ministers be getting a near-£20,000 pay rise?

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 👍 Yes, they should (30%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🚫 No, they should not (70%)

Just as interesting were your comments, which could be left alongside the poll itself.

Many of you flagged the state of public services as evidence ministers were not worthy of the raise. “Let’s see improved education, more low-cost housing, a more effective health service and money spent on essential jobs before we ‘reward’ our politicians,” wrote Morag.

Barbara echoed that: “Promises not fulfilled, education and health a national disgrace, a stupid insistence on free tuition which is partly to blame for the problems of cash strapped universities, and which they refuse to discuss.”

Stuart wrote: “The list of failure and scandal is long. Any other job pay awards are performance-related related but in the SNP Government failure is rewarded. And rewarded big. This will stick in the throat of everyone who has had a below-inflation increase or pay freeze.”

Those supporting were in the minority, but they did have their rationale. “They have had a pay freeze for years,” wrote Ruth. “Their salary should be comparable to other roles with equivalent responsibilities. We need to ensure that this is a job that suitable and well-qualified people still want to do.”

But among that support, there was still some qualification. Paddy suggested: “Double the salary, halve the number of MSPs. We have far too many low-quality MSPS. We need fewer very good ones.”

🗣️John Swinney defended lifting the 16-year freeze yesterday saying he’d “applied the principle of fairness that I think all members of the Scottish parliament should be able to take the salary to which they are entitled.” He hasn’t given himself a raise, however. (Sky News)

Thanks, all, for the votes and comments.

AROUND SCOTLAND

📣 MSP James Dornan has revealed he was charged with attempted murder as a teenager, and now can’t bring himself to watch Adolescence, the hit drama, because of the terrible memories it might stir up.

He writes: “Just seeing short clips of police being in the house and the parents questioning themselves gave me a deep sense of shame and guilt and a terrible understanding of how self-obsessed and damaging you can be when you are a young teenage boy who sees his body, his mind and his internal reactions all change without any recognition on his part that it is happening or why it is happening.” (The National has the exclusive £) (Sky News)

📣 A gangland feud - complex, but revolving around drugs - continues to rage across Scotland, with no signs of it abating. It started in Edinburgh, with a series of fire-bombings. It’s now spread west, with new attacks in the small hours yesterday morning, and an attack on an elderly woman and young boy the previous day. (The Sun) (Daily Record)

📣 Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has taken aim at a summit on democracy and respect being organised by First Minister John Swinney, branding it “yet another SNP talking shop”. (STV)

AROUND THE UK

📣 The race to keep the Scunthorpe blast furnaces burning is expected to be won today when raw materials are delivered. (Sky News)

📣 The strike by bin workers in Birmingham is to continue after they rejected a pay offer. (BBC)

📣 Former Tory MP Craig Williams is among 15 people charged with offences related to bets placed on the timing of last year’s General Election. The scandal over the alleged placing of bets, prior to Rishi Sunak’s decision to call an early election, was a huge story last summer. (The Independent)

AROUND AND OUT OF THE WORLD

🌎 Harvard University said it would not comply with changes in policy demanded by the Trump administration, including screening international students for terrorism and antisemitism. (Semafor)

🌎 A man wrongly extradited from the US to El Salvador is not going to be returned to the US, the Central American nation’s President has said. Nayib Bukele said the idea was “preposterous”. (AP)

🌎 Singer Katy Perry briefly floated in space with five other women as part of the first all-female space crew in more than 60 years. The women were aboard a Blue Origin rocket which passed the 62-mile-high boundary of space for four minutes. (Sky News)

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS

💰 Troubled engineering group Wood Group - one of Scotland’s largest companies - is backing a £242 million takeover approach from Sidara, a Dubai-based engineering and consultancy firm. The company recently said it would have to re-state its financial results for the last three financial years. (Daily Business) (This is Money)

💰 Business confidence has fallen to a two-year low, with the first quarter of the year “harrowing” for companies across the UK. (The Guardian)

💰 Donald Trump may be considering pausing his car tariffs because of the problems they are causing manufacturers. (AP)

SPORT

⚽️ Kieran Tierney turned down some big clubs across Europe to return to Celtic, it has emerged. The left-back has signed a pre-contract agreement with Celtic - Bayer Leverkusen, Sevilla, Juventus and Everton all wanted to bring the Scotland international in - but, as the Herald has it, “he is clearly allowing the pull of the heart to overrule the head.” (The Herald)

⚽️ The Champions League returns tonight with two quarter-final second legs: the pick of the ties is in Birmingham, where Aston Villa play PSG 3-1 down from the first leg (8pm, Amazon Prime Video). In Germany, Borussia Dortmund have a tall order against Barcelona as they attempt to overturn a 4-0 deficit (8pm, TNT Sports 1).