There have been a number of major foreign politics updates over the past few weeks. In the United Kingdom, Huzma Yousef has resigned as the leader of the Scottish Parliament after his effort to boot the Greens from the government backfired and he faced an increasingly untenable position. This also comes against the backdrop of a disastrous Conservative performance in the 2024 local elections where Labour controls a majority of councilor positions for the first time since 2002 marking the dire situation that the Tories face heading into the general election later this year. Also, the governing Liberal Democratic Party in Japan is struggling to maintain its electoral dominance nationally after a recent scandal leading to the defeat of the party to the center left Constitutional Democratic Party and a potentially unpredictable national election in the future after years of dominance by the LDP. Let’s get to the updates.
Starting in the United Kingdom, Humza Yousef resigned ahead of a possible vote of no confidence when his control of Scotland’s national government would’ve likely been questioned ahead of the country’s elections where his Scottish Nationals are on track for losses against the Labour Party. Upon the realization that he was probably facing an ouster, he attempted to frame his impending exit from the nation’s government in the context of alleged racism when the reality of the country couldn’t be more different. Scotland is roughly as white of a nation as the homogenously white state of Vermont in the United States (92% versus 96% in Vermont), yet the most powerful politician in the country is someone of non-white descent and controls massive influence in the hiring decisions of who can get public sector representation nationally in different areas. The reason why Yousef never went full-fledged into the abyss of racial politics in the largely white country is that he risked losing his hold on political power, something that happened anyway because he attempted to fly too close to the sun politically by shunning the Greens.
This comes as the Conservatives have suffered some of the worse losses in local elections that have happened in recent years as their party polling average has fallen to the low 20% range. This also comes as Labour controls a majority of councilor seats nationally and managed to clear the London mayoral election with Sadiq Khan even after having to deal with his unique vulnerabilities as of late on the issue of crime. This is relevant as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is attempting to push back the elections as far as possible to avoid ceding power in the wake of non-moving polling averages and a Labour Party that seems unlikely to get caught up in inner divisions like it was during the period of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
Concluding in Japan, there were three by-elections where the incumbent Liberal Democratic Party lost three seats in the national Diet to the main center-left party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, in what was seen as a major upset for the ruling party, This comes as the LDP has seen their dominance in the polls decline to a small national lead in the 20% range after a scandal has plagued the party’s favorability ratings. If the CDP were to dominate the next national election, it might suggest a less clear foreign policy moving forward when dealing with Chinese aggression and/or negotiating with their neighbors in Southeast Asia. The question, however, becomes if this current slump in the polls is a permanent endeavor or if it continues indefinitely.
Sources: Why Humza Yousaf resigned as Scotland’s first minister and what’s next for SNP | Reuters
Demographics of Scotland – Wikipedia
The Conservatarian Millennial 