Holyrood Garden Party and Political Awards 2023

True North enjoyed a great night with clients and friends at the annual Holyrood Garden Party and Political Awards on Thursday 7th September.

We were proud to sponsor the ‘One to Watch’ award, which our Managing Partner Fergus Mutch presented to Màiri McAllan MSP, Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Just Transition.

Since her election in 2021, Mairi has shown herself to be an extremely capable minister. She’s already made a considerable mark in government in just a short time. Given the vitally important government job she now holds, she’ll certainly be one to watch over the years ahead as government works with business to deliver net zero and a just transition for Scotland.

We were also delighted to be joined by the SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn MP, Labour Shadow Secretary of State Ian Murray MP, SNP business spokesperson in the Commons Richard Thomson MP and Labour’s energy spokesperson at Holyrood Sarah Boyack MSP, besides senior advisors from across the political spectrum.

Read latest insights and news articles here.

The Holyrood Garden Party & Political Awards 2023

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Fergus Mutch

Managing Partner

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Insights & news

Fergus Mutch in Aberdeen
Something worth voting for? 
On Thursday, health secretary Michael Matheson resigned and Humza Yousaf undertook a ‘mini-reshuffle’ of his cabinet. The scandal of the £11,000 iPad bill was only ever going to end this way. That it was allowed to rumble on eroding public trust for months is symptomatic of the SNP’s wider fortunes, which began to rapidly deteriorate almost a year ago to this day. Fifty-one weeks ago a press conference was hastily arranged in the Drawing Room at Bute House. Nicola Sturgeon stood before Alexander Nasmyth’s pastoral portrait of Robert Burns, announced her resignation as first minister and set in motion a remarkable chain of events...
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Geoff and Panel
The morning after the budget before
The latest Scottish Government budget was the most significant of the devolution era. In her first public event since she announced her tax and spend plans yesterday, speaking at a True North business breakfast in Edinburgh Finance Secretary Shona Robison defended her decision to significantly raise personal taxation, saying she had to make “wicked decisions and choices” to protect spending on key public services such as the NHS. Among the headline budget announcements was the creation of a new 45 percent tax band on incomes between £75,000 and £125,140, while the top rate of tax was also raised to 48 percent. Meanwhile, the higher..
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  • Events
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  • SNP
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Making his mark? Humza Yousaf’s speech to SNP Conference 
Humza Yousaf did not have his troubles to seek ahead of his first SNP Conference as party leader, with a comprehensive and bruising by-election defeat to Labour in the marginal seat of Rutherglen and Hamilton West the week before last, and the defection of a sitting MP to the Conservatives in recent days.  Those woes have, however, been overshadowed by the unimaginably difficult personal circumstances he’s faced over the last ten days with close family members trapped in Gaza. Under such pressure he’s looked more statesman-like than at any point in his leadership to date..
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  • Events
  • Insight & Analytics
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  • SNP
  • Tax