Scots Tory who backed far right in France campaigning for Reform UK in Holyrood by-election
EXCLUSIVE: John White has been trying to help Reform UK win in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.
A former Scots Tory who campaigned for the far-right in France has been trying to help Nigel Farage's Reform UK win a crunch Holyrood by-election.
John White has been 'out and about' in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse seat Farage fleetingly visited yesterday.
White was condemned last year after jetting off to France to campaign for Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally.
White got his photo taken with NR's anti-immigration president, Jordan Bardella, who has threatened a "cultural battle" against Islamism.
NR stances include ending birthright citizenship for people born in France to foreign parents, making it easier to close mosques and barring dual nationals from some state jobs.
White, who is in his early twenties, posted a selfie with Bardell a on the day of the European Parliament elections.
He also tweeted: "I recently had the chance to be invited to the Nice RN office whilst exploring the city. It was great to learn about the make-up of French politics and the fight to reclaim the city."
He added: "I recently had the chance to be invited to the Nice RN office whilst exploring the city. It was great to learn about the make-up of French politics and the fight to reclaim the city."
The former Scottish Tory council candidate defected to Reform and he has been campaigning for the right wing party to help secure their first MSP.
Glasgow Reform councillor Thomas Kerr, a long-standing friend of White, said: "John has been out and about with us a couple of times.'
"John was in HQ with us yesterday."
In separate social media posts, White and far right thug Tommy Robinson backed a Glasgow rally in September last year which was widely feared to be a magnet for extremism.
Robinson said of the demo: 'The British are rising.'
Above a 'stop the boats' image, White wrote: 'Looking forward to joining fellow Glaswegian in George Square...to make our voices heard. Stand up and be counted.'
Reform UK's by-election campaign has been marred by allegations of racism against Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
They put out an online ad claiming Sarwar would 'prioritise' Pakistani communities, a claim the Scottish Labour leader said was 'blatantly racist'.
White could not be reached. The by-election is on June 5th.
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Reform UK may be doomed if Nigel Farage can't keep talent in the party
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5 hours ago
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Reform UK struggles to find friends to share council power
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Minority rule In some places - Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Leicestershire - Reform UK has enough councillors to form minority administrations and is attempting to govern other areas where coalitions were possible, Reform UK has either shunned co-operation or vice versa. Where Reform UK has explored potential partnerships locally, its policies have been viewed with suspicion by the established Cornwall, the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Conservatives refused to work with Reform UK, even though it was the biggest party and had won the most the Lib Dems teamed up with independent councillors to run Cornwall Council as a minority infuriated Reform UK's group leader in Cornwall, Rob Parsonage, who branded the coalition deal "undemocratic" and "a total stitch-up".Did other parties contrive to exclude Reform UK? The newly minted Lib Dem council leader, Leigh Frost, does not think so."The reality is our core values at heart of it just stand for two very different things and it makes working together incompatible," Frost told the BBC."And then Reform was given two weeks to try to form an administration and chose not to." Frost said Reform UK's Cornwall candidates mainly campaigned on was echoed in conversations with other local party leaders across the country. 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How can you go into coalition with somebody if you don't even know what they stand for?"Joanne Monk, the Reform UK council leader in the county, said she only had "a brief couple of chats" with other party leaders but was uncompromising on coalitions."I'm damned sure we're not on the same wavelength," she followed the lead of Farage, who ruled out formal coalitions at council level but said "in the interests of local people we'll do deals", in comments ahead of the local Worcestershire, Reform UK's minority administration may need to do deals to pass key decisions and avoid other parties banding together to veto their this, she acknowledged other parties were "going to have to work with us at some point". In Northumberland, the Conservatives retained their position as the largest party and gave the impression they were willing to entertain coalition talks with Reform UK, which gained 23 seats."I said I would work with anyone and my door is open," said Conservative council leader Glen Sanderson."But Reform the next day put out a press release saying the price for working with the Conservatives would be extremely high. So on that basis, I assumed that was the door closed on me."No talks were held and the Conservatives formed a minority had passed after the local elections before Mark Peart was voted in as Reform UK's local group leader in the county. As a result, he wasn't in a position to talk to anybody."Everything had already been agreed," Peart said. "It was too late." Training ground Reform UK sources admitted the party was caught a bit flat-footed here and elsewhere as many of its new councillors got the grips with their new jobs in the weeks following the local elections.A support network for those councillors, in the form of training sessions and a local branch system, is being developed by the this week Zia Yusuf, one of the key architects behind that professionalisation drive and the Doge cost-cutting initiative, resigned as party chairman, leaving a gap in the party's UK's deputy leader, Richard Tice, said the party's success at the local elections "was partly because of the significant efforts and improvements to the infrastructure of the party" spearheaded by Yusuf is gone, the party has considerably strengthened its foundations at local level, after gaining 677 new councillors and two mayors.A Reform UK source said party bosses will be keeping an eye out for stand-out councillors who could go on to become parliamentary candidates before the general said in areas where Reform UK runs councils as a minority administration, it's going to take some compromise with other parties and independents to pass budgets and key the messy world of town halls and council chambers, that could be a tough apprenticeship.
