Sandi Toksvig and Gina Miller hoping to become first female Cambridge chancellor
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Courier
7 hours ago
- The Courier
EXCLUSIVE: Fife Reform defector was 'passionate' anti-Brexit voter
A Fife councillor who defected to Nigel Farage's Reform UK campaigned fiercely against Brexit – and won backing from Labour's most pro-EU wing. Councillor Julie MacDougall quit Labour in 2024 after being blocked from standing as a General Election candidate. She is now in Reform, which evolved from the anti-EU Brexit Party. The Courier can reveal Ms MacDougall had publicly supported EU membership and been endorsed as an MP hopeful by Labour Movement for Europe, a pro-EU faction. 'You don't get an endorsement from them without pledging true allegiance to the EU,' a source explained. Ms MacDougall also superimposed the stars of the EU flag over her Facebook profile picture in 2020. One former party colleague described the councillor as a 'passionate' EU supporter who 'despised' Brexit. A Labour source added: 'Julie MacDougall's desperate search for relevance continues. 'Having been rejected as a Labour candidate multiple times, she is now abandoning what she previously said she believed in to try to get herself a seat with any party in any parliament that might have her. 'She has previously been strident in her pro-EU views, as a member of the Labour Movement for Europe, and even displaying an EU flag around her face in social media profile pictures. 'She needs to explain to people in her council ward why she has suddenly abandoned these views in favour of Reform, who were previously called the Brexit Party.' Ms MacDougall told The Courier she had backed Remain during the EU Referendum in 2016, and says she does not know how she would vote if the ballot was re-run. She said: 'I've always been pro-European. It's more about the fact the country has voted to leave. That's what the people of the country decided, and that's democracy. 'I accept that decision by the people that voted.' Asked how she would vote now, the councillor added: 'I haven't thought about a vote at the moment, because I don't think that's something on the table.' Ms MacDougall, whose late father John was a Labour MP in Fife, also denied accusations of careerism. 'Everyone can have their own opinion. Labour was where my heart was. Sadly, things have changed,' she added. 'Had I really wanted to progress my career, I would have joined another party years ago when other parties approached me. It's taken me till now to make my decision.' A Reform UK spokesman said: 'Unlike Labour, who continue relitigating Brexit and driving us ever closer to the EU, Councillor MacDougall is committed to a free, sovereign country that is governed by its citizens. 'We welcome anyone who shares our values of slashing immigration, cutting taxation, and building a better Britain.'
Times
8 hours ago
- Times
Gaza scholarship students to be evacuated to Britain
Nine students in Gaza with offers from British universities have been told that the UK will attempt to bring them out so they can start their studies. The students, who have offers at leading institutions and scholarships funded by the government, were told on Tuesday that they would be helped by the Home Office and Foreign Office to come to the UK in the coming weeks. However, dozens more with university offers have been left in limbo, prompting criticism from vice-chancellors and politicians. • Living in Gaza, accepted to Cambridge — blocked by the Home Office A cross-party campaign of more than 100 MPs, several universities and other organisations has lobbied for help for more than 80 students with offers, including 40 who have full scholarships. Some have start dates of September 1 but their visas have been held up by problems, including a lack of biometric data. The UK's biometrics centre in Gaza closed after the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023 and there are no other suitable places to register their data in the territory. The Home Office had been insisting that students with places at UK universities provide fingerprints and photographs to apply for a visa. Jordan and Egypt have offices but the students would need British government intervention to enable them to leave Gaza. Italy circumvented this by taking data once students had crossed the border while Ireland waived the requirement and took 16 students in May. France and Belgium have also evacuated students. The nine who were contacted have Chevening Scholarships, which are fully funded by the government for outstanding applicants from around the world to take a one-year master's degree at any British university. They have offers from LSE, University College London, King's College London, Queen Mary University and the universities of Greenwich, Portsmouth, Warwick and Glasgow. Mohamed, 25, who is due to study in Glasgow, said: 'Receiving the letter from the Foreign Office today gave me a sense of hope after so many months of uncertainty. It is a reminder that our situation is being heard and that there is a possibility of finally being able to pursue the opportunities we've worked so hard for. 'While challenges remain, this step means a lot for me personally and for all of us still waiting for a chance to move forward. At the same time, many of my peers who are bright students and dedicated professionals with so much to contribute to the world have not yet received any communication. They remain trapped, their futures on hold, despite the dedication and potential they carry. I hope that this step is only the beginning, and that no one is left behind.' Dr Nora Parr, a researcher at the University of Birmingham who has been co-ordinating efforts to assist the more than 80 students in Gaza, said: 'We are immensely relieved that the government has reached out to students, and to know that there are protocols being put in place for their safe passage to campus for the autumn. However, this limited communication leaves the majority of students totally in the dark. These are students who have put everything into achieving their university and scholarship places, and now they are worried they are going to be left behind.' • Hamas survivors join protest to end war in Gaza She said that many lived in 'dire precarity' with some having been displaced 18 times and that time was running out for them to start their courses. Professor Bhaskar Vira, senior pro-vice-chancellor for education at Cambridge, which is hoping to welcome scholarship students from Gaza in the autumn, said: 'We welcome the news that the government has contacted the Chevening scholars to facilitate safe passage out of Gaza. However, many more talented students who have earned highly competitive scholarships at UK universities, including at Cambridge, remain stuck in Gaza and unable to take up their offers.' Professor Emma McCoy, vice-president at LSE, said: 'We are extremely concerned about offer-holders who are currently stuck in Gaza and urge the UK government to do everything it can to help these talented students to take up their places next month.' Professor Brad MacKay, deputy principal at St Andrews, said: 'It is deeply concerning that many more students with fully funded offers from UK universities, including St Andrews, still face uncertainty. These young people represent hope, opportunity, and the values of education that transcend conflict.' • Israel 'in talks to move Gazans into South Sudan camps' Other students are still waiting for news. Soha, who hopes to start a PhD at Ulster University, said: 'I was genuinely thrilled to hear that some students received communication from the Foreign Office confirming efforts to evacuate them. But at the same time, I felt deeply frustrated and disheartened. I've been working on this campaign for our safe passage from day one — not just for myself, but for every student in Gaza with a UK scholarship offer. 'All of us are fully funded and ready to begin our studies, yet the rest of us have received no updates, no communication, and no clarity from the government. It's incredibly upsetting to see a few students being informed while the rest of us are left completely in the dark. This kind of selective communication is unfair and unacceptable. We've all worked hard, and we all deserve the same level of transparency and support.' A government spokesman said: 'We are working urgently to support Chevening scholars in Gaza who have offers from British universities to leave and take up their places in the UK. We are doing everything we can to support their safe exit and onward travel to the UK, but the situation on the ground in Gaza makes this extremely challenging. 'The government recognises the scholars' potential as future leaders and believes the programme fosters global development. It is considering requests for support from other students in Gaza with offers from UK universities.'
South Wales Guardian
11 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Nicola Sturgeon's ‘political instinct' to back a united Ireland
However, the former Scottish first minister insisted the issue of Northern Ireland's future is for people there to decide. She stressed that was the case because she said she could 'get bit prickly if people from outside Scotland start to say what's best for Scotland'. However, speaking to the Nolan Show on BBC Radio Ulster, she stated: 'My political instinct would be in favour of a united Ireland. 'But that's not a matter for me.' Ms Sturgeon continued that as a supporter of Scottish independence, she believes that 'Westminster governance has not served Scotland well', adding that she is 'not sure it will have served Northern Ireland well'. The former SNP leader said: 'I think what Brexit did to Northern Ireland and has done to Scotland is probably an example of the downsides of Westminster governments.' However, she that 'detailed assessments' over whether the province's future should be in the UK or as part of a united Ireland were 'for people in Northern Ireland to make'.
