logo
Scottish Tory councillor defects to Reform UK

Scottish Tory councillor defects to Reform UK

Yahoo28-03-2025

A SCOTTISH councillor has become the latest to defect from the Conservatives to Reform UK, the party has confirmed.
Councillor Poppy Corbett has defected from the Scottish Conservatives to Reform UK at South Lanarkshire Council, the party said on Friday.
In a post on Twitter/X, Reform UK Scotland wrote: "We're delighted to welcome Cllr Poppy Corbett from South Lanarkshire Council.
"It's clear we have all the momentum in Scottish politics. Scotland needs Reform".
We're delighted to welcome Cllr Poppy Corbett from South Lanarkshire Council. It's clear we have all the momentum in Scottish politics. Scotland needs Reform 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 pic.twitter.com/PnM5jmsk4k
— Reform UK Scotland (@ReformUKScot) March 28, 2025
Corbett took to Facebook to announce the decision, where she said Reform UK were fighting for "a real change for Scotland".
She wrote: "Wee announcement to make! This was not a decision that was taken lightly but sadly the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party no longer represent the people I think it should.
READ MORE: Nigel Farage backs bringing American chlorinated chicken to UK shelves
"Reform UK are ready to fight for common sense and a real change for Scotland. I have, for the past 8 years, been happy to represent anyone who contacts me, regardless of the party they support, and this will not change.
"I am here to help my constituents in any way I can and I hope you can support me and respect my decision."
Corbett is one of the councillors for the Clydesdale West ward on South Lanarkshire Council.
Her defection brings the total number of Reform UK councillors in Scotland to 10.
More to follow...

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Marco Rubio is one of us. He understands what happens to Haitians who go back
Marco Rubio is one of us. He understands what happens to Haitians who go back

Miami Herald

time4 minutes ago

  • Miami Herald

Marco Rubio is one of us. He understands what happens to Haitians who go back

Ironic twist The silver lining of Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake was the finest hour of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and indeed, all of Miami. UM faculty were in Haiti from day one, performing thousands of life-saving operations and treating thousands of desperately ill patients. We organized volunteers and raised medical equipment and supplies from around the nation. Private aircraft, lent by some of Miami's wealthiest families, flew round the clock, bringing in volunteers and supplies, while evacuating the injured. Private companies donated millions in dollars and in-kind services to aid recovery. No example of Miami's response captured our collective heroism more than the rescue of Baby Jenny — an infant buried for five days in the rubble, wrapped in the arms of her dead babysitter. She suffered a skull fracture, flail chest, dehydration and shock. She would have died were it not for the skill of our doctors and nurses, the good fortune of a private plane on the runway and an available bed in the NICU of Jackson Memorial Hospital. Later, a team of Haitian-American and Cuban-American attorneys used DNA tests to reunite her with her parents. We celebrated this miracle during the fifth and 10th anniversaries of the earthquake, with follow-up news stories. Jenny survived to become a happy, healthy and in every sense normal child. To mark the 15th anniversary, we attempted another follow-up story a few months ago. However, her family refused, due to fear of deportation. They, like hundreds of thousands of our neighbors (not just Haitians) are here under Temporary Protected Status. That status is about to be canceled. I cannot speak about conditions in Cuba, Venezuela or Nicaragua, but I can speak on conditions in Haiti with authority. Haiti is now a failed state. Gangs have destroyed hospitals, churches, universities and whole communities. Kidnappings and senseless killings occur daily. People are starving and malnutrition is rampant. To return decent people — whose lives we saved and were embraced by our community — to such nightmarish conditions is cruel and shameful. No one understands this situation better, perhaps, than the people of Miami, our nation's most vibrant melting pot. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is one of us. He should know better. Let him hear your voices. Arthur Fournier, co-founder, Project Medishare for Haiti, professor emeritus, Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami Lasting legacy Few have given more to the state of Florida than John Thrasher. He was a statesman, soldier and a friend. Throughout his career, he served Florida with dedication. From serving on the Clay County School Board, to his tenure as speaker of the Florida House and later as president of Florida State University, Thrasher's leadership left a lasting legacy. May the Thrasher family find comfort in the legacy of service and integrity that he leaves behind. Paul Bacon, Hallandale Beach Broken streets Infrastructure, safety and potholes make Miami among the worst cities for drivers. Some streets in the Brickell Avenue and Coconut Grove areas are critical, with road surfaces heavily damaged and posing significant safety hazards. Unfortunately, this situation has existed for years. As a resident, I find it difficult to understand how Miami's city government leaders — specifically, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Chairwoman Christine King and Commissioners Damian Pardo and Miguel Gabela — manage our budget. With so many condos in Brickell and downtown providing millions and millions of dollars in taxes, it is difficult to understand why our infrastructure is in such poor condition. Perhaps too much money is being spent on unnecessary city employees? These leaders need to solve this issue as soon as possible. Carlos Ortiz, Miami National misconduct Reading the June 2 Miami Herald, I felt sad at the situation in our country. President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of a man who, along with a partner, fleeced the government of well over $85 million after filing 866,000 false claims to Medicare. Apparently, it is mere peanuts to him. Meanwhile, Trump does not think twice about cutting funding for Medicaid, flood prevention, childcare, food banks and other agencies. In the same Herald edition, there was more evidence of wanton corruption regarding The Hope Florida Foundation,created to support a program spearheaded by Gov. Ron DeSantis' wife, Casey. Are we on our way to becoming a kleptocracy? Can we really afford another three years of this malfeasance? Ana M. Bacallao, South Miami Catalans in Miami On May 14, the Catalan American Council (CAC) held its first event in South Florida at the Key Biscayne Yacht Club, marking a milestone for our community. The CAC, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., was founded to represent and support the Catalan-American community across the United States. The event raised funds for the CAC's Diaspora Project, the first national effort to document the modern Catalan-American experience. South Florida is home to a significant part of this community, with many tracing their roots to Catalan-speaking regions of Europe — often via Cuba or Puerto Rico. The event also honored the 2025 recipients of the Transatlantic Bridge Award, which recognizes efforts to strengthen ties between Europe, the U.S. and the Catalan-American diaspora. The awardees were Carlos Curbelo, co-founder of Vocero LLC and former U.S. Congressman and Enrique Roig, director of policy and strategic initiatives at the Seattle International Foundation and a former senior official at the State Department. Andrew Davis, Washington, D.C. What agenda? President Donald Trump and his cronies are laser-focused on eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in government. So why did Trump pardon Lawrence Duran who, according to the June 2 Miami Herald article, 'Trump commutes sentence of Miami exec in Medicare fraud case,' filed 866,000 false claims with Medicare and received more than $87 million from the scheme? Furthermore, Trump also pardoned Todd and Julie Chrisley, who defrauded banks and the IRS out of millions of dollars. Barry Alan Wilen, Hollywood Unseemly actions Some members of the Biden family allegedly traded on the former president's name or position, whether in China or Ukraine. Comparatively, President Trump's son, Eric, is now doing about the same with a luxury residential development and golf course in Vietnam. If I were in politics, I might allow the same for my family. Still, this is the unseemly aspect of our world of politics. Roger Shatanof, Coral Gables Leadership styles One can see the great contrast in styles and leadership qualities between the leaders of Ukraine and the United States. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with brilliant planning and innovation, recently pulled off a devastating blow to Russia's military air fleet. At practically the same time, President Trump, in all his brilliance, re-posted a conspiracy theory that former President Joe Biden was actually executed and a clone had replaced him in 2020. Florida Panthers General Manager Bill Zito has engineered some remarkable trades. Perhaps he can do the American public a huge favor and trade our president for Zelenskyy. With a courageous leader like Zelenskyy leading our nation, we would have a very bright future. With Donald 'TACO' Trump as our president, the future is very dim indeed. Martin Kleinbart, Aventura Terminal forecast I always look forward to coming home to Miami, with one exception: the airport. Upon my recent arrival, it was raining and American Airlines would not unload luggage. I went outside and the sky was clear. After three hours, I asked if they could deliver my luggage. You know the answer. This should be a world class airport. Instead, trains rarely work, escalators and elevators are in constant disrepair and MIA is ill prepared for any weather other than clear skies. Michael Friend, Kendall

White House celebrates plummeting murder rates as levels dip below pre-COVID numbers
White House celebrates plummeting murder rates as levels dip below pre-COVID numbers

New York Post

time5 minutes ago

  • New York Post

White House celebrates plummeting murder rates as levels dip below pre-COVID numbers

WASHINGTON — Nationwide murder rates are on course to plummet for the third year in a row, with one prominent analyst saying that 2025 could see the lowest number of per capita killings on record. 'Since President Trump took office, murder rates have plummeted across the entire United States,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Tuesday. 'American families were promised their communities would be safer and President Trump swiftly delivered by vocally being tough on crime, unequivocally backing law enforcement, and standing firm on violent criminals being held to the fullest extent of the law.' Advertisement According to the FBI, 2014 saw the lowest murder rate dating back to 1960 — with 4.46 killings per 100,000 Americans. In 2023, the most recent year for which FBI statistics are available, the murder rate dropped to 5.75 per 100,000 from a recent high of 6.83 per 100,000 in 2020, a year that saw the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as widespread racial unrest. In 2024, according to the Real-Time Crime Index — a database maintained by AH Datalytics which compiles reports from more than 400 local agencies — the homicide rate dipped again, to 4.97 per 100,000, below the official FBI rate in both 2018 (5.15) and 2019 (5.17). Advertisement In the first three months of this year, the real time index shows, the number of murders has dropped by a further 21.6% from the same period in 2024. '[I]t's fairly clear that a decline in the direction we're currently seeing would safely give 2025 the title of lowest US murder rate ever recorded,' independent analyst Jeff Asher wrote in a May 12 Substack post. 5 Line graph from AH Datalytics showing reported murders nationwide from 2018-2025. Real-Time Crime Index 5 White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on May 29, 2025. Xinhua/Shutterstock Advertisement Trump took office vowing to crack down on crime — especially crime committed by illegal migrants — and celebrate law enforcement officials for putting wrongdoers behind bars. In April, officials lined the White House lawn with 100 mugshots of deported illegal aliens, along with lists of the crimes they were accused of committing. 'Good policy fosters good outcomes,' FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson said Tuesday. 'Under this administration's leadership, our federal law enforcement teams are receiving the tools and support they need to crush violent crime and keep the American people safe, and that's exactly what they're doing. We have much more to do, but let good cops be cops, and the results will follow.' The nationwide decline is being reflected in some of America's largest cities. Advertisement In New York, year-to-date murder rates have dropped 28.2%. The local stats show the city's 112 murders in the first five months of this year reflect a 34.1% drop from the same point in 2023, a 41.4% dip from 2010 — and an eye-popping 85.7% drop from this point in 1993. 5 Trump has stressed that the administration will be tough on crime. Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto/Shutterstock 5 Police at the scene where two men were shot inside the Canal Street NQRW subway station at Broadway in New York, NY around 1 a.m. on January 28, 2023. Christopher Sadowski 5 A woman and a man were found shot to death near or inside 1347 Jefferson Avenue in Bushwick around 7:45 AM on February 11, 2025. Gregory P. Mango Philadelphia, which consistently ranks as among the deadliest cities in America, reported a 14.7% dip in year-to-date murder numbers. The pattern is repeating in Chicago (23% decline year-to-date), Baltimore (24%) and New Orleans (25%).

In shocking move, Hilary Knight was exposed to PWHL expansion. Why?
In shocking move, Hilary Knight was exposed to PWHL expansion. Why?

New York Times

time9 minutes ago

  • New York Times

In shocking move, Hilary Knight was exposed to PWHL expansion. Why?

After weeks of speculation, the PWHL expansion protection list has been released. And one of the best women's hockey players of all time is not on it. Hilary Knight, Team USA's most decorated women's hockey player, was not protected by the Boston Fleet ahead of Tuesday afternoon's deadline. As expected, Boston protected star goalie Aerin Frankel and No. 1 defender Megan Keller. But with the third protection slot, the Fleet opted to protect forward Alina Müller, leaving Knight, the team's captain, exposed to Seattle and Vancouver. Advertisement The league's two new franchises will have a five-day window, starting on Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET, during which they can sign up to five players — either free agents or unprotected players — before the June 9 PWHL expansion draft. Once the Fleet lose two players, either in the signing window or the draft, general manager Danielle Marmer can protect one more player. Until then, however, Knight is wholly available. Selecting her in expansion should be a no-brainer. Seattle could even try to sign the U.S. star as a cornerstone player as soon as Wednesday. Knight will turn 36 this summer and likely carries one of the league's larger cap hits — the PWHL does not currently disclose salaries — which could be a deterrent for Seattle or Vancouver. But she was also one of the best players in the PWHL's sophomore season. Knight led the league in scoring (29 points in 30 games) and only Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored more goals than Knight's 15. She was named a finalist for league MVP and Forward of the Year. Internationally, Knight won her record 10th gold medal at women's world championships and broke the all-time assist record at the tournament where she was already the all-time goals and points leader. Last week, Knight was named the USA Hockey women's player of the year. Off the ice, very few players have anything close to the cachet that Knight has, particularly in an American market. If she were signed or drafted by Seattle, she would undoubtedly help grow the fan base and market swiftly, much like her star counterparts in soccer (Megan Rapinoe) and basketball (Sue Bird) have done. Not to mention, she would bring veteran leadership to the locker room, which would surely be an important intangible for a new club. Given that Seattle general manager Meghan Turner was the assistant GM in Boston for two years, she will know exactly what Knight brings to a team and locker room. Advertisement While leaving Knight unprotected is a shocking move, Marmer had a difficult choice to make, with only three initial protection slots. Neither Knight nor the team have commented on the decision. The locks in Boston had long been assumed to be Frankel and Keller. Frankel is one of the best goalies in the PWHL and was Boston's MVP on most nights over the first two seasons. Keller is the team's best, most experienced, defender. That left one protection slot for Knight, Müller and 2024 first-round pick Hannah Bilka. Both Bilka (24) and Müller (27) are younger than Knight and could reasonably be expected to play for the Fleet long-term. Without knowing Knight's plans for her pro career, it's hard to speculate what she'll do at the end of her three-year contract in 2026. She did announce the 2026 Milan Olympics will be her last, signaling that the end to her legendary career could be coming. Knight said she still plans to play in the PWHL after Milan, but for how long remains to be seen. Realistically, if Marmer were to protect Knight, she'd run the risk of losing all three players in short order – Müller and Bilka to expansion, and Knight to retirement. Protecting Müller — even if it likely means losing Knight — ensures the team keeps at least one of its core forwards for more than a few years. There's also the salary cap to consider. With Knight's contract — one of Boston's $80,000 minimum salaries — on the books, the team could have a hard time replacing Müller and Bilka in free agency. Especially while competing for free agents with expansion teams that will get to hand-pick the best players with the best contracts. If Knight were to be selected, Boston could have more money to try to sign a top free agent or two. The entry draft could help Boston too, with potential top-line players in the first few rounds, but it's not a particularly deep incoming class in 2025. If Boston is going to attempt to replace the offense and talent it's losing in expansion, it will likely need to come from free agency. Advertisement The best case scenario for Boston is that Knight isn't selected in expansion, and the Fleet keep her and Müller as an elite top-line combo. While unlikely, it's possible. Perhaps Seattle and Vancouver decide to draft younger rosters. Or they speak with Knight during the signing window and find she vehemently doesn't want to leave Boston. Maybe Knight's contract will be too much for the team to take on with other star players — like Alex Carpenter and Sarah Nurse — also available for selection. Still, for what she brings both on and off the ice, Knight sits at the top of the 'available players' list. And now, for another few days, we wait to see where she ends up.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store