Scottish Labour councillor defects to Reform UK
A Scottish Labour councillor has defected to Reform UK.
The party welcomed Scottish Labour councillor Jamie McGuire to Reform UK on Monday afternoon while party leader Nigel Farage was on the by-election campaign trail in Hamilton.
The Renfrew North and Braehead councillor McGuire is the second councillor to join Reform UK in one day.
Following McGuire's defection, Reform UK now has 14 Scottish councillors. The party also claims to have more than 10,000 members in Scotland.
Reform said it was 'delighted' to welcome the former Labour councillor to its ranks.
On Monday morning, during a party press conference in Aberdeen, Farage also welcomed Scottish Tory councillor Duncan Massey to Reform.
'One of the reasons we're doing well in Scotland is that we're attracting very good talent,' Farage said in Aberdeen.
'There have been several Conservative councillors that have come to us, and there'll be a Labour councillor coming to us this afternoon when we get to Hamilton.'
In 2024, UK Labour had a total membership of 370,450.
In the same year, SNP membership fell by around 18,000 to 64,525.
The Tories do not publish membership figures, but income from membership fees fell from £1.97m to £1.5m.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Will the North Sea oil and gas industry be Labour's next U-turn?
It was inevitable that Nigel Farage would take Reform UK's campaign tour to Aberdeen. On a visit to the capital of the UK's oil and gas industry on Monday he welcomed a defecting Aberdeen Conservative councillor, the 13th defection to his party's ranks in Scotland to date. Reform is hoping to make political hay from the discontent surrounding the government's North Sea policies, the demise of the oil and gas basin and the vast workforce that depends on it. The populist party has vowed to reverse the government's ban on fresh North Sea oil and gas drilling as a 'day one' priority if elected to power in 2029. Farage's naked targeting of the Granite City and of net zero – which he has described as 'lunacy' and the 'next Brexit' – has some in Westminster and the energy industry asking what would once have been unthinkable: will Labour be forced to water down or even U-turn on its North Sea pledges? The Labour government swept to power last summer with a manifesto pledge to end new North Sea oil and gas projects and make Britain a clean energy superpower. But in less than a year the government has bent to the backlash against some of its most high-profile policies on benefits and winter fuel allowances, stoking speculation that its stance on the North Sea might be the next position to crumble. Industry sources believe the government may be poised to give the green light to new North Sea projects from this autumn. The Guardian understands that senior government advisers have told North Sea investors that new drilling could still move ahead despite the election promise, provided the projects are close to existing pipeline infrastructure and do not extend into 'greenfield' areas. One energy investor said government advisers in the Treasury and No 10 had 'quite openly' signalled that the door would be left open for new oil and gas projects to proceed despite the government's climate commitments. 'Myself and a number of colleagues have been told that the government is moving towards the idea of allowing new licences,' the source said. However, the claims are at odds with the green agenda set out by Ed Miliband, the secretary of state at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), who has previously described plans to develop the Jackdaw and Rosebank oilfields in the North Sea as 'an act of climate vandalism'. Those two oilfields, which are caught in a long-running legal battle over their emissions, will be a critical test of how Labour's desperation to counter the rise of Reform rubs up against its green principles. Cutting emissions has strong support in the UK, with YouGov polling in March showing 61% of adults support or strongly support the government's target of reducing emissions to net zero by 2050. About 24% oppose or strongly oppose the policy. But with domestically produced oil and gas being replaced with imports from Qatar and the US, sources believe that the Treasury is anxious to allow projects to move ahead to protect the more than 200,000 jobs that rely on the North Sea sector, and the billions in forecast tax revenues the industry generates for the exchequer. 'Within the Treasury there is a desire to interpret the manifesto commitment loosely,' a second industry source said. 'If there is an existing licence related to a field which means it might not be considered a 'greenfield' site then perhaps an expansion of that area could be acceptable.' The North Sea contributes £25bn in value to the UK economy each year, according to the trade group Offshore Energies UK, which is more than five times the contribution of the UK steel industry and twice the contribution of the UK car industry. 'I suspect there will be some difficult internal rows about what counts as a 'new licence' between DESNZ and the Treasury - but I suspect that ultimately the Treasury will win this battle, with support from No 10,' the source added. Labour's manifesto offers some room for manoeuvre: it promised that the party would not 'issue new licences to explore new fields', but would also not revoke existing North Sea licences granted by the previous government. This means that controversial North Sea oil and gas projects at Rosebank, Jackdaw and Cambo – which were given licences by the previous government – could in theory be granted final consent to move ahead without breaching the manifesto promise. Oil companies which hope to drill new wells within their previously licensed areas, known as 'in-fill drilling', could also be given the green light to extract more oil and gas from their existing projects. The sources have suggested that even more leeway may be created within the definition of the manifesto pledge. The election pledge was welcomed by green groups as a clear sign of the government's intent to meet its legally binding net zero targets as the climate crisis intensifies. However, critics of the policy – which include backbench Labour MPs and union leaders – fear that the economic fallout may outweigh any climate benefits as imported hydrocarbons increasingly replace North Sea oil and gas. Britain's trade unions, which donate generously to the Labour party, fear that job losses in the industry and its supply chains are accelerating quicker than companies can pivot towards the green economy. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said: 'Letting go of one rope before we have hold of another by ending oil and gas licences is not acceptable. It threatens both our national security and jobs.' 'Oil and gas workers cannot be the coal miners of our generation,' she added. 'Britain needs to maintain skills and invest in the industries of the future. Jobless transitions will not be accepted by Unite, neither will jam tomorrow. If Labour do not back workers other voices fill the vacuum.' Andy Prendergast, the GMB's national secretary, said the union has called on the government to re-appraise the UK's energy policy. 'Existing policy is simply offshoring responsibility, importing virtue, and undercutting a transition for energy workers in the North Sea,' he said. One North Sea oil worker said the government's stance represented 'nothing short of a strangulation of an industry and of the north-east Scottish economy'. He voted Reform in the last general election and said he could not name a single person who would vote for Labour. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion 'Aberdeen is being bled dry,' the rig worker added. 'The hypocrisy of a government which is willing to import and burn fossil fuels for energy generation but is unwilling to support its homegrown hydrocarbon industry, all to catch the newspapers headlines for political point scoring, is astounding.' Mel Evans, a climate team leader at Greenpeace UK, said the switch from oil and gas to renewables 'must bring workers and communities along' and create jobs in green manufacturing. Unions and climate campaigners are demanding an emergency funding package of £1.9bn a year to help with the transition be included in Rachel Reeves's spending review on Wednesday. 'It's vital that we don't leave oil and gas workers' future in the hands of private companies who put their profits above workers' security and the climate time and time again,' she said. 'We urgently need a renewable energy system fit for the 21st century that can bring down bills, helping our energy security and the climate at the same time. But we must bring workers and communities along and ensure that wind manufacturing and renewable energy jobs stay here in the UK, rather than leaving other countries to benefit from the booming green economy.' The government's independent climate advisers, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), have called for tight controls on any new North Sea production but have also found that the emissions case for a ban on new projects is 'not clear cut'. 'The CCC has not been able to establish the net impact on global emissions of new UK oil and gas extraction,' the advisers said in a letter to former energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng in 2022. This is partly because the UK's oil and gas has a relatively low carbon footprint relative to the countries that supply its gas imports. The UK will continue to be a net importer of fossil fuels by 2050 even when keeping to its net zero ambition. Under the CCC's forecasts, oil and gas will tumble from about 75% of the UK's primary energy demand now to about 23% by 2050. But that would still mean the UK needs over 14m tonnes of oil equivalent each year – most of which will be imported. The UK is increasingly reliant on imports of liquified natural gas from the US and Qatar – which have a far higher carbon intensity than North Sea gas – as well as piped gas from Norway. On the one hand the UK could help lower global emissions by replacing some of these fossil fuel imports with domestic hydrocarbons, but on the other hand any extra oil and gas produced by the UK could risk creating a global oversupply of fossil fuels 'that would pose a risk to the aims of the Paris agreement'. What oil and gas remains is becoming harder to extract, meaning the North Sea basin will still be in terminal decline even if the government loosens its stance. The policy against new North Sea oil projects emerged after the global energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency, warned in 2021 that no new fossil projects could move ahead if the world hoped to meet its climate targets. Here too the hard lines appear to be softening. By 2023 the Paris-based agency clarified its stance, stating that 'no new conventional long-lead time oil projects' should be approved but that 'investing in existing fossil fuel supply, however, is still needed'. The government is expected to clarify its plans for the future of the North Sea through an industry consultation that closed at the end of April. Its response, which is expected in the autumn, is likely to rule out a return to annual North Sea licensing rounds – but industry insiders expect that it will allow at least some new projects to progress. That could leave Miliband in an awkward position. There have been 'discussions within the Labour party for months over how to handle his potential resignation', said an industry source. 'I do think the government is, belatedly, becoming a little more pragmatic about [the North Sea],' the second source added. 'And I suspect that ultimately pragmatism will win the day. But it may be too late, honestly. In the North Sea we're on a worrying downward spiral of job losses and an accelerated production decline.' A DESNZ spokesperson dismissed the claims as 'secondhand speculation' which 'bear no relation' to the government's work to 'implement our manifesto position to not issue new licences to explore new oil and gas fields'. The Treasury did not respond to the Guardian's request beyond the DESNZ statement.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Farage is like a tribune for the working class, says former Bank of England economist
Nigel Farage is the closest to a 'tribune for the working class', the former Bank of England chief economist has said in a stark warning for Keir Starmer's Labour party. Andy Haldane said the surge in support for Reform UK in the opinion polls suggested there had been 'something of a moral rupture' between the government and many voters, which should spur Starmer to take action with a 'radical reset' of its growth plans. He said Labour's misfiring growth strategy and decisions on winter fuel payments and the two-child benefit limit had opened the door to Farage by fuelling a sense that mainstream politicians promise change but fail to deliver. Asked whether Reform was the new party of the working class, Haldane said: 'I do not know. [But] as things stand today, and doing no more than echoing what is in the polls … that is what the larger part of the working classes think – which matters rather more than what I think. What is certainly true, is Nigel Farage is as close to what the country has to a tribune for the working classes. 'I don't think there's any politician that comes even remotely close to speaking to, and for, blue-collar, working-class Britain. I think that is just a statement of fact and in some ways, that underscores the importance of the other parties doing somewhat better to find a story, to find a language, and to find some policies that speak to the needs of those most in need.' Labour fended off Reform in Thursday's Holyrood byelection by winning the central Scotland seat of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse. But its defeat last month in the Runcorn byelection and Reform's victories in hundreds of council seats in England has raised concerns that Labour is struggling to hold on to core voters in its heartlands. Ahead of Rachel Reeves's spending review on Wednesday and imminent announcement on the government's industrial strategy, Haldane urged the chancellor to double down on Labour's devolution agenda and to provide extra financial firepower to support manufacturing jobs and communities. Reeves has argued that Britain's economy is turning a corner after a weak performance at the end of 2024, although has acknowledged that the public 'are becoming restless' amid a battle to raise living standards. Haldane, a key architect of the last government's levelling up plans, said a rethink of Labour's regional growth plans was needed. 'Opportunity is knocking for a reset,' he said. 'Both in how the growth and industrial strategy is conceived of, but also how it's financed. 'Personally I have been very disappointed with the government offerings on this front so far. I am surprised there has not been a greater focus, other than in sloganeering, on properly empowering the regions and nations of the UK. Frankly without which the government's growth mission has no hope.' Haldane, who is stepping down as the chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts thinktank at the end of this month, said a 'sterile injection of optimism, money, and power' was needed in communities where many voters feel left behind. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion He said the industrial strategy, which will set out government plans to support eight key sectors of the economy, could help Labour to win support in 'red wall' seats in the north and midlands of England where Reform is making headway. However, more investment was required in education, skills and training. 'A key missing ingredient from the government's growth plan generally, and from previous governments' growth plans, and at risk of being missing from the industrial strategy, is what is the people strategy to back that up,' he said. Haldane had been chair of the last government's Industrial Strategy Council before the group was abolished. Labour has created an advisory council to oversee its plan, led by Clare Barclay, the head of Microsoft in the UK.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
St Mirren land dispute judgment a 'crucial precedent' for free speech
The claim for damages surrounded comments made by Mr Wardrop around the legality of an application for public funds for a regeneration project including a well-being centre on what appeared to be club land. Lord Clark dismissed Mr Gillespie and Mr MacMillan's claim for damages, which might have amounted to £80,000 because he believed that Mr Wardrop's comments made surrounding the legality of the application in were in the public interest and were honestly held based on the evidence he had at the time - both defences under the Scottish law around defamation damages. Campbell Deane, head of BKF and Co who represented Mr Wardrop, said: "This case sets a crucial precedent in the application of Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021, particularly the public interest defence. READ MORE by Martin Williams "The ruling underscores the legal protection available to individuals who responsibly raise issues of public concern – even if they are ultimately mistaken in their claims. It affirms that Scottish defamation law now balances reputation rights with the importance of free expression in democratic discourse." Alan Wardrop (left) and St Mirren directors and Kibble execs Jim Gillespie and Mark MacMillan (Image: Damian Shields) Mr Deane represented former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale in a successful defamation case battle in 2020, an appeal case of Wings over Scotland blogger Stuart Campbell, who claimed Ms Dugdale defamed him in a newspaper column three years ago. Mr Campbell lost the defamation case and demand for £25,000 in reputational damages at Edinburgh Sheriff Court when it was decided that while Ms Dugdale was incorrect to imply Mr Campbell was homophobic, she was protected under the principle of fair comment. Mr Deane in the Wardrop case said it was a defence to a defamatory statement if it relates to publication of a "matter of public interest and the defender reasonably believed that publishing it was in the public interest". He said: "This defence is designed to protect freedom of expression on issues that affect the public, so long as the individual making the statements acts responsibly, seeks to verify the facts, and is not motivated by malice. This ruling makes clear that raising concerns about governance, charity involvement, or the use of public funds can fall within the scope of public interest. "This ruling confirms that the defender does not need to be correct in the allegations. Rather, the defender must show that their belief in the truth and public value of the statements was formed through reasonable effort. "As the first judicial interpretation of this new defence in Scotland, the decision is likely to have a significant impact on how future public interest defences are framed." Stuart Munro of Livingstone Brown, solicitor for Mr Gillespie and Mr MacMillan, said: 'My clients required to bring this action after Mr Wardrop wrongly accused them of having a 'secret plan' to build on land owned by St Mirren FC and of lying about it. 'They are extremely pleased the judge, having heard detailed evidence from numerous witnesses, made it clear in his written judgment that there was no such secret plan, thus setting the record straight. 'Furthermore, the judgement underlines that Mr Wardrop's very public allegations were, as my clients have consistently stated, both untrue and defamatory. "The judge also agreed that Mr Wardrop's untrue and defamatory statements caused serious harm to their reputations. 'Notwithstanding the finding that Mr Wardrop was entitled to publish, the judge made it very clear that, the true facts having now been established, any future repetition of his claims would have serious consequences.' Alan Wardrop (Image: .) But Mr Wardrop said: "As a lifelong St Mirren supporter this entirely unfounded and misconceived court action has unquestionably proved difficult. To be banned from attending home football matches and have my motivations put under the spotlight, when all I was doing was trying to shine a light on a significant issue concerning St Mirren has been taxing. "Prior to applying to join the SMISA board, I had conducted detailed investigations as to the whereabouts of the land forming part of Kibble's applications for a well-being centre. I had done this, having been met with a wall of silence from the Kibble directors of St Mirren Football Club, Jim Gillespie and Mark McMillan to my repeated requests for information." He said he had maintained throughout the process that what he said in relation to the land dispute was "honest opinion" and what he brought into the public forum was "in the public interest". "I am delighted, but not in any way surprised, that the court has accepted that it was in the public interest to publish what I did. The law promotes free speech, and based on all my thorough and detailed enquiries, what I wrote was clearly a statement on a matter of public interest and I believed in the public interest to publish," he said.
