
Former Reform MP calls for Scottish Parliament to be scrapped
Lowe, who is an independent member after he was suspended from Reform earlier this year following a string of allegations about his conduct, which he has strenuously denied.
The Great Yarmouth MP took to social media to call the Scottish Parliament, which was established in 1999, "a bloated, taxpayer-funded talking shop", adding that it was "time to scrap" it.
READ MORE: Westminster's anti-migrant politics leaves new Scots 'hopeless and afraid'
On Twitter/X, he wrote: "It's time to scrap the Scottish Parliament — a bloated, taxpayer-funded talking shop that duplicates what MPs already do.
"Waste of time, waste of money. With the English being unfairly treated, again.
"Abolish the Scottish Parliament."
It comes after Nigel Farage — Lowe's former party leader — visited Scotland for the first time since 2019 this week, and said "devolution is here to stay" but hinted he would scrap the Scottish Parliament's funding mechanism if he won power in Westminster.
Farage said the mechanism was 'out of date', adding: 'What I'd like to see is a Scottish Government that's able to raise a bit more of its own revenue and a Scottish economy that's actually got genuine growth and I don't believe that can happen without this sector [oil and gas] booming.
'I think, you know, the Barnett formula goes back to the 1970s. Is there an argument it should be looked at again? Of course there is.'
Lowe was suspended from Reform UK in March after he was accused of making verbal threats against party chairman Zia Yusuf, and of bullying.
The Crown Prosecution Service said no criminal charges would be brought against the independent MP earlier this month in relation to alleged threats towards Yusuf.
Lowe has since accused his ex-colleagues of engaging in a 'sinister' attempt to use the police to silence him, and branded Farage a 'coward and a viper'.
The MP has hinted in interviews since his suspension he would be interested in setting up his own challenger political party on the right.
He has also suggested he would be open to joining the Conservatives, if the party were to undergo reform.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Western Telegraph
22 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Martin Lewis: How to cut council tax bills and get a rebate
On X, he said: "Moving or just moved house? One of the most important things you should do is check whether you're in the right council tax band. You only have six months to make a formal challenge, after that its much trickier. "(Renters can do this too, though courtesy would indicate you notify the landlord)." On his Money Saving Expert website, he posted: "Hundreds of thousands of homes across England and Scotland are thought to be in the wrong Council Tax band. This means it's important to check your property's in the right band – something our tried-and-tested system can help you do. Some homeowners and renters have unknowingly been overpaying Council Tax for many years, even decades, because their bands are too high, so payouts worth £1,000s are commonplace." Moving or just moved house? One of the most important things you should do is check whether you're in the right council tax band. You only have six months to make a formal challenge, after that its much trickier. Full help here... (Renters can do this… — Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) June 2, 2025 He then talks readers through the whole process of how to check and challenge their council tax bands, with the different English and Scottish rules. Millions of households have seen a jump in their annual council tax bills from April 1 with most local authorities in England increasing a typical band D bill by 5% – an increase of £109 to £2,280 from the 2024-25 figure of £2,171 – although some local councils have permission to impose hikes of up to 10%. Bills in Wales rose by around 4.5% to 9.5% and in Scotland the jump was least 8% – though this is the first increase in two years following a freeze in 2024-25. How to check your council tax band


The Herald Scotland
35 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Not a shot that's been fired across SNP's bows, it's a cruise missile
It's a totemic place for the SNP. In 1967, Winnie Ewing's by-election success in Hamilton shifted the SNP from the periphery of politics. Today, however, the town is less hallowed ground for Scottish nationalists and more field of woe. The story which should be taken from the Hamilton result isn't of Labour's win, but of SNP defeat. A shot hasn't just been fired across the SNP's bows, it's a cruise missile. This was the SNP's battle to lose and lose they did. John Swinney talked up a two-horse race between his party and Reform, dismissing the notion of a Labour win. He looks pretty foolish today. That the SNP could go down so badly to a Labour Party which has riled and alienated voters since Keir Starmer took office is remarkable. Labour won the general election with 34%. Today, that's down across Britain to about 23%. In Hamilton, however, Labour secured almost 32% – barely a change since Starmer took power. The SNP fell nearly 17%, losing a seat previously held on a majority of 4582. These are catastrophic figures for the SNP. Even Reform's rise – it came third on 26% – isn't as significant. Reform's vote in Hamilton broadly replicates its UK-wide support. So what's happened to the SNP? Well, first of all the nationalists are nowhere near as smart as they think they are. For a long time, luck was on their side. Tony Blair's administration was tarnished with war, Gordon Brown was done in by the financial crash, and years of Tory misrule played into nationalist hands. Read more: The SNP could pose as the sane opposition to London. You don't need world-class strategy and policy if your opponents are doing all the hard work for you. Claims that the SNP ran the greatest electoral machine or had the cleverest advisors were guff. However, when you've been in power nearly 20 years you can no longer pretend to be the opposition. That outsider status is working well for Reform, but the SNP are now more status quo than either Labour or Conservatives. They're an enduring symbol now of all the mistakes that the political world has wrought on citizens in recent years. The SNP has never recovered from alienating many of its progressive supporters in the wake of Nicola Sturgeon's resignation. The ensuing leadership contest revealed a level of social conservatism which shocked leftwing voters who had once backed Labour but shifted to the SNP. That – and the poison of multiple scandals – is why the SNP got hammered at the general election. Those voters haven't returned. And nor will they, for what does the SNP offer? There's been failure after failure. The word 'independence' was barely uttered during the recent campaign. If the SNP is scared to speak about independence, what's its purpose? Independence has decoupled from the SNP. The party can no longer rely on Yes voters backing nationalists. Voters long ago saw behind the Wizard of Oz curtain. The SNP managed for years to talk the talk when it came to government – with great rhetoric on climate change, child poverty, education, health and policing – but it never walked the walk. There's only so long voters will tolerate being made to feel gullible. The SNP suffers from 'the boy who cried wolf' syndrome. No matter what it says now, it's just hot air as far as many voters are concerned. The leadership took the people for granted. Evidently, the SNP has tried over the years to mitigate the worst of Westminster's excesses with policies like the Scottish Child Payment, but you can't dine out on that forever. It's like a forgotten film star showing you cuttings of their glory days. What could be more sad? Then there's the boredom factor: the SNP has been in power so long that many fancy a change, just to move the furniture around. The party ran a campaign that focused on its opponents, not on what it could offer the people. Labour ran a highly-local campaign fixed on local concerns. The SNP hierarchy is also increasingly irritating. Angus Robertson's attitude on the BBC's live coverage of the by-election was a masterclass in patrician sneering. The party comes across as entitled and full of its own self-importance. Privilege is not a good look for politicians these days. A few more humble types in prominent positions might serve nationalists better. It's also become such a bloodless party. This isn't to suggest that the SNP embrace outright populism, but if Starmer's managerialism is off-putting, Swinney is close to funereal at times. If the SNP thinks it can hold on to Holyrood at next year's Scottish election by simply giving us more of the same, then Hamilton should be taken as necessary corrective medicine. Quite simply, the people want politicians to make their lives better and the SNP are not doing that. Indeed, the people seem to be saying that even the clunking, u-turning, impossible to like policies of Starmer are more in accord with them than the SNP. That is bad.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Reform UK councils in ‘shambles' as newly elected councillors fail to show up
Reform UK gained control of nine councils and minority control in three more in May's local elections, but opposition councillors claim the party's organisation and productivity have been a "shambles" since. Across the 12 Reform -controlled councils, 33 meetings have been cancelled or postponed in the first nine weeks since the election, and at least 21 Reform councillors have missed their first meetings. In Kent, nine out of 22 scheduled meetings have been cancelled since the election, including legally required meetings like the governance and audit committee. An opposition councillor in Kent, Rich Lehmann, said the cancellations were "shocking" and questioned Reform 's ability to lead the council, while Sam Smith, leader of the Conservatives in Nottinghamshire, called the start "shambolic." Reform UK councillors have reportedly cancelled meetings to reschedule them when more prepared, while Nottinghamshire Council's new Reform leader Mick Barton dismissed the criticisms as "political rhetoric from the opposition."