Mike Tapp: ‘I'll never insult or belittle someone who votes Reform'
Where others Labour MPs prevaricate on immigration, Tapp supports 'return hubs' (for failed asylum seekers). He finds merit in Denmark's deportation model, arguably the most hardline in Europe. It includes the confiscation of asylum seeker's cash or jewellery over a value of 10,000 Danish Kroner (around £1,100) to pay for their stay in the country. Tapp doesn't want to leave the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights), but he does acknowledge public impatience with Britain's immigration policies. 'It takes time,' he says. 'But Rwanda isn't the answer.'
Only time will tell whether his plain-speaking approach will work. At the 2024 election, he beat his Reform rival by over 7,000 votes.
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Telegraph
42 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Scottish Tories eye Reform electoral pact
Senior Scottish Conservatives have discussed striking an electoral pact with Reform UK for the Holyrood elections next spring. One figure backing a deal told The Telegraph it could help avoid splitting the vote on the Right and kick the SNP out of power in Scotland. The deal, which would not need to be made public, would see the Tories either not stand candidates or go easy in areas where Reform is better placed to win and vice versa. It comes as Nigel Farage 's party sits above the Conservatives in third place in opinion polls for the Scottish Parliament elections next May. A pact does not have the backing of Russell Findlay, the Scottish Tory leader, whose team released a statement ruling out the possibility when approached by The Telegraph. But the fact a deal is being considered at senior levels in the party underscores the scale of Reform's popularity surge north of the border and the concerns it has triggered among Tories. In Scotland, Reform now has 15 councillors, 14 of whom used to be Conservatives. It is in marked contrast to other political parties previously run by Mr Farage, such as the UK Independence Party (Ukip), which struggled to get a foothold north of border. One Tory MSP has privately spoken of a defection 'watch list' in Holyrood of those suspected of switching to Reform. Mr Farage also waved away the idea he would agree to any such pact, telling The Telegraph: 'No chance. The Tories are dying in Scotland and I've got no desire to do a deal with them whatsoever.' The idea of some form of agreement, public or private, between the Conservatives and Reform has become a common discussion point in Westminster. Average UK-wide voting polls have Reform in first place on 30 per cent of the vote, with the Tories in a distant third on 17 per cent. Labour is in second place on 22 per cent. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, has ruled out a pre-vote deal with Mr Farage, but speculation continues with the next general election not due until 2029. The recent by-election result for the Scottish Parliament seat of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse underscored the challenges of Right-wing parties splitting the vote. Labour won the seat with 32 per cent of the vote, followed by the SNP on 29 per cent. Reform came third on 26 per cent. Had the Tories, who got 6 per cent, not stood a candidate, it is possible Reform would have beaten Labour and taken the seat, though pollsters often caution against hard conclusions when predicting voter behaviour. Mr Farage has agreed to election pacts before. The Brexit Party, the precursor to Reform which Mr Farage led, had criticism of the Tory handling of the issue of Europe as its heart. Yet he still agreed not to stand candidates against sitting Conservatives at the 2019 general election to help Boris Johnson win and get a Brexit deal through the Commons, securing the UK's departure from the European Union. Despite interest in some quarters of the Scottish Conservative Party, other figures strongly played down the possibility of a pact. One Scottish Tory politician who has spent years in influential positions said: 'Churchill's phrase comes to mind, 'You don't negotiate with a tiger when your head's in its mouth'. We're in competition with Reform – we're not in partnership with them.' The source said Scottish Tory supporters had brought up the prospect of a deal with Reform but that there was little chance it would be adopted by the leadership. Another senior Scottish Tory said: 'Why would Reform do a deal? I can see why we might be interested in it, but why would they?' There have long been suspicions on the Right of coordination between Labour and the Liberal Democrats at general elections to maximise the chances of Tory defeats. The Lib Dems surged from winning 11 MPs at the 2019 general election to 72 MPs at the 2024 general election with almost no increase in overall vote share. The party's strategists have talked about how they ruthlessly focused on a small number of winnable seats rather than competing hard everywhere. Labour was likely to have benefited from the decreased campaigning in non-target seats. But there are reasons why striking some form of deal would be less likely in elections for the Scottish Parliament than the UK-wide Parliament in Westminster. The electoral system for the Scottish Parliament has a proportional element, meaning as well as individual constituency races a party wins some MPs for their overall vote totals. Reform, whose strategists hope to get between 10 and 20 MSPs next spring, is expected to get their victories almost entirely via this way, known as 'the list', rather than winning constituencies. That could provide a disincentive to strike a deal with the Tories, given a lower overall vote total would likely mean fewer MSPs thanks to this proportion element of the election. In polling for next spring's Scottish Parliament elections, Reform is on around 17 per cent, above the Tories on around 12 per cent. The SNP is top, followed by Labour. A year ago, it looked likely that Labour could win power in Scotland but a support slump since Sir Keir Starmer took office last summer means the SNP is now well-placed to remain in office. A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: 'Nigel Farage has said he is content with the SNP winning another five years in power and Reform stood multiple pro-independence candidates in the general election, so no, this won't be happening. 'The Scottish Conservatives want to get the SNP out of power, while Reform will gladly help the nationalists.'
Leader Live
an hour ago
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Tulip Siddiq has had no ‘official confirmation' of Bangladesh trial, say lawyers
The Labour MP is due to face corruption allegations in the country on August 11, according to media reports. In April, it was reported that Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had sought an arrest warrant over allegations that Ms Siddiq illegally received a 7,200 square feet plot of land in the country's capital, Dhaka. Ms Siddiq's aunt, Sheikh Hasina, served as prime minister of Bangladesh until she was ousted in the summer of 2024, since when she has been living in exile in India. A statement released by Ms Siddiq's lawyers attacked the 'longstanding politically motivated smear campaign'. 'For nearly a year now, the Bangladesh authorities have been making false allegations against Tulip Siddiq,' the statement said. 'Ms Siddiq has not been contacted or received any official communication from the court and does not and has never owned any plot of land in Purbachal. 'This longstanding politically motivated smear campaign has included repeated briefings to the media, a refusal to respond to formal legal correspondence, and a failure to seek any meeting with or question Ms Siddiq during the recent visit by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to the United Kingdom. Such conduct is wholly incompatible with the standards of a fair, lawful, and credible investigation. 'In light of these facts, it is now time for the Chief Adviser and the ACC to end this baseless and defamatory effort to damage Ms Siddiq's reputation and obstruct her work in public service.' A source close to Ms Siddiq said that media reports published on Thursday were the first she had heard of the trial. The Hampstead and Highgate MP resigned from her ministerial job in the Treasury earlier this year following an investigation by the Prime Minister's ethics adviser into her links to Ms Hasina's regime, which was overthrown last year. She came under scrutiny over her use of properties in London linked to her aunt's allies. Although Sir Laurie Magnus concluded that she had not breached the Ministerial Code, he advised Sir Keir Starmer to reconsider Ms Siddiq's responsibilities. Ms Siddiq chose to resign, saying she had become 'a distraction' from the Government's agenda.
Rhyl Journal
an hour ago
- Rhyl Journal
Tulip Siddiq has had no ‘official confirmation' of Bangladesh trial, say lawyers
The Labour MP is due to face corruption allegations in the country on August 11, according to media reports. In April, it was reported that Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had sought an arrest warrant over allegations that Ms Siddiq illegally received a 7,200 square feet plot of land in the country's capital, Dhaka. Ms Siddiq's aunt, Sheikh Hasina, served as prime minister of Bangladesh until she was ousted in the summer of 2024, since when she has been living in exile in India. A statement released by Ms Siddiq's lawyers attacked the 'longstanding politically motivated smear campaign'. 'For nearly a year now, the Bangladesh authorities have been making false allegations against Tulip Siddiq,' the statement said. 'Ms Siddiq has not been contacted or received any official communication from the court and does not and has never owned any plot of land in Purbachal. 'This longstanding politically motivated smear campaign has included repeated briefings to the media, a refusal to respond to formal legal correspondence, and a failure to seek any meeting with or question Ms Siddiq during the recent visit by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to the United Kingdom. Such conduct is wholly incompatible with the standards of a fair, lawful, and credible investigation. 'In light of these facts, it is now time for the Chief Adviser and the ACC to end this baseless and defamatory effort to damage Ms Siddiq's reputation and obstruct her work in public service.' A source close to Ms Siddiq said that media reports published on Thursday were the first she had heard of the trial. The Hampstead and Highgate MP resigned from her ministerial job in the Treasury earlier this year following an investigation by the Prime Minister's ethics adviser into her links to Ms Hasina's regime, which was overthrown last year. She came under scrutiny over her use of properties in London linked to her aunt's allies. Although Sir Laurie Magnus concluded that she had not breached the Ministerial Code, he advised Sir Keir Starmer to reconsider Ms Siddiq's responsibilities. Ms Siddiq chose to resign, saying she had become 'a distraction' from the Government's agenda.
