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The Courier
an hour 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.'
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
Israeli military to call up 60,000 reservists as it plans new phase of Gaza war
Many Palestinians have chosen to stay in the area despite the danger as seeking safety seems increasingly futile amid the growing humanitarian crisis. Calling up extra military reservists is part of a plan defence minister Israel Katz approved to begin a new phase of operations in some of Gaza's most densely populated areas, the military said. The plan, which is expected to receive the chief of staff's final approval in the coming days, also includes extending the service of 20,000 additional reservists who are already on active duty. In a country of fewer than 10 million people, the call-up of reservists is the largest in months and carries economic and political weight. It comes days after hundreds of thousands of Israelis rallied for a ceasefire, as negotiators scramble to get Israel and Hamas to agree to end their 22 months of fighting. Meanwhile, rights groups have warned that an expanded assault could deepen the crisis in the Gaza Strip, where most of the roughly two million inhabitants have been displaced, many areas have been reduced to rubble and the population faces the threat of famine. An Israeli military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said troops will operate in parts of Gaza City where they have not been deployed yet and where Israel believes Hamas is still active. Israeli troops in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City and Jabaliya, a refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, are already preparing the groundwork for the expanded operation, which could begin within days. Though the timeline was not clear, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday that Mr Netanyahu 'has directed that the timetables… be shortened' for launching the new offensive. Gaza City is Hamas' military and governing stronghold, and one of the last places of refuge in the northern Strip, where hundreds of thousands are sheltering. Israeli troops will be targeting Hamas's vast underground tunnel network there, the official added. Although Israel has targeted and killed much of Hamas's senior leadership, parts of Hamas are actively regrouping and carrying out attacks, including launching rockets towards Israel, the official said. Mr Netanyahu has said the war's objectives are to secure the release of remaining hostages and ensure that Hamas and other militants can never again threaten Israel. The planned offensive, which was announced earlier this month, comes amid heightened international condemnation of Israel's restrictions on food and medicine reaching Gaza and fears that many Palestinians will be forced to flee. 'It's pretty obvious that it will just create another mass displacement of people who have been displaced repeatedly since this phase of the conflict started,' United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. Associated Press journalists saw small groups heading south from the city this week, but it is unclear how many others will voluntarily flee. Some said they would wait to see how events unfold before moving yet again, with many insisting that nowhere is safe from airstrikes. 'What we're seeing in Gaza is nothing short of apocalyptic reality for children, for their families, and for this generation,' Ahmed Alhendawi, regional director of Save the Children, said in an interview. 'The plight and the struggle of this generation of Gaza is beyond being described in words.'
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Israeli military to call up 60,000 reservists as it plans new phase of Gaza war
Many Palestinians have chosen to stay in the area despite the danger as seeking safety seems increasingly futile amid the growing humanitarian crisis. Calling up extra military reservists is part of a plan defence minister Israel Katz approved to begin a new phase of operations in some of Gaza's most densely populated areas, the military said. The plan, which is expected to receive the chief of staff's final approval in the coming days, also includes extending the service of 20,000 additional reservists who are already on active duty. In a country of fewer than 10 million people, the call-up of reservists is the largest in months and carries economic and political weight. It comes days after hundreds of thousands of Israelis rallied for a ceasefire, as negotiators scramble to get Israel and Hamas to agree to end their 22 months of fighting. Meanwhile, rights groups have warned that an expanded assault could deepen the crisis in the Gaza Strip, where most of the roughly two million inhabitants have been displaced, many areas have been reduced to rubble and the population faces the threat of famine. An Israeli military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said troops will operate in parts of Gaza City where they have not been deployed yet and where Israel believes Hamas is still active. Israeli troops in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City and Jabaliya, a refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, are already preparing the groundwork for the expanded operation, which could begin within days. Though the timeline was not clear, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday that Mr Netanyahu 'has directed that the timetables… be shortened' for launching the new offensive. Gaza City is Hamas' military and governing stronghold, and one of the last places of refuge in the northern Strip, where hundreds of thousands are sheltering. Israeli troops will be targeting Hamas's vast underground tunnel network there, the official added. Although Israel has targeted and killed much of Hamas's senior leadership, parts of Hamas are actively regrouping and carrying out attacks, including launching rockets towards Israel, the official said. Mr Netanyahu has said the war's objectives are to secure the release of remaining hostages and ensure that Hamas and other militants can never again threaten Israel. The planned offensive, which was announced earlier this month, comes amid heightened international condemnation of Israel's restrictions on food and medicine reaching Gaza and fears that many Palestinians will be forced to flee. 'It's pretty obvious that it will just create another mass displacement of people who have been displaced repeatedly since this phase of the conflict started,' United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. Associated Press journalists saw small groups heading south from the city this week, but it is unclear how many others will voluntarily flee. Some said they would wait to see how events unfold before moving yet again, with many insisting that nowhere is safe from airstrikes. 'What we're seeing in Gaza is nothing short of apocalyptic reality for children, for their families, and for this generation,' Ahmed Alhendawi, regional director of Save the Children, said in an interview. 'The plight and the struggle of this generation of Gaza is beyond being described in words.'
