EXCLUSIVE Scots union boss has THIRD home - this time in Spain - despite condemning 'negative' effects of second homes

Daily Mail​

6 days ago

The second home hypocrisy scandal surrounding Scotland's top union boss deepened as it was revealed she owns a THIRD home in Spain.
Roz Foyer - who has publicaly CONDEMNED the scourge of multiple home ownership - rents her luxury three-bedroomed apartment out for over £1,000 a week, the Mail can reveal.
It comes after Ms Foyer, the general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), was last week accused of being a hypocrite after it emerged she owned homes in Glasgow and the idyllic isle of Jura.
Ms Foyer, who earns up to £100,000 a year, has blamed second home owners for exacerbating the housing and cost-of-living crisis.
Last week, the Mail on Sunday revealed she owned a holiday cottage on the Isle of Jura, as well as her four-bedroom family home in the leafy suburbs of the north-west of Glasgow.
Now, Ms Foyer is under growing pressure to consider her position as head of the STUC, an umbrella body which oversees a coalition of 40 trade unions.
Ms Foyer rents out the tastefully decorated three-bedroom apartment in sunny southern Spain. A week's stay from June 18 to June 25 this year would cost around £920.
Situated in an apartment block in the quaint harbour town of Puerto de Mazarrón, the flat boasts a private balcony with panoramic views over the Mediterranean Sea.
Although the beautiful Isla beach is just 950 yards from the property, the two well-kept communal swimming pools are even closer-by, should guests like to take a dip to cool off.
The revelation comes as Europe is grappling with a housing crisis due to rising house prices and an influx of foreign buyers, prompting the minority socialist Spanish Government to push ahead with a 100 per cent property tax on second homes bought by non-EU member residents.
Earlier this month Holyrood heard how a proliferation of holiday homes was making life harder for public sector workers here in Scotland - the very people that Ms Foyer claims to represent.
Last night, Scottish Conservative finance and local government spokesman Craig Hoy said: 'After raging against the evils of second home ownership it was staggering to discover Roz Foyer herself had an island bolthole in Scotland in addition to her main residence.
'News that she has a third home in Spain simply beggars belief and highlights the levels of hypocrisy among left-wing union leaders.
'She's not just a champagne socialist she's a sangria-sipping one too.'
Trade unionist Ms Foyer was the first woman in 2020 to be appointed to the top job in Scotland, representing 500,000 workers and has repeatedly spoken out about the negative impact second homes have on communities.
In July 2023 she said that there should be a 300 per cent council tax premium on second and empty homes to tackle homelessness in Scotland.
Months later, in December, she said: 'Scotland is facing a simultaneous housing crisis, a public sector funding crisis and a cost-of-living crisis putting an unbearable strain on working people.
'Second homes and short-term lets can have significantly negative impacts on communities, exacerbating these crises as well as undermining the local economy.'
And in February 2024, in a newspaper column, Ms Foyer highlighted the number of long term empty properties and second homes in the Highlands.
She wrote that 'workers in the Highlands are facing an acute housing crisis'.
Ms Foyer co-owns her property on Jura with husband, fellow trade union official Simon Macfarlane, which they bought for £45,000 in 2012.
The pretty cottage enjoys a lovely spot on Jura which is known as one of Europe's 'last lost wildernesses' and boasts a small population of around 220. Similar properties on Jura are valued at around £150,000.
Ms Foyer and Mr Macfarlane - who is a regional manager for trade union Unison - are understood to spend most of their time with their two daughters at their residence on a private estate in Glasgow, which cost the family £280,111 in 2015.
The Spanish home is in the Murcia region of Spain, close to Alicante.
Title deeds show Ms Foyer and Mr Macfarlane purchased the home in August 2021 - just months after Ms Foyer was appointed the General Secretary of the STUC.
Locals say the family have been seen enjoying trips around the town and walking along the harbour.
While they are not using the flat, Ms Foyer rents it out on holiday letting sites under the banner: 'Stunning 3-Bed Apartment in Puerto De Mazarrón'.
At almost 1000 square foot, the property is said to 'offer a spacious layout' and can house up to six guests in its two double bedrooms and one twin room - although it 'will not accommodate hen, stag or similar parties'.
One review left in April hailed the apartment's 'perfect location', 'large kitchen' and 'beautiful huge terrace', however one guest lamented the fact there were no beds or shade around the pools and no air conditioning in the bedrooms.
The socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said that foreign buyers - such as Ms Foyer - have purchased thousands of properties 'not to live in, but to make money from them which, in the context of the shortage that we are in, we obviously cannot allow'.
He has presented a Bill to the Spanish parliament in the hope to impose a 100 per cent property tax on British and other non-EU citizens purchasing holiday homes, as well as an increase of VAT on short-term rentals.
Meanwhile the issue of second home ownership in the Scottish Highlands and Islands was debated in the Scottish parliament earlier this month during a motion brought by Ross Greer of the Scottish Greens.
The discussion heard concerns that a high concentration of second homes has caused house prices and rents to rocket and reduced the housing supply for local people.
Scottish Labour MSP Carol Mochan said holiday homes were making it harder to recruit and retain public sector workers.
She said: 'A lack of affordable housing affects not only individuals and communities but local businesses that want to attract workers. Very importantly, a lack of affordable housing also affects the recruitment of public sector workers.'
She continued: 'I have strong evidence of that from the Borders area of my South Scotland region.
'Trade unions have told me that people are not coming to work in the area or are having to travel a long distance, which sometimes involves a journey of an hour or more, to get to their work.
'That is not sustainable. The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has heard compelling evidence on the issue, in oral evidence and on a visit to the islands.
'The health boards have described the situation as a crisis for service delivery. It is a very important issue.'
STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer defended owning a second and third home.
She said: 'I'm proud that the STUC has pushed for and secured a doubling of council tax on second homes and we remain committed to arguing for a proportional property tax.
'I can look in the mirror knowing that I'm actively arguing to increase my fair share to society.
'Fighting every day for fairer taxation and to spread wealth throughout the country brings its critics.
'As a woman from a working-class background, I won't be made to feel ashamed for legitimately owning property that my family and I, like of thousands of families across Scotland, have worked tirelessly for.'