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Daily Record
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
Scottish Labour by-election candidate branded 'donkey' as criticism mounts over party campaign
EXCLUSIVE: Labour sources are unimpressed with Davy Russell snubbing key broadcasting opportunities during the campaign. Scottish Labour have been accused of selecting a 'donkey' as their candidate in the pivotal Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election. Party sources told the Record Davy Russell is dodging media opportunities over fears he will perform poorly. One senior Labour insider said of Russell: 'It was supposed to be a two horse race between Labour and the SNP, but we selected a donkey and look like coming third.' A Scottish Labour spokesperson hit back: "Davy Russell is standing up for his community and working tirelessly to deliver a Scottish Labour victory. If you attack your party's candidate rather than support them it's clear that you are not on the side of the Scottish Labour Party and its hardworking members. "Those who are busier attacking their own party than campaigning will look thick as mince when Davy Russell wins in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse." Voters will elect their new MSP on June 5th in a contest triggered by the death of the SNP 's Christina McKelvie. The by-election was expected to be a battle between Labour and the SNP, but figures in both parties fear the right wing Reform UK have the momentum. Scottish Labour is now facing claims Reform is being boosted at a critical moment in the campaign as the party is scared of Russell appearing on TV or radio. STV will host a candidates' debate on Monday, but Russell said he will not take part, clearing the path for a two-way debate between the SNP and Reform. BBC's Good Morning Scotland show included interviews with candidates this week, but the presenter said: 'We had hoped to speak to Davy Russell, who is standing for Labour, and also to Ann McGuinness, the Scottish Greens candidate. Neither of them were able to join us this morning. We hope to hear from them in the coming days.' The programme heard from the Lib Dem, Tory, SNP and Reform candidates. A Labour insider said: 'Hiding from the media is inexplicable and is letting Reform UK off the hook. The penny is dropping that this is untenable and he'll need to do it.' Former Labour MSP Neil Findlay, who recently quit the party over planned UK Government welfare cuts, said: "In any high profile by-election, candidates have to be able to communicate effectively with the voters and the media and they have to articulate their party's policies and hold their opponents to account. 'In this by-electio n the Labour candidate has done none of these things and instead has adopted the Trappist monk approach leaving opponents such as Reform and the SNP a free run in the media. 'Those responsible for pushing through a candidate who is unable to communicate with the voters need to be held to account. " In a press huddle attended by Russell last week, he was asked if he would take part in the STV debate. He replied: 'No.' Asked why not, he said: 'Because I took a conscious decision that I think the best way to get to the public is chapping doors and hearing their concerns live. That's just my personal preference.' Sarwar said about Russell not appearing on the BBC show: "That's a matter for the campaign team and the campaign diary." SNP by-election candidate Katy Loudon said: 'Only the SNP is standing up to and confronting Nigel Farage in this by-election. Labour has given up and their candidate is invisible." A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: "Davy Russell is standing up for his community and working tirelessly to deliver a Scottish Labour victory. 'If you attack your party's candidate rather than support them it's clear that you are not on the side of the Scottish Labour Party and its hardworking members. "Those who are busier attacking their own party than campaigning will look thick as mince when Davy Russell wins in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse."
The National
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Davy Russell body swerves yet another campaign event
THE campaign for the Holyrood by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, which is due to be held on Thursday next week, has its very own campaign song now, an adaptation of the Brave Sir Robin song from Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Brave Davy Russell ran away. Bravely ran away, away! When scrutinty reared its ugly head, He bravely turned his tail and fled. Yes, brave Davy Russell turned about And gallantly he chickened out. Brave Davy Russell has body swerved yet another campaign event, a hustings organised by campaign group No Cuts Lanarkshire. He was represented at the event by the Labour leader of South Lanarkshire Council, Joe Fagan, who insisted that Russell couldn't attend the hustings as he was at an "NHS event. Possibly he was away at the local hospital having an MRI brain scan to discern whether he's actually capable of stringing a coherent sentence together. On learning that Russell was yet again a no-show, the Tory candidate Richard Nelson announced that he would not be taking part. Nelson has a side gig as a comedy hypnotist, perhaps he was just relieved to find an excuse not to participate when he realised that not even hypnotism was going to get those attending the event to believe that the Tories have anything meaningful to say about combating poverty. Nelson said: 'I don't think it's right that I debate the council leader. I would have rather debated with Davy Russell, with the actual candidate. So, I'm going to withdraw from here because I don't think it's fair that the leader of the council comes on his behalf." Russell has consistently refused to participate in hustings, debates and media interviews since the campaign began. This has led many to wonder how Russell can speak up for the people of Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse when he doesn't even seem capable of speaking up for himself. After councillor Fagan made his opening remarks on behalf of the absent Labour candidate, a woman in the audience asked him: "How can you stand and say your speech and say about how Davy Russell is going to lead for the constituency, going to stand in Holyrood and speak for the people of this constituency when he can't turn up to radio interviews, when he can't turn up to hustings, when he can't speak without Anas Sarwar by his side?" Fagan responded: "Well, right now, he is at an event on the NHS." The woman retorted: "He's always at an event, Joe." During an interview on BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland show this morning, Labour's Scottish leader Anas Sarwar half-heartedly attempted to defend his perennially absent candidate and his party's woeful campaign in a by-election which a year ago would have been Labour's for the taking, but now it looks – not merely as a hold for the SNP – but as though Labour may struggle to hold on to second place. Asked by host Gary Robertson why Russell appears to be avoiding all debates, hustings, and media interviews, including an invitation to appear on the very programme the Labour leader was currently on, Sarwar could only reply: "That's a matter for the campaign team and the campaign." It's quite remarkable that Sarwar can't even take responsibility for his own party's Holyrood election campaign. It's his only job. Sarwar then insisted that Russell had done media interviews and would be doing more in future, there's only a week of campaigning left, but he's hoping we haven't noticed. He's also hoping we haven't noticed his own litany of broken promises. Those must be media interviews that exist only in Sarwar's imagination, just like the way he's standing up to Keir Starmer. During the interview, Sarwar even managed to get Russell's name wrong, calling him Davy Hamilton before quickly correcting himself. But it's unfair to criticise Sarwar too much for that, he probably hasn't seen much of Davy Hamilton, sorry, Davy Russell either. UK trade envoy visits Israel Just a week after Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced that the UK was suspending trade talks with Israel in protest at Israel's withholding of food and medical aid to Gaza, the UK Government's trade envoy to Israel, Lord Ian Austin, was pictured in Haifa in northern Israel, where he said the British Government would continue to encourage "British businesses to export to Israel and Israeli businesses to invest in the UK". Austin is due to remain in Israel until Friday in order to "maintain" the UK Government's relationship with Israeli businesses. Now the British Palestinian Committee, an independent organisation of British Palestinians advocating for Palestinian rights, has written to Lammy arguing that the visit "appears to directly contradict" the UK Government's previous condemnation of Israel. Dr Sara Husseini, the director of the organisation, said that the "limited steps" against Israel by the UK Government "are already being undermined". In its letter to Lammy, the committee wrote: "One week ago, you announced the suspension of free trade agreement negotiations with Israel in light of its ongoing military assault on Gaza. "Yesterday morning, the UK Trade Envoy to Israel, Lord Ian Austin, publicly stated on X that he was in Israel to 'promote trade with the UK' meeting with Israeli businesses and officials. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv further amplified this message by publishing a photo of Lord Austin at the Haifa Port. "This visit appears to directly contradict your Government's recent announcement and suggests that business continues as usual, despite almost 600 days of Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza." The committee has called on Lammy to clarify the nature and mandate of Austin's visit to Israel and "take appropriate steps to ensure that the government is not reneging on its own policy". The UK Government had previously insisted that the visit was unrelated to the recently suspended new free trade deal and that Austin was not involved in trade negotiations.
Spectator
3 days ago
- Politics
- Spectator
Why is Scottish Labour giving Farage free publicity?
If the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar is sincere in wishing to deprive Nigel Farage of the 'oxygen of publicity', he's got a funny way about it. In a vituperative interview on the BBC's Good Morning Scotland today, he gave the Reform leader another blast of oxygen by offering a public debate on the eve of his visit to next week's Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election. This is publicity Reform couldn't buy with any of the money it has so far devoted to a blitz on social media. Sarwar is incensed at a mischievous attack ad last week in which Reform doctored a quote to suggest that the Scottish Labour leader intended to 'prioritise' the Pakistani community. What Sarwar actually said in a 2022 speech was that 'the days where the South Asian community gets to lead political parties and gets to lead countries is now upon us'. The former SNP leader Humza Yousaf was the first Muslim to lead a government in Western Europe.
The National
3 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Anas Sarwar gets Hamilton by-election candidate's name wrong
Scottish Labour's candidate Davy Russell has come under fierce criticism as he has failed to speak with media outlets during his campaign for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Holyrood by-election. Sarwar attempted to defend Russell while being interviewed on BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland (GMS) show after the Labour candidate refused to join the rest of the other party candidates for the by-election on the programme on Tuesday morning. GMS host Gary Robertson quizzed Sarwar about why Russell, who didn't partake in a hustings in Hamilton on Tuesday night and is reportedly also not attending a live debate on STV, appears to be avoiding all media outlets during his campaign. Robertson said: 'We invited the candidates for this upcoming by-election onto the program yesterday, but your candidate didn't come. Why not?' Sarwar replied: 'That's a matter for the campaign team and the campaign.' The Scottish Labour leader went on to claim that Russell (left) had done media interviews and that he has more planned in the future. (Image: Jane Barlow) However, Robertson further called out Sarwar as he asked: 'But you understand what the issue here is, that many of your opponents believe that he is running scared. 'That actually when it comes to appearing on programmes like this, he's just not available.' Sarwar replied: 'Well, I just don't accept that because Davy Hamilton – Davy Russell – sorry, is the only candidate that lives in Hamilton, Lark and Stonehouse." He continued: 'I would advise any TV producer, any candidate, go and chap the doors and ask them who they've heard of and who they believe in, and I'm telling you people will say, Davy Russell, he's a fantastic local candidate.' Sarwar's excuses were called out by members of the Scottish media. The National contributor Gerry Hassan said Sarwar's pointing to the campaign team for Russell's failure to speak to the media was an "abdication of leadership", while the Scottish Daily Mail's Tom Gordon called it a "farce". During the interview Sarwar went on to say he would challenge Nigel Farage 'anytime, anyplace' as a row sparked by a 'racist' Reform UK advert rages on. READ MORE: Nigel Farage accuses Anas Sarwar of 'sectarianism' as he doubles down on 'racist' ad Farage, the Reform UK leader, played the online ad at a press conference in London on Tuesday, before claiming the Scottish Labour leader had 'introduced sectarianism into Scottish politics'. The attack prompted Sarwar to brand the MP a 'poisonous man who doesn't understand Scotland'. Now the Scottish Labour leader has said he will 'challenge' Farage (below) on his views, going on to insist: 'The people of Scotland will utterly reject him.' (Image: Dan Kitwood/Getty) His comments came amid speculation that Farage could visit Scotland in the run-up to next Thursday's Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Holyrood by-election. Sarwar told BBC Radio Scotland's GMS programme: 'This man has no idea where Hamilton is. I've been in Hamilton most days, I know other political parties have been in Hamilton a lot. 'What I suggest to Nigel Farage is he should ask his chauffeur to put Hamilton into Google Maps. 'Come up here. I'll challenge him anytime, any place, in Hamilton, any town hall, and he can challenge me on my views, I'll challenge him on his views, and you can see that the people of Scotland will utterly reject him, because he can't win there and he can't win in Scotland. 'This man wants to pretend he's a great champion of working people across our country.'
North Wales Chronicle
3 days ago
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
Sarwar ready to challenge Farage ‘anytime, any place' amid row over Reform ad
Mr Farage, the Reform UK leader, played the online ad at a press conference in London on Tuesday, before claiming the Scottish Labour leader had 'introduced sectarianism into Scottish politics'. That attack promoted Mr Sarwar to brand the MP a 'poisonous man who doesn't understand Scotland'. Now the Scottish Labour leader has said he will 'challenge' Mr Farage on his views, going on to insist: 'The people of Scotland will utterly reject him.' There is a bit of a row going on in Scotland at the moment. We must be doing rather well. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) May 27, 2025 His comments came amid speculation Mr Farage could visit Scotland in the run-up to next Thursday's Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Holyrood by-election.26/5/25 While Reform has not yet won an election in Scotland, the June 5 by-election is taking place as opinion polls show a surge in support for the party north of the border – with one survey even suggesting it could come second in next year's Holyrood election ahead of Labour and the Conservatives. Hitting out at his rival, Mr Sarwar told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: 'This man has no idea where Hamilton is. I've been in Hamilton most days, I know other political parties have been in Hamilton a lot. 'What I suggest to Nigel Farage is he should ask his chauffeur to put Hamilton into Google Maps. 'Come up here. I'll challenge him anytime, any place, in Hamilton, any town hall, and he can challenge me on my views, I'll challenge him on his views, and you can see that the people of Scotland will utterly reject him, because he can't win there and he can't win in Scotland. 'This man wants to pretend he's a great champion of working people across our country.' But Mr Sarwar, who worked as a dentist before going into elected politics, added: 'While I was working in Scotland's NHS in one of the most deprived communities in the country, he was on the Brussels gravy train. 'While I'm campaigning to defend our NHS and save our NHS, this man wants to privatise our NHS. 'He's got no interest in Scotland. He probably couldn't even tell you where Hamilton was on the map.' In the ad – which both Labour and the SNP have demanded be removed from Facebook – Reform claims Mr Sarwar, who was born in Glasgow to Pakistani Muslim parents, will 'prioritise' Pakistani people. However clips of the Scottish Labour leader speaking do not show him saying that. Speaking about the on Tuesday, Mr Farage said: 'All we've done is to put out the exact words spoken by him without any comment. 'We've said nothing, just that we will represent the people of that constituency. 'The fact that they, having chosen to go down the sectarian route, choose to throw accusations back at us says to me that we are winning.' Mr Sarwar however insisted: 'There is no doubt that Nigel Farage wants us to talk about him, and there's no doubt he wants to play up on this divisive rhetoric in order to get attention, because the man craves the oxygen of attention rather than actually wanting to change our country, and that's the big difference. 'I want to change Scotland, he wants to divide it. This is a man who has got no place in Scottish politics. 'The people of Scotland, by a vast majority, will utterly reject his politics.'
