Latest news with #LibDems'
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Why SNP would want Ian Blackford on the Holyrood frontline
Mr Blackford has been largely out of the public eye since he stood down from his Westminster seat of Ross, Skye and Lochaber at last year's general election. The Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency ceased to exist at the last election following boundary changes. The successor seat of Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire was won by the Lib Dems' Angus MacDonald with the SNP's Drew Hendry coming second. Mr Blackford was first elected to Westminster in May 2015 - the post 2014 independence referendum election - when the SNP won an astonishing 56 of Scotland's 59 seats. Read more: A former SNP national treasurer, he became the SNP Westminster leader after Angus Robertson lost his seat at the 2017 snap general election. He became known for his love of a stunt after he was expelled from the chamber in 2018 by a flustered John Bercow, the former Speaker, after refusing to sit down in a protest over the failure to debate what he called a Brexit 'power grab' on Scotland which prompted a mass walkout from colleagues. Amid the Westminster votes on EU withdrawal and then the Partygate saga, Mr Blackford came to prominence across the UK for locking horns in fiery exchanges with former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the Commons. Mr Johnson, in turn, liked to rile Mr Blackford, deliberately and repeatedly misnaming the SNP as the Scottish Nationalist Party (not as it is correctly called the Scottish National Party) with the then PM poking fun at Mr Blackford's weight and mocking his claim to be 'a humble crofter'. Ian Blackford questioning Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (Image: PA) Of course, Mr Blackford was anything but 'just a humble crofter", although he does have his own Highland croft. For most of his working life before becoming an MP he enjoyed a lucrative career as an investment banker. During his career in high finance, he ran Deutsche Bank's equity operations in Scotland and the Netherlands for a time. Following 20 years in the financial sector, he left to do independent consultancy work, forming an investor relations company called First Seer in 2002. But despite his robust efforts in the Brexit turmoil to hold a series of Tory Prime Ministers to account – Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak - Mr Blackford had a turbulent time with his own MPs. His handling of sexual harassment claims made against the SNP MP Patrick Grady by a young staffer was widely criticised after a leaked recording showed him urging colleagues to support Mr Grady while failing to mention his victim. Amid discontent and heated arguments among his MPs - including Joanna Cherry and Mhairi Black who were at opposite sides of the debate over gender self-declaration - he was ousted from his role as SNP leader in the Commons in December 2022 in an internal power struggle and replaced by Stephen Flynn. The two men later denied any acrimony with a photograph posted on social media of them happily having a drink together on a Westminster terrace. Mr Blackford is reportedly considering whether to stand now for Holyrood following the shock announcement by the Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes on Monday that she will not stand for re-election to her Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency (which overlaps with parts of Mr Blackford's old Westminster seat) in May next year. It is easy to see why senior figures in the SNP may want their former Westminster leader on the Scottish Parliament frontline. While he has never been in government, he has considerable parliamentary and campaigning experience, as well as of course his experience of finance from his previous career. He is also someone who is very loyal to the legacy of former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and to the current First Minister John Swinney. It was rumoured that Mr Blackford was one of the central figures in the SNP who encouraged Mr Swinney to put himself forward for party leader last year following the sudden resignation of Humza Yousaf. There is also an issue that the SNP benches will be losing many of its senior MSPs and ministers. Ms Forbes is the latest to announce her exit, but she follows in the footsteps of Ms Sturgeon, Mr Yousaf, finance secretary Shona Robison, as well as fellow cabinet members Fiona Hyslop and Mairi Gougeon. A number of junior ministers are also standing down including Richard Lochhead and Graeme Dey. With so many experienced politicians leaving it would be easy to see why the SNP would want to recruit more senior party figures into Holyrood. If Mr Blackford does decide to stand, he is selected by his party as the candidate, and voters elect him, it is likely he would be a contender for a top job in the Cabinet - maybe even finance secretary. And he may well have a sizeable group of former MPs by his side as he sits in Holyrood - including of course his usurper Mr Flynn.
The National
04-08-2025
- Politics
- The National
Highland Council set for by-election after Green quits
Andrew Baldrey, who represented Caol and Mallaig on Highland Council, has stepped down from the local authority. Baldrey was one of three councillors – along with the LibDems' John Grafton and Tories' Liz Saggers – to have won a seat in the 2022 local elections without a contest. Only three people put their names forward to represent Caol and Mallaig, which can return four councillors. As such, Baldrey, Grafton, and Saggers all won seats without a single vote being cast. Now, Baldrey has resigned his position, sparking a by-election in the ward. Highland Council said in a statement: 'A Highland Council by-election is being held for Ward 11 Caol and Mallaig following the resignation of Councillor Andrew Baldrey. 'The Notice of Election and timetable for this election will be published on the Council's website on Friday 15 August, 2025. 'Prospective candidates will have until 4pm on Monday 25 August, 2025 to submit their completed nomination forms. 'If the seat is contested, voting will take place on Thursday 25 September 2025 with an electronic count taking place on Friday 26 September 2025.'
Scotsman
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Edinburgh MP Christine Jardine sacked from Lib Dem frontbench after rebelling on benefits vote
Edinburgh West MP Christine Jardine has been sacked from the Lib Dems' front bench at Westminster after she rebelled in a vote on welfare benefits. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The party had instructed its MPs to abstain on a Tory amendment to the Welfare Bill which would have slashed payments to some people with mental health conditions. But Ms Jardine voted against the amendment and said it was because of her late husband, Calum Macdonald, who was bipolar. Christine Jardine was sacked after voting against a Tory amendment Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She was then sacked as Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Women and Equalities and Scotland, roles she had held for the past three years. In a letter to Lib Dem leader Ed Davey following her dismissal, she said: "It is not a surprise to you that I have been unhappy about how we have voted in some instances in recent months, but my loyalty to the party meant I would not, and did not break the whip. I have always understood we are asked to do things we don't agree with, but this vote was personal to me in a way which meant I could not abstain. "As you know, my late husband Calum, was bipolar. Several people around me have mental health conditions the amendment dismissed as 'minor', and not worthy of support. I could not in good conscience do anything other than vote against another Conservative attempt to remove help from those who need it the most. "Regardless of my personal circumstances, as Equalities Spokesperson, this is an equalities issue and I could not let down those who are relying on people in power to speak on their behalf. The expressions of support I have had from members of the public, the membership and members across the House, have reassured me the choice I made was right, and I am content with that." Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Jardine spoke of her 'sadness' at her removal as spokesperson, but added that the Lib Dems "remain my political home" and said her sacking would not diminish her commitment. "I will continue to work hard on the issues I care about." First elected as an MP in 2017, she was re-elected in 2019 and in 2024, with increased majorities each time. Her husband was a journalist with The Herald and died of a heart attack during the 2017 election.
The Guardian
27-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Tories are not listening': Ed Davey sure Lib Dems can woo more disgruntled voters
Days before the local elections, with Kemi Badenoch demanding apologies over gender identity and Nigel Farage complaining about mental illness diagnoses, Ed Davey was quietly getting on with what he perhaps does best: having fun. In a converted shed near Stratford-upon-Avon, the Liberal Democrat leader was joking with photographers as he made chocolate truffles alongside Manuela Perteghella, his party's MP for the formerly true-blue constituency. The council, Warwickshire, is also about as Conservative as it gets, and currently has 41 Tory councillors out of 57. But privately, Lib Dem activists say it could move into no overall control next week. 'I think it feels even better than the general election,' Davey said, truffles cooling in a fridge before he headed off for some door-knocking. And this, remember, was the Lib Dems' best general election for a century, in which – helped in part by Davey's succession of camera-friendly stunts – the party won 72 seats, mostly from the Conservatives. With much of the focus before the local elections on Reform UK's rise and the impact this could have on Labour, the Lib Dems have just been, as one party strategist called it, 'getting on with the job'. Part of this is the sheer graft so admired by Farage that he wants to use it as a model for Reform, with 500,000 doors knocked on during March, and 1m leaflets delivered before election spending limits kicked in. But also to the Lib Dems' advantage is that many of next Thursday's battles take place in traditionally Conservative counties, where the Tories won heavily amid the brief if spectacular Boris Johnson vaccine bounce of 2021, the last time they were contested. According to Davey, the general election trend of less ideologically minded Conservative voters fleeing a party they see as overly weighted towards populism and culture wars has shown no signs of slowing under Badenoch. 'People who were lifelong Conservatives haven't forgiven them, they're not impressed by the leader, and some are put off by this talk of some sort of arrangement with Reform,' he said. Things are not entirely the same as they were last July, however. One paradox of the spectacular general election result is that in some places, including Warwickshire, the Lib Dems have reversed their usual tactic of patiently building up a mass of councillors before making a tilt at the parliamentary seat. Instead, as in Warwickshire, they hope to use a surprise parliamentary win – Perteghella overcame a 20,000 Conservative majority to win by 7,000 votes – to create momentum for the council. Plus there is the advent of some early Lib Dem-Reform battles, notably for the new mayoralty in Hull and East Yorkshire. While Davey is making no predictions, he is scornful about Farage's success thus far in building up a Lib Dem-style on-the-ground army. 'This is just anecdotal, but Reform have tried door-knocking one or two places, and they got such a hostile reception from quite a lot of doors, they quickly give up. So they're not fighting the campaign that we do.' But the bulk of the party's targets of councils to potentially win – Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Devon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire – or to make gains, such as Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, are still mainly in the once Tory-loyal commuter belt areas loosely known as the 'blue wall'. Davey, who gets recognised more regularly on doorsteps after his bungee jumping and water sliding of the general election, faces a Conservative party that seems vastly more focused on tackling Reform than trying to win back the voters and seats taken by the Lib Dems. Asked if he is surprised at this, Davey said: 'Well, not really, given the MPs they've got. All the moderate Conservatives, the liberal conservatives, one-nation Conservatives, pro-European Conservatives, they've all gone.' In their place are people such as Badenoch, who memorably dismissed the Lib Dems as people who spurn social media to instead focus on 'fixing their church roof', a quote party insiders delightedly say could not have been phrased better if they had written it themselves. 'The Conservatives are in a bit of a bubble, aren't they?' Davey said. 'They're talking to themselves. They're certainly not listening to the public. It's the fact that they inhabit an X-sphere, if you like, a Twitter-sphere.' While some Tories argue that a pact with Reform would instantly give this new rightwing block a combined vote share well over 40%, Lib Dem insiders say they are unworried, saying any deal would make the Conservatives even more toxic to many voters, and inspire fervent tactical voting to keep them out. 'They will decide what they want to do about a pact, but I think there would be a huge number of traditional Conservatives who would be appalled at that process,' Davey said. 'I think they would look round for a different home, and see the Liberal Democrats as that home.'
The Independent
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
‘Headphone dodgers' may not be able to afford £1,000 fines, says Badenoch
People who play music out loud on public transport are unlikely to be able to afford £1,000 fines, Kemi Badenoch has said. The Liberal Democrats have called for tougher antisocial behaviour laws that would see 'headphone dodgers' face penalties of up to £1,000, with the Government suggesting it could be open to the proposal. But speaking to reporters on Thursday, the Conservative leader suggested 'people who do those things' would not be able to afford the fine. Having initially said she was unaware of the Lib Dems' proposal, she said: 'I'm not somebody that looks at the Lib Dems for policy ideas. I think that they have a lot of silly people there who don't necessarily understand how things work.' She added: 'What I would say, though, is that nuisance is a problem. It is very, very irritating having people playing loud music and just being antisocial for all of the other passengers on public transport and more should be done around that. 'I don't know whether many of the people who do those things could even afford to pay £1,000 fines, I'm not sure whether it would work, we would have to look a little bit more at that, but I'm very, very much against antisocial behaviour and I think that that's something that we could be looking more at.' A Lib Dem source described her response as 'yet another clanger from bungling Badenoch'. They said: 'Even her own Conservative frontbenchers have backed these Lib Dem proposals as a 'common-sense reform'. It's time for Badenoch to face the music and admit a crackdown on headphone dodgers is well overdue.' The Lib Dem proposal would involve amending the Bus Services Bill currently making its way through the House of Lords to outlaw playing music and videos out loud from a phone on public transport in England. Lisa Smart, the party's home affairs spokeswoman, said it was 'time to take a stand for the quiet majority who just want to get from A to B in peace'. A YouGov poll published on Thursday suggested 62% of people would back the move, with 28% saying they would oppose the Lib Dems' proposed fines. The poll, which surveyed 6,815 British adults, found almost three-quarters of pensioners would support the fines, while those aged between 18 and 24 were split 47-43 in favour. A Home Office source said officials had been tasked to work 'at pace' to determine how fines can best be used to tackle antisocial behaviour. The initial Conservative response to the proposal also appeared positive, with shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon saying: 'Everyone deserves to travel in peace. 'Playing loud music on public transport may seem like a small thing, but it speaks towards a growing tolerance of antisocial behaviour that chips away at public civility.' He added: 'Common-sense reforms like this are something the Conservative Party can support, but any new bylaws must be backed by stepping up enforcement – something the Liberal Democrats' plan fails to deliver.'
