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Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
A new golf course and old grudges await Trump in Scotland
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Michael Forbes, whose property is surrounded by President Trump's new golf course, in Menie, Scotland, on July 21, 2025. ANDREW TESTA/NYT Advertisement 'Everyone in Scotland hates him,' Forbes said, a claim that was thrown in doubt a few minutes later by John Duncan, a nearby contractor who clears ditches for Trump. 'I love the man,' Duncan said, noting that the president's resort, Trump International Scotland, employs 35 greenskeepers alone. Duncan likened Trump to Nigel Farage, the populist leader of the anti-immigrant party Reform U.K., and said Britain would benefit from their brand of take-no-prisoners leadership. Still, he conceded, 'There's folks who don't like Donald Trump, and nothing is ever going to change that.' Advertisement The police in Scotland are bracing for demonstrations against Trump during his visit, which will include a weekend at his other Scottish resort, Trump Turnberry, on the west coast about 50 miles from Glasgow. A survey in February by the market research firm Ipsos found that 71% of those polled in Scotland had an unfavorable opinion of Trump, compared with 57% of the broader British public polled. Farm buildings owned by Michael Forbes who uses them to send his neighbor a message in Menie, Scotland, on July 21, 2025. ANDREW TESTA/NYT Some of this antipathy may reflect his turbulent history in Scotland, which has been marked by feuds with noncompliant neighbors, breakups with political officials over his business plans, and long-standing grudges, like Trump's hostility toward the offshore windmills that turn lazily within sight of his guests in Aberdeenshire. The common thread is a belief that Trump never delivered on the promises he made in 2006 when he bought the Menie estate, 8 miles north of Aberdeen. Trump talked about putting up a sprawling hotel to supplement the manor house already there, as well as hundreds of vacation homes. With a total investment projected at 150 million pounds ($202 million), it would have created hundreds of jobs. A food trailer on Trump International Scotland, a golf resort in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on July 21, 2025. ANDREW TESTA/NYT None of that happened, though the second golf course at the resort in Aberdeenshire, which Trump will dedicate this week, is evidence that the Trumps are still pouring money into the project. The resort reported losses of 1.4 million pounds ($1.9 million) in 2023, according to a financial filing. It is listed as having an asset value of 37 million pounds ($49 million) and 84 employees. 'President Trump is proud of his Scottish heritage and roots,' White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement. Trump's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was a native of Lewis, in Scotland's western isles. Advertisement 'He has created projects that have a positive economic impact,' Cheung said, 'generating good jobs and boosting economic activity in the area.' There is no dispute that the resort has injected some money into a region that depends on its ties to the North Sea oil industry. Trump alluded to that when he told the BBC last week that he planned to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain in Aberdeen, which he called the 'oil capital of Europe.' 'They should get rid of the windmills and bring back the oil,' said Trump, who fought for years to block the installation of the wind farm off the resort's coast. A road sign that says: Trump International Golf Links, in Menie, Scotland, on July 21, 2025. ANDREW TESTA/NYT 'Windmills,' he said, 'are really detrimental to the beauty of Scotland.' Analysts said Trump had the dynamics of the two industries backward. Oil production in the North Sea has declined steadily for the past 20 years, while offshore wind is one of Britain's fastest-growing industries. 'Trump's thinking would have been way more credible in the 1980s than it is now,' said Tessa Khan, the executive director of Uplift, a research group that campaigns for the transition away from fossil fuels. Trump's history with Turnberry is far less contentious than that with Aberdeen. Turnberry was a faded dowager when he bought it in 2014, and he is credited with restoring the luster of its three courses. But it, too, has become a target: A pro-Palestinian activist group recently painted the slogan 'Gaza is not 4 Sale' on the grounds, prompting calls from Trump to Starmer. During his first term, Trump lobbied the Scottish government to award the coveted British Open golf tournament to Turnberry, which has not played host since 2009, before he owned it. The R&A, a golf association in St. Andrews that runs the tournament, has signaled a greater openness to going back to Turnberry but said its lack of hotel rooms and transport links was a hurdle. Advertisement In Aberdeenshire, the tensions are environmental. The links there are carved between sand dunes, which were designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the way they shift over time. A plaque behind the clubhouse, next to a vendor selling Trump Grab & Go sandwiches, declared that the dunes help make it 'the greatest golf course anywhere in the world!' But Scottish authorities withdrew the scientific site designation in 2020, saying the construction of the links had deprived the dunes of their special character. As technical as that might seem, it has registered with locals, who are proud of the dunes and relish walking among them. On a recent evening at the Cock and Bull restaurant, across the road from the resort, two men could be overheard discussing Trump and the dunes' lost 'SSSI status.' Not everybody is nursing grievances. Anas Sarwar, the leader of the Labour Party in Scotland, wrote this spring in The Times of London that 'President Trump's affinity for Scotland is real, regardless of what people think of his politics.' He said Scotland's first minister, John Swinney, leader of the Scottish National Party, had mismanaged his relationship with the president. A few days before last year's U.S. election, Swinney endorsed the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris. He and Trump are still expected to meet during the president's visit. Advertisement Even Trump's most implacable foes recognize there are limits to the feuding. David Milne, who lives in a converted coast guard lookout bordering the Aberdeenshire resort, spent years theatrically protesting his neighbor. He flew the Mexican flag above his house in 2016, when Trump vowed to build a wall on the southern U.S. border. Milne's views on Trump have not softened any more than those of Forbes, with his Highland cows. Milne, too, said he had no plans to sell his house, which Trump once called 'ugly.' But he has had no run-ins with the resort for years, he said, and has no plans to fly his Mexican flag when Trump is in residence next week. 'Once the Mexican people told him where to go, there didn't seem to be any point,' Milne said. 'They're quite capable of taking care of themselves.' This article originally appeared in .
Gulf Insider
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
UK To Lower Voting Age To 16, But Could Plans End Up Backfiring?
Britain's left-wing Labour government has announced plans to lower the voting age in time for the next U.K. general election, allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in what it described as sweeping electoral reforms to 'modernize democracy.' Ministers say the move is designed to rebuild public trust, but critics have accused the government of trying to tilt the electoral playing field in its favor, with recent polling suggesting Labour would benefit from a third of the votes. The voting age reform is part of a broader Elections Bill that will also ease voter ID rules by allowing bank cards as accepted identification and introduce tougher regulations on foreign donations, campaigner abuse, and digital voter registration. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the plan would 'break down barriers to participation' and deliver on Labour's manifesto promise to extend the vote to young people who already 'work, pay taxes, and serve in the military.' Minister for Democracy Rushanara Ali called it a 'generational step forward.' But Nigel Farage, leader of Reform U.K., responded: 'I'm not in favor of it, but I'm really encouraged by the number of young people that are coming towards us. It's an attempt to rig the political system, but we intend to give them a nasty surprise.' Polling by Merlin Strategy suggests the issue is divisive even among teenagers. Of 500 16- and 17-year-olds surveyed, 49 percent said they did not believe they should be allowed to vote, while 51 percent supported the move. When asked how they would vote, 33 percent backed Labour, but Reform U.K. came in second with 20 percent. Only 10 percent of respondents said they would vote Conservative. BREAKING: The UK is set to lower the voting age to 16 in landmark electoral "Just when you think things couldn't get any worse… we're going to let kids vote over who runs the country – completely and utterly insane!"@JuliaHB1 — Talk (@TalkTV) July 17, 2025 Shadow Communities Secretary Kevin Hollinrake told the Daily Mail the move risks undermining democracy: 'Even 16- and 17-year-olds don't think they're ready to vote. With only 18 percent saying they'd definitely take part in an election, it's clear this is more about politics than principle.' Former editor of The Sun, Kelvin MacKenzie, was blunter: 'In a desperate attempt to find anybody to vote Labour, Angela Rayner has announced 16-year-olds can vote. At 16, they know nothing of life and finance and therefore make great socialist fodder.' In a desperate attempt to find anybody to vote Labour Angela Rayner has announced 16-year-olds can vote at the next General Election. At 16 they know nothing of life and finance and therefore make great socialist fodder. Older voters sick of subsidising teenagers born with their… — Kelvin MacKenzie (@kelvmackenzie) July 17, 2025 In a European context, the U.K. now joins Austria and Malta in allowing 16-year-olds to vote in all elections. Germany, Wales, and Scotland permit voting at 16 for local or regional elections, but most European countries still set the national voting age at 18. The move could backfire for the Labour government. Just 43 percent of young people are supportive of the two legacy parties in Britain, Labour and the Conservatives, with the data suggesting they are sympathetic to left and right-wing causes. With talk of a potential splinter party from Labour in the pipeline being set up by far-left MPs Zara Sultana and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and the indisputable success Reform U.K. had at the last general election through its use of social media targeting young people, Keir Starmer's party could find itself being squeezed from both sides.
11-06-2025
- Business
UK government hopes to regain political initiative as Treasury chief outlines spending plans
LONDON -- Britain's Labour government hopes to regain the political initiative Wednesday when Treasury chief Rachel Reeves sets out her spending plans for the coming years, with big increases expected for health, defense and housing. Reeves, who has been blamed by many for Labour's decline in popularity since it returned to power after 14 years in July, will outline the government's spending and investment priorities for lawmakers. There will be no tax announcements. Reeves is expected to argue the government is on the path to 'renewing Britain' but that 'too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it,' according to remarks issued by the Treasury. 'This government's task — my task — and the purpose of this spending review is to change that, to ensure that renewal is felt in people's everyday lives, their jobs, their communities," she is expected to tell lawmakers. Labour won a landslide victory last year on a slogan of 'change' and voter anger at the Conservative administration in power at the time, but its vote share was historically low for a winning party at 35%. In the months since, Labour has been overtaken in opinion polls by the anti-immigration and recently formed Reform U.K. Reeves has been blamed by many for Labour's struggles, not least her decision in July to withdraw a winter fuel subsidy to all but the poorest retirees. The outcry, which contributed to Labour's poor performance in recent local elections, prompted Reeves to about-turn and raise the threshold at which retirees will get the subsidy. She and Prime Minister Keir Starmer will hope the change will stem the anger and focus voters on other issues, such as its spending priorities. Among the main announcements is expected to be a 30 billion-pound ($41 billion) increase in funding for Britain's cherished but struggling National Health Service, as well as a rise in defense spending that will account for 2.5% of national output by 2027. Billions more are expected for social housing as the government aims to meet its target of building 1.5 million new homes by the next election. However, some departments are set to lose out after accounting for inflation, including local government, the justice system and the Home Office. Reeves has insisted she won't go on a big splurge, arguing that all her spending plans will meet her self-imposed fiscal rules. After raising taxes on business in her first budget last October, Reeves will find it difficult to swell the Treasury's coffers further in coming years as Labour won the election on a promise it would not increase income or sales taxes. And with the British economy still growing at historically low levels, the tax take is not expected to get a big lift.
Boston Globe
27-05-2025
- Boston Globe
Police quickly gave details on Liverpool car ramming, aiming to prevent rumors
The decision to disclose the driver's race and nationality so quickly appeared calculated to defuse the rumors and misinformation that have spread after other recent violent episodes in Britain. Last summer, after a British-born man with parents from Rwanda fatally stabbed three young girls at a dance studio in Southport, a town north of Liverpool, false reports that the assailant was an undocumented Muslim migrant spread rapidly online. The next day, a riot broke out in Southport, the first of several in cities and towns across England. By the time police announced that the assailant, Axel Rudakubana, had been born in Britain, the erroneous reports had reached millions of people. A false name, 'Ali Al-Shakati,' circulated online for a day before the clarification from the authorities. Advertisement In that case, police were legally barred from disclosing the suspect's identity and received 'inconsistent advice' from prosecutors about whether they could confirm that he was not Muslim. Afterward, a parliamentary committee report into the riots, which far-right figures had fomented online, concluded that restrictions on what the police can say in criminal cases were 'not fit for the social media age.' Advertisement On Monday, the Merseyside Police, who also responded to the attack at the Southport dance studio, seemed keenly aware of that history. Shortly before 8 p.m., less than two hours after the first reports that a vehicle had hit pedestrians on the crowded street in central Liverpool, police issued a statement saying, 'We can confirm the man arrested is a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area.' The timing of the announcement was not by itself unusual, but the level of detail about the person arrested was. At a news conference about 2 1/2 hours later, the assistant chief constable of the Merseyside Police, Jenny Sims, described the episode as an 'isolated incident' and said it was not being treated as a terrorist attack. She urged people 'not to speculate on the circumstances' or to share harrowing footage of the car plowing through a street filled with fans who had gathered to celebrate the Liverpool soccer club's Premier League championship. That did not stop people from posting the images, and a smaller number from circulating unsubstantiated theories. 'You cannot hate them enough,' Laurence Fox, an actor and far-right political agitator, posted on the social site X soon after the reports of the episode broke. In a follow-up post, he wrote, 'what is coming next is inevitable.' Other right-wing political figures were more cautious. Nigel Farage, the leader of the populist anti-immigrant Reform U.K. party, posted that he was 'horrified to see the scenes in Liverpool,' though he described it as a 'disturbing attack.' The police have yet to disclose a motive or further details about the driver. While they are not treating it as terrorism, they have not speculated about why he plowed into pedestrians. Other law enforcement officials described the disclosure of the man's race and nationality as highly unusual. Advertisement Dal Babu, a former chief superintendent of the Metropolitan Police Service, told BBC 5 Live on Tuesday he believed the decision was made 'to dampen down some of the speculation on the far right, that continues on X even as we speak, that this was a Muslim extremist.' Babu said police had to balance a responsibility not to prejudice a future trial 'against the potential of public disorder.' There were no reports of fatalities, though 27 people were being treated in hospitals. Firefighters lifted the vehicle to free four people trapped underneath it. Nearly 50 people were injured, the police said. Four of those were children, the North West Ambulance Service said. Two people -- an adult and a child -- sustained serious injuries. By late Monday night, the online speculation had shifted to theories that it was a horrifying case of road rage. Images from moments before the driver accelerated into the crowd showed a crowd banging on the windows of his car as he reversed abruptly and then lurched forward on a crowded street. It is the third incident of high-profile violence in the Liverpool area in four years. In 2021, a man carried an explosive device that exploded outside Liverpool Women's Hospital, killing himself and injuring a taxi driver. This article originally appeared in
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
U.K. may set up migrant 'return hubs' in other nations: PM Starmer
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday (May 15, 2025) said the U.K. would begin talks with other countries on "return hubs" for failed asylum seekers. "What now we want to do and are having discussions of... is return hubs, which is where someone has been through the system in the UK, they need to be returned... and we'll do that, if we can, through return hubs," Starmer told GB News television from Albania, where he is on an official visit. Mr. Starmer is under pressure to cut the number of irregular migrants arriving on U.K. shores, many in small boats, amid the rising popularity of the hard-right and anti-immigrant Reform U.K. party. Under Starmer's Labour government, Britain last July abandoned a scheme to deport undocumented migrants to Rwanda. Cracking down on irregular migrants had been set to top the agenda for Starmer's two-day visit to the southeast European nation. Earlier this week Mr. Starmer unveiled tough new immigration policies that include cutting overseas care workers, doubling the length of time before migrants can qualify for settlement in the country and new powers to deport foreign criminals. The speech was widely seen as an attempt to fend off rising support for anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage's hard-right Reform U.K. party, which made gains in local elections this month. Labour vowed in its general election manifesto last year to significantly reduce net migration, which stood at 728,000 in the 12 months to last June. It had peaked at 906,000 in 2023 after averaging 200,000 for most of the 2010s. In addition to high levels of legal migration, the U.K. has also seen unprecedented numbers of irregular migrants. More than 12,500 migrants have made the perilous Channel crossing so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on figures from the U.K.'s interior ministry.
