Latest news with #ScottishLabour
Daily Record
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
Brian Leishman will still attend Labour conference despite suspension
EXCLUSIVE: The Alloa and Grangemouth MP said he will "still be campaigning for Scottish Labour for Holyrood" after losing the whip at Westminster. Brian Leishman has said that he will still attend Labour conference despite being suspended from the parliamentary party. The Alloa and Grangemouth MP said he will "still be campaigning for Scottish Labour for Holyrood" after losing the whip at Westminster. He was booted out of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Wednesday for voting against the government and criticising it in the media. Leishman told the Record: "The investigation is not expected to be concluded before conference. Conference is in September so we're looking into October. " I asked then about the suspension, but the couldn't answer that based on whatever investigation takes place." Asked if he will still be attending the party conference in September, Leishman replied: "Absolutely, I'll still be going to Liverpool. " I'll still be there. I'm a proud Labour Party member. " I'll be out campaigning for the fantastic candidates across my constituency for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, and for Falkirk East. " I'll still be campaigning for Scottish Labour for Holyrood." Leishman was one of four Labour MPs who were booted out last week. He has been the most vocal critic among the Scottish Labour MPs since becoming an MP last year. He has slammed the government over the Grangemouth refinery closure, the Winter Fuel Payment cuts, the failure to compensate Waspi women and the slashing of disability benefits. But some of the things he has criticised the government for are Scottish Labour policy. Leishman has since ruled out joining the SNP or former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's new party - even though Leishman joined under his leadership. He told the Record earlier this week: "What matters most to me is true Labour Party values. "True Labour Party values, the home for that is in the Labour Party. "Labour's been the only party I've ever been a member of. "I joined in 2016, it's where my political home is. I want to get the Labour whip back because I still feel that the Labour Party is the vehicle for positive change in the country. "And that means redistributing power and wealth across society and actually trying to achieve a much more equal country." When asked if this meant he had ruled out joining the Nationalists, he said: "I am committed, rock solid, to the Labour Party. "The Labour Party is my home. I'm not happy about the way that a lot of things have been done, but I'm a Labour Party member and I'm proud to be one." When asked if he had considered joining Corbyn's new party, he said: "Your question about Jeremy and Zarah's party, it's the same answer."
The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
Unionists accuse John Swinney of pressing 'panic independence button'
In an exclusive op-ed for The National, the First Minister said that building support for independence, upping the pressure on Westminster to allow Scotland to assert its right to choose through a democratic referendum, and urging the public to vote SNP at the election would form the three prongs of his strategy. Swinney said that the Holyrood 2026 election campaign will seek to 'build the highest levels of support possible for independence as the best future for Scotland'. In response, opposition politicians have accused the FM of using independence as a smokescreen ahead of the upcoming 2026 ballot. READ MORE: John Swinney: Why I'm launching a renewed strategy for independence Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour deputy leader, said: 'Scots will be shaking their heads at [[John Swinney]]'s latest desperate hit of the independence panic button - it's clear he's a man that's out of ideas and out of steam. '25 years ago, the then SNP Leader, John Swinney, claimed that independence was 'closer than ever'. Now, he is attempting to lead his troops up the hill once more - but even they don't buy it. John Swinney offers absolutely no vision and no hope for the people of Scotland. 'It is time to turn our backs on John Swinney's old, failed politics of the past and to choose a better Scotland with better leadership.' Elsewhere, Rachael Hamilton, deputy leader of the Scottish Tories, claimed Scots are 'scunnered' with the [[SNP]]'s 'endless obsession' with independence. 'The nationalists are continuing to prioritise their own interests rather than focusing on what truly impacts the lives of Scots,' she said. 'Patients cannot get a GP appointment, our economy is flatlining and standards have plummeted in our schools. (Image: PA) 'That is what John Swinney should be focusing on, rather than rehashing the same old arguments on independence that Scots are not interested in. 'After 18 years of monumental failure, this SNP government are tired and out of ideas. For the sake of moving Scotland forward, we must get them out next year.' On social media, Scottish Tory MSP Stephen Kerr added: 'Independence is irrelevant. Scotland has moved on – but the SNP haven't.' Meanwhile, Alex Cole-Hamilton, Scottish LibDem leader, said: 'One of the major reasons that the SNP took such a beating at last year's general election is that people are sick of them bleating about breaking up the UK, rather than focusing on health, education and the miserable state of the Scottish economy. It seems like the First Minister is a glutton for punishment. 'John Swinney's total faith in independence to solve every problem is delusional and out of touch. READ MORE: Scottish Labour spent 3 times more than SNP at last General Election 'Hundreds of thousands of Scots are stuck on waiting lists. That's why at next year's election, I will choose fixing the NHS while John Swinney will choose the squabbles of the past. 'I want to urge everyone to back the Liberal Democrats using your peach-coloured regional ballot paper next May to focus on what really matters.' On social media, Unionist account The Majority said: 'The *devolved* Scottish Parliament, which you were elected to, has no ability to change the UK's constitution. You have no path to breaking up the UK. Shut up about RESERVED MATTERS and EMPTY. THE. BINS.' On X, an account named Abolish Holyrood added: 'Allowing separatists to pervert the Scottish Parliament into a platform to break up the UK must stop.' We told how Swinney insisted that an 'emphatic win' for the SNP at the Holyrood 2026 election is the way to secure independence. The National's columnists were unconvinced by the FM's new strategy.
The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
Scottish Labour spend 3 times more than SNP at last General Election
The Times reports that John Swinney's party spent the lowest amount fighting the Westminster election since 2010. Figures published by the Electoral Commission (EC) showed that even the Scottish Conservatives spent more than the SNP during the July 2024 ballot. READ MORE: John Swinney sets out 3-point plan to achieve Scottish independence It has emerged that Scottish Labour spent £2,738,924 while the Scottish Tories spent £1,999,418. The SNP spent £779,175, a quarter of the spending limit they had available. A total of 37 Scottish Labour MPs were elected to Westminster, compared to nine SNP MPs, six LibDems and five Scottish Tories. It is the lowest amount the party has spent fighting a General Election since 2010, when it spent around £300,000. In 2015 they spent £1.5 million, in 2017 £1.6m, and around £1m in 2019. In comparison, the [[SNP]] spent the highest amount of all political parties during the 2021 Holyrood election, when the party was led by former first minister Nicola Sturgeon. The SNP put £1,468,343 into that campaign, while the Scottish Tories spent £1,359,435, and Scottish Labour £1,176,410. James Mitchell, professor of public policy at the University of Edinburgh, told The Times that polling showing a boost to the [[SNP]] should be taken with a 'massive pinch of salt'. 'While the SNP currently leads the polls, it remains well down on 2021 with little reason to believe that will change given it lacks anything like the money, active members and momentum it [had] a decade ago, especially compared with Labour,' Mitchell said. 'The SNP today under John Swinney appears to be heading back to the time when he first led the party with much less money, a far from invigorated membership and potentially devastating revelations of incompetent management of the party's finances. 'While Labour has a significant advantage in terms of funding and, as the recent by-election once more demonstrated, hard-headed strategic thinking, it still needs to sharpen its message of hope to motivate both activists and voters. Labour has almost all its ducks in a row while the SNP's have been partially clipped.' The [[SNP]] have also lost hundreds of thousands of pounds in funding through short money - cash given to opposition parties in the House of Commons to help with costs - after the number of their MPs was reduced. Following the General Election, Swinney reorganised SNP HQ and cut a third of staff. Donations to the party remain low, receiving just shy of £90,000 in the first two quarters of this year. This included £82,614.44 in short money, a cash donation of £2584.85 and a non-cash donation of £4800.
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Brian Leishman: 'Anas Sarwar hasn't spoken to me in 6 months'
Brian Leishman was one of four rebel MPs who had the whip removed for voting against benefit cuts and criticising Keir Starmer's Government. Sarwar has been silent on the Alloa and Grangemouth MP's suspension – despite it being a high-profile loss from his branch of the party. Leishman told The National he had last received a WhatsApp message from the Scottish Labour leader on January 30 – and hasn't spoken with him face-to-face since before then. He added: 'I've never had a telephone conversation with him.' The MP, who made a name for himself fighting unsuccessfully against the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery in his constituency, said he was 'gutted' to have lost the whip and wants to come back into the fold. (Image: Jeff Mitchell/Getty) 'I love the party,' he said. 'I genuinely believe that it is the most likely vehicle to equalise society and redistribute power and wealth.' Leishman and others voted against Labour's Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments Bill earlier this month after a chaotic debate in the Commons which saw the Government shelve cuts to the latter benefit at the last minute in the face of a sizable backbench rebellion organised by York MP Rachael Maskell. READ MORE: MP hits out after armed police threaten peaceful pro-Palestine protester He has also been an outspoken critic of Starmer's government in the media. His name is frequently floated as a possible defector to Jeremy Corbyn or Zarah Sultana's as-yet-unnamed political party. But Leishman ruled out joining the party, saying: 'The personal relationship I've got with Zarah and Jeremy, I wish them well in their endeavours with it, they've been phenomenal comrades to me but I just think that the Labour Party is the most likely vehicle to change things and society for the better.' While he has not received any support from Sarwar, Leishman said he was 'really looking forward' to campaigning for [[Scottish Labour]] in Clackmannanshire and Dunblane and the Falkirk East Holyrood constituencies in the 2026 election. He added: 'As a committed Labour member, I will do everything I possibly can to get Anas into Bute House and be first minister.' Scottish Labour were approached for comment.
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Anas Sarwar silent as Brian Leishman thrown out of Labour
The Grangemouth MP was kicked out of Labour on Wednesday alongside three of his colleagues. Leishman is said to have been kicked out of the parliamentary Labour Party over voting against the Government and criticism of its policies in the media. Also out are English MPs Neil Duncan-Jordan, Chris Hinchliff and Rachel Maskell, the latter of which led a recent welfare rebellion which threatened to challenge the Government's majority. Two Labour MSPs have come out in support of Leishman, with Alex Rowley saying he was "one of the hardest working MPs in the country". READ MORE: See Brian Leishman's statement after suspension from Labour Mercedes Villalba also said suspending Leishman was the "wrong decision" adding: "Brian Leishman is exactly what a Labour MP should be: A committed socialist and trade unionist prepared to fight for his constituents without fear or favour. "The whip should be returned.' The National approached Scottish Labour on Thursday morning to ask whether Sarwar would clarify who he was supporting: Keir Starmer or Leishman. But by a stated deadline on Thursday afternoon reporters had still received no response. Sarwar consistently said he was behind welfare reforms put forward by Labour and the SNP said he "must be feeling totally humiliated" after Starmer was forced to perform a screeching U-turn on the bulk of the plans. (Image: Scott Barron Photography) Leishman was one of four Scottish Labour MPs to join the rebellion on welfare reforms, which still include a significant cut to the health element of Universal Credit. By gutting the bill, ministers were able to see off a significant rebellion by voting down the wrecking amendment by 328 votes to 149. Starmer is reportedly attempting to restore party discipline before the summer recess beginning on Tuesday. READ MORE: Why Keir Starmer suspending these 4 MPs proves how weak he is Leishman has been a consistent critic of Starmer's Government during the Prime Minister's first year in Number 10. In a recent interview with the BBC, he said he was not proud of the party's first year in office. Leishman said following his suspension: 'I wish to remain a Labour MP and deliver the positive change many voters are craving. 'I have voted against the Government on issues because I want to effectively represent and be the voice for communities across Alloa and Grangemouth. 'I firmly believe that it is not my duty as an MP to make people poorer, especially those that have suffered because of austerity and its dire consequences.'
