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Glasgow Times
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Swinney: Scotland must be alive to the threat of Farage after English elections
John Swinney accused Labour and the Conservatives of making a 'fundamental mistake' by 'cosying up' to the right-wing party. Reform UK won its first mayor during the local elections south of the border, and came second to Labour in another two, while it also overturned a large Labour majority at a Westminster by-election. Results are still pouring in from England's council elections but Mr Farage's party already returned more than 100 councillors by Friday afternoon. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage celebrates the party's results in England's local elections (Jacob King/PA) Speaking to the PA news agency in Glasgow during a climate conference, Mr Swinney accused the former Ukip leader of giving voters 'false hope'. 'The results coming in from England demonstrate that Farage is a real political threat,' he said, 'and the Labour and Conservative parties have made fundamental mistakes in dealing with Farage because they have cosied up to them, rather than confronting them. 'The Scottish National Party has every intention of confronting the politics of Farage because they are politics that are populist, they are deceptive, they give people false hope, and they blame others, and the SNP will confront those politics.' Asked if Reform UK's victories could be replicated at next year's Holyrood elections, the SNP leader said: 'We've got to be alive to the political threat from Farage and the answer to Farage is to confront him – it's not to cosy up to him. 'The Labour Party and the Conservatives have cosied up to Farage, and look where it's got them in England. 'Well, I have absolutely no intention of cosying up to Farage. 'I'll give the political leadership to the SNP and to Scotland that will confront the politics of Farage, because his politics are divisive, they provide people with false hopes, and they are fundamentally damaging to our society and our democratic values, and they have to be confronted.' Polling suggests Reform UK could return a number of MSPs to Holyrood next year (Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament/PA) Mr Swinney was speaking after appearing at The Better Society Academy, a climate conference at The Social Hub in Glasgow on Friday. Recent polling has suggested Reform UK – which does not currently have a Scottish leader – could return more than 10 MSPs to the Scottish Parliament next year. A Survation poll on Friday put support for Reform UK on 14% for the constituency vote at Holyrood and 12% for the regional list. The Tories stood at 13% and 16% respectively. The survey, carried out on behalf of Diffley Partnership, found 36% of people are planning to vote for Mr Swinney's party on the constituency section of the ballot, with 28% saying they will support the SNP on the regional list section of the vote. Support for Anas Sarwar's Scottish Labour was at 22% on both the constituency and the regional list ballot, according to the poll. Last week, Mr Swinney chaired a summit to battle the rise of the far-right, which he said included Reform UK. In response, Reform UK – which was not invited – described the SNP leader as a 'democracy denier' and accused him of being scared of the party's popularity. A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: 'John Swinney loves nothing more than talking up Reform at every opportunity. 'The reason is because, as polling experts have said, every vote for Reform increases the chances of him being returned as First Minister and the SNP having a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament next year. 'Only the Scottish Conservatives are standing up for the common-sense mainstream of Scots, and against the fringe obsessions of the SNP and the other left-wing parties at Holyrood.' Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: 'The driving force behind political disenfranchisement and polarisation in Scotland is the failure of the SNP and Tory governments. 'Labour is working to repair the damage the Tories inflicted on our country, but the SNP is still refusing to take responsibility for its mistakes. 'Reform is capitalising on the despair Scots feel over our public services and our economy and as long as the SNP remains in denial it will fail to turn the tide. 'Only Scottish Labour is offering Scotland a new direction and an alternative to the incompetence of the SNP and the divisive politics of Reform.' Reform UK have been approached for comment.
The Independent
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Swinney: Scotland must be alive to the threat of Farage after English elections
Scotland must be 'alive' to the 'threat' of Nigel Farage, the First Minister has said, after Reform UK's strong performance in England's local elections. John Swinney accused Labour and the Conservatives of making a 'fundamental mistake' by 'cosying up' to the right-wing party. Reform UK won its first mayor during the local elections south of the border, and came second to Labour in another two, while it also overturned a large Labour majority at a Westminster by-election. Results are still pouring in from England's council elections but Mr Farage's party already returned more than 100 councillors by Friday afternoon. Speaking to the PA news agency in Glasgow during a climate conference, Mr Swinney accused the former Ukip leader of giving voters 'false hope'. 'The results coming in from England demonstrate that Farage is a real political threat,' he said, 'and the Labour and Conservative parties have made fundamental mistakes in dealing with Farage because they have cosied up to them, rather than confronting them. 'The Scottish National Party has every intention of confronting the politics of Farage because they are politics that are populist, they are deceptive, they give people false hope, and they blame others, and the SNP will confront those politics.' Asked if Reform UK's victories could be replicated at next year's Holyrood elections, the SNP leader said: 'We've got to be alive to the political threat from Farage and the answer to Farage is to confront him – it's not to cosy up to him. 'The Labour Party and the Conservatives have cosied up to Farage, and look where it's got them in England. 'Well, I have absolutely no intention of cosying up to Farage. 'I'll give the political leadership to the SNP and to Scotland that will confront the politics of Farage, because his politics are divisive, they provide people with false hopes, and they are fundamentally damaging to our society and our democratic values, and they have to be confronted.' Mr Swinney was speaking after appearing at The Better Society Academy, a climate conference at The Social Hub in Glasgow on Friday. Recent polling has suggested Reform UK – which does not currently have a Scottish leader – could return more than 10 MSPs to the Scottish Parliament next year. A Survation poll on Friday put support for Reform UK on 14% for the constituency vote at Holyrood and 12% for the regional list. The Tories stood at 13% and 16% respectively. The survey, carried out on behalf of Diffley Partnership, found 36% of people are planning to vote for Mr Swinney's party on the constituency section of the ballot, with 28% saying they will support the SNP on the regional list section of the vote. Support for Anas Sarwar's Scottish Labour was at 22% on both the constituency and the regional list ballot, according to the poll. Last week, Mr Swinney chaired a summit to battle the rise of the far-right, which he said included Reform UK. In response, Reform UK – which was not invited – described the SNP leader as a 'democracy denier' and accused him of being scared of the party's popularity. A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: 'John Swinney loves nothing more than talking up Reform at every opportunity. 'The reason is because, as polling experts have said, every vote for Reform increases the chances of him being returned as First Minister and the SNP having a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament next year. 'Only the Scottish Conservatives are standing up for the common-sense mainstream of Scots, and against the fringe obsessions of the SNP and the other left-wing parties at Holyrood.'
Western Telegraph
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Western Telegraph
Swinney: Scotland must be alive to the threat of Farage after English elections
John Swinney accused Labour and the Conservatives of making a 'fundamental mistake' by 'cosying up' to the right-wing party. Reform UK won its first mayor during the local elections south of the border, and came second to Labour in another two, while it also overturned a large Labour majority at a Westminster by-election. Results are still pouring in from England's council elections but Mr Farage's party already returned more than 100 councillors by Friday afternoon. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage celebrates the party's results in England's local elections (Jacob King/PA) Speaking to the PA news agency in Glasgow during a climate conference, Mr Swinney accused the former Ukip leader of giving voters 'false hope'. 'The results coming in from England demonstrate that Farage is a real political threat,' he said, 'and the Labour and Conservative parties have made fundamental mistakes in dealing with Farage because they have cosied up to them, rather than confronting them. 'The Scottish National Party has every intention of confronting the politics of Farage because they are politics that are populist, they are deceptive, they give people false hope, and they blame others, and the SNP will confront those politics.' Asked if Reform UK's victories could be replicated at next year's Holyrood elections, the SNP leader said: 'We've got to be alive to the political threat from Farage and the answer to Farage is to confront him – it's not to cosy up to him. 'The Labour Party and the Conservatives have cosied up to Farage, and look where it's got them in England. 'Well, I have absolutely no intention of cosying up to Farage. 'I'll give the political leadership to the SNP and to Scotland that will confront the politics of Farage, because his politics are divisive, they provide people with false hopes, and they are fundamentally damaging to our society and our democratic values, and they have to be confronted.' Polling suggests Reform UK could return a number of MSPs to Holyrood next year (Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament/PA) Mr Swinney was speaking after appearing at The Better Society Academy, a climate conference at The Social Hub in Glasgow on Friday. Recent polling has suggested Reform UK – which does not currently have a Scottish leader – could return more than 10 MSPs to the Scottish Parliament next year. A Survation poll on Friday put support for Reform UK on 14% for the constituency vote at Holyrood and 12% for the regional list. The Tories stood at 13% and 16% respectively. The survey, carried out on behalf of Diffley Partnership, found 36% of people are planning to vote for Mr Swinney's party on the constituency section of the ballot, with 28% saying they will support the SNP on the regional list section of the vote. Support for Anas Sarwar's Scottish Labour was at 22% on both the constituency and the regional list ballot, according to the poll. Last week, Mr Swinney chaired a summit to battle the rise of the far-right, which he said included Reform UK. In response, Reform UK – which was not invited – described the SNP leader as a 'democracy denier' and accused him of being scared of the party's popularity. Labour, the Conservatives and Reform UK have been approached for comment.
The Herald Scotland
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
The student housing pioneer who became 'better society' guru
Charlie MacGregor, the Netherlands-based businessman behind TSH, a B-corp certified brand which started out by creating a new model for student accommodation, is determined to use his company to, he said, create 'a shift in the needle'. The Better Society Academy held in Glasgow's Merchant City this week is part of that effort, bringing together more than 30 leaders in the emerging 'new economy' to share ideas, forge partnerships, and accelerate climate action, as part of its Europe-wide masterclass series. For MacGregor these events are about bringing people together to 'listen with both ears'. An advocate of the thought of Rutger Bregman, whose books, Humankind: A Hopeful History and Moral Ambition, are hopeful about the possibility of humans solving the world's problems, he believes in bringing people together to find answers. The Glasgow programme of The Better Society Academy, titled 'Changemakers Leading the Way to Net Zero: Inspiring Stories of Collaboration and Impact', will feature leading figures in sustainability, business, design, and activism. Among them are Anna Campbell-Jones, designer and presenter of BBC's Scotland's Home of the Year; climate activist Clover Hogan, plastic pollution campaigner Laura Young. Alison McRae, Senior Director, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Ally Mitchell, founder of Ocean Plastic Pots. Ahead of the event, first minister John Swinney, who will deliver a keynote speech, described tackling climate as 'intrinsic to the nation's success'. The Better Society Academy (Image: TSH) MacGregor, whose father built the first-ever student housing building in 1980 for the University of Edinburgh, began his own journey as property entrepreneur, when he purchased a small student accommodation company at the age of 25, which he sold 10 years later. It was when he moved to the Netherlands and became aware of a student housing crisis in Europe that he saw the opportunity to create a new model. 'When I started The Student Hotel, I wanted to give students better because I saw that what they had before and I thought that was pretty bad and they deserved better as the next generation of our movers and shakers.' READ MORE: The approach was ground-breaking at the time, 2006. MacGregor, who didn't go to university himself, but left school at 16 and worked in building construction, recalled: 'Everybody told me in the beginning. Don't mix students with hotel customers. That's going to be dangerous. There's going to be old corporate men jumping on young students. And never mix your locals with business community of co-workers. "But we have one open door. We bring everybody together and what I started to see what happened when you mix people together by bringing these different demographics together. 'Most student accommodation blocks are full of one demographic or one stereotype. 300 students without any adults there will behave like 300 students – just as you know the same when you take a group of guys to a football match, they believe behave like a group of guys at a football match.' 'What I saw was that by blending them together, you create a better society. We really believe that. We're social. We want that to be our main thrust.' The Social Hub, Candleriggs, Glasgow (Image: TSH) The TSH model of student accommodation, he described, brings enormous value to the neighbourhoods in which it is built. 'We're four times more valuable for a city than a standalone hotel," he said. "That's four times more social and economic value. We're still working it out for students accommodation and I think it's going to be 8 to 10 times more valuable than the than a standalone student accommodation. We've got real data to show what the social, the regeneration value that we bring to a city is." The idea behind both TSH and the Better Society Academy is to bring people together in order to try to understand each other's point of view. 'It's a space,' said MacGregor, 'where people can just hear and you can agree to disagree and it's totally fine. And I think we've forgotten a little bit in society that it's OK to disagree.' 'In today's society, we like to pigeonhole ourselves. We like to say you're left. You're right. You're pro. You're anti. And even if I look at myself I don't want to be left or right. I'm kind of in the middle, and even if you're there then you'll be attacked from both sides.' What he hopes is that the big investors which have shares in TSH, but also in so many of the planet's companies, will start to say, 'Look, we've got this little company in Holland and they gave away 1% and they drive 5% of their revenues.' 'If I can really show," he said, "these other businesses that by being social, by welcoming the neighbours, and hosting Better Society Academies, by being a better corporation for my local neighbourhood, that is driving my bottom line, then I will start to move the needle.' MacGregor is also co-founder of the refugee support NGO, Movement On The Ground - and his sense of social purpose came out of the response he had to the global refugee crisis in 2015. Charlie MacGregor, entrepreneur behind The Social Hub and The Better Society Academy (Image: Rachel Ecclestone) At the time, he had three hotels in Holland and he called a government minister to say that he had 1500 rooms and could take refugees, and started to take them in. 'Then we started collecting clothes and I was nervous of what the neighbours would say. I was collecting clothes for refugees.' But what hit him most was seeing the shocking image of Alan Kurdi, the Syrian refugee toddler washed up dead on a beach in Turkey. 'I was sitting on my bed at the time, putting my socks on and I saw his image burst out crying. My son, my youngest son, who was the same age as him, walked into the room and said, 'Hey Daddy, what's going on? He had never seen me cry like that before. And I picked him up and I was so grateful that my son was here and I was alive, that I decided I'm doing the wrong stuff. I want to do more.' With a good friend, he went out to Lesbos to help, and two weeks later he was 'in the sea helping people get off a boat and onto land and making sandwiches for 1000 people', 'I guess at the moment,' he said, 'when I got off my CEO pedestal, the moment that I stopped holding meetings and started doing something myself, it put in place the piece of the jigsaw that hadn't been there previously. I came back and I I felt much more comfortable getting involved. It also seemed that everybody wanted to help us. Everybody that I spoke to from businesses to banks to investors to customers to locals, everybody was excited about what we were doing there. That kind of changed me that that gave me more guts to put my heart on my sleeve.' 'Changemakers Leading the Way to Net Zero' is at The Social Hub in Glasgow's Merchant City from April 29 till May 2
