Latest news with #Waspi
Daily Record
3 days 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
4 days ago
- Business
- The National
Election of 37 Scottish Labour MPs has been a disaster for Scotland
With the commendable exception of Brian Leishman, these Scottish MPs have toed the London-orchestrated party line and remained silent while Scotland has been stitched-up. Pensioners, children, Waspi women, the disabled and the poor have been denied the support one would expect of a purportedly socialist party while, contrary to the rhetoric, the 'good deals' on industrial infrastructure have been committed to projects in England without comparable investment in Scotland to benefit the workers of this country. READ MORE: Brian Leishman: 'Anas Sarwar hasn't spoken to me in 6 months' The Acorn carbon capture and storage project in Scotland was set to go ahead, yet £22 billion was committed by the [[UK Government]] to nascent projects in England while Acorn and Scottish Cluster partners have been advised they may receive a token amount of around £200 million in development funding. This same relatively paltry amount of around 200 £million is what may be paid out by the [[UK Government]] 'to support the area's economic transition' while the Grangemouth refinery is shut down and hundreds of workers lose their jobs; yet the same Labour [[UK Government]] immediately committed to maintaining operations at the loss-making Lindsey oil refinery while refusing to reveal the cost to taxpayers. This follows [[UK Government]] funding of £2.5bn to keep Scunthorpe's British Steel plant open. As if this continued heavily distorted UK infrastructure investment wasn't bad enough for Scotland, the Labour Party have rowed back from repealing the Tory's Internal Market Act, which further restricts the already limited powers of the Scottish Government. To add insult to injury, we now learn that the Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray (aka Starmer's Scottish poodle), has the audacity to claim he has no role in delivering devolution deals for Scottish cities as disingenuous justification for Glasgow and Edinburgh not receiving the funding provided by the [[UK Government]] for City Deals in England. READ MORE: Anas Sarwar silent as Brian Leishman thrown out of Labour Regarding my own Lothian East MP, it appears that he learned nothing from his complicity as a [[UK Government]] minister in the illegal invasion of Iraq, and by his relative silence he is now despicably complicit in the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the West Bank. Neither Douglas Alexander, nor the [[Labour Party]], speaks for me or for the vast majority of the people of Scotland. In the 2026 Holyrood election it is important that everyone who believes in democracy and cares for the futures of our children to grow up, study, live and prosper in Scotland, gets out and votes for a party that will speak up for the right of the people of Scotland to determine their own future via the directly elected Scottish Parliament. Stan Grodynski Longniddry, East Lothian I WOULD have had some respect for Thom Cross's Long Letter (Jul 16) if he had said objectively only the SNP WILL win independence rather than CAN win independence. However, without some clear Damascene policy strategic and tactical revelation, I'm sorry, but I am not going to vote for this contemporary SNP as I have done in the past. Sadly not only are they not listening to the message, they stoically refuse to even hear it. It's going to take a major reversal for them to get with the indy support, and a drubbing at the polls again next year may well deliver it. And all this does is force the campaign further down the road, which seems to be game they are playing. READ MORE: Legal rights without enforcement are merely political ornaments I also don't understand where Thom Cross is coming from by seeking to persuade us Scotland is not a colony. The very existence of the Scottish Secretary of State who oversees us, and operates outwith the elected authority of the Scottish Parliament, is nothing less than a Westminster-appointed High Commissioner, that kowtowing British empire power symbol despised by the 60 former colonies that turned their backs on the empire for their independence, none of which begged to be suborned by Westminster rule again. Refusal to recognise our colonial status merely proves how successfully the propaganda has worked. Scotland will never be independent unless it creates a constitutional crisis – supported by hopefully peaceful direct action, as in Gandhi's leadership example – and this SNP have shown they just won't deliver it. Swinney is clearly hoping somehow indy will happen and his party can claim the credit for it, but won't force the issue. He is not prepared to poke the bear that needs poking. READ MORE: Will John Swinney surprise us with a courageous election manifesto? Scotland allegedly entered into a partnership in 1707, taken there by a small minority of self-interested traitors who allowed the English power to con us, with dissent crushed by the British (English) army. However that treaty is superior to the Scotland Act. Resile from the treaty and the Scotland Act is irrelevant. We have a democratically elected parliament, just the vehicle to reassert our authority. What we don't have is an SNP leadership prepared to step out of their establishment comfort zone to make it happen. The 2026 election is the ideal opportunity to set the agenda. Just one issue. Independence. Ignore the media onslaught on the SNP's record, good or bad. Use social media and street protests to drive the independence agenda. But it has to be declared from now. The argument has to be made clearly to push support higher. The alternative is to remain as a colony served by a High Commissioner about to waste money to develop the nuclear weapons base that imperils Scots like canon fodder and the English avoid because we let them. Choice stolen from us. We have to tell them we reject Ian Murray in his High Commissioner status, we reject his nuclear weapons and we reject his colonial British empire wannabe Westminster government. Independence NOW! Jim Taylor Scotland
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
Brian Leishman rules out joining the SNP or Jeremy Corbyn's new party after Labour suspension
EXCLUSIVE: The Alloa and Grangemouth MP told the Record he is "committed rock solid to the Labour Party" and wants the whip back. Brian Leishman has ruled out joining the SNP or Jeremy Corbyn's new party after his Labour suspension. The Alloa and Grangemouth MP said he is "committed rock solid to the Labour Party" and wants the whip back. He said Labour is "where my political home is" and that it is "the vehicle for positive change in the country." The Record revealed on Wednesday that Leishman had been suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party. He "lost the whip" for opposing government policy, alongside comments made in the House of Commons and the media. When asked if he was joining the SNP, Leishman said: "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." Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was told about Leishman's suspension before it happened, the Record understands. Sarwar had a conversation with Chief Whip Alan Campbell before the MP was booted out of the Parliamentary Labour Party. Leishman remains a member of the Scottish Labour Party. He met the Chief Whip and was told that he had been suspended pending further investigation for going against the party line in votes and the media. Leishman 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 was one of four Labour MPs to lose the whip on Wednesday. The others all represent English seats. Some Labour MSPs were unhappy about the decision to suspend Leishman. North East Scotland MSP Mercedes Villalba said: '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. "This is the wrong decision, and the whip should be returned." Central Scotland MSP Monica Lennon said: ' Brian Leishman is a fantastic Scottish Labour MP. He works tirelessly for his constituents and stands up for Labour values. Hope to see the whip restored soon.'
The National
13-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Ian Murray panned for ‘disgraceful' U-turns as past motions resurface
The Scottish Secretary signed Early Day Motions on a range of topics while Labour were in opposition, including demanding full compensation (and free bus passes) for the Waspi women, membership of the EU's customs union and unilateral nuclear disarmament. They have all now ditched by Labour after coming to power. A motion that Murray backed in 2019 also took aim at the record of US president Donald Trump, including his "misogynism, racism and xenophobia'. READ MORE: Octopus Energy to pay £1.5 million for prepayment meter billing errors It also called on the then UK Government to rescind the offer of a full state visit to President Trump. Now as Scottish Secretary, Murray has said he would 'meet Donald Trump off the plane'. It also comes as Trump is reportedly expected to touch down in Scotland to visit his golf courses at the end of July or the beginning of August. The SNP have now hit out at Murray, saying that the U-turns are 'disgraceful' – also taking aim at what they said was his previous 'uncharacteristically strong' support for Palestine and gender reform. (Image: NQ) The party pinpointed a motion in 2017, which Murray supported, raised concerns over the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinian children while another from 2011 called for the UK Government to officially recognise a Palestinian state – the new Labour Government has not yet done so. Murray also supported a motion in 2017 which said gender identity "includes those who do not identify as either male or female, identify as both, a third gender or are fluid in their identity". But as Scottish Secretary, he refused to rule out lifting the Tory-imposed veto on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. "Labour's Secretary of State for Scotland's transformation from backbench idealist to Cabinet loyalist is not just disappointing, it's disgraceful,' SNP MSP Gordon MacDonald told the Sunday National. 'From Palestine to pensioners, nuclear weapons to the EU, he has abandoned almost every principle he once claimed to champion. 'His constituents, and Scotland, deserve better than a minister who has traded his principles for power - as ever, Scotland is an afterthought for Labour politicians.' Scottish Labour have been approached for comment.
The National
04-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Octopus Energy launches live windfarm constraint costs tracker
The company is urging ministers to support the introduction of zonal pricing, which would split the UK into price regions based on local supply and demand. Octopus Energy has said repeatedly that such a system could mean Scots benefit from some of the lowest energy prices in Europe. But the UK Government has said it will not split the country's energy market into regions if it raises people's bills in some areas. It in unclear when a decsion will be made. READ MORE: Stephen Flynn's Waspi compensation bill blocked by Westminster Now, Octopus has launched a live 'wasted wind' ticker – prominently featured on its website and visible to 12 million monthly visitors. At the moment, Britain has one national energy price even though at any point in the day the cost of producing electricity differs radically around the country. If an offshore wind farm in Scotland produces more electricity than the network can handle it is paid to turn off, or "constrained", and a gas-fired power plant in the south of England is paid to turn on. The tracker on Octopus Energy's website, at the time of writing (Image: Octopus Energy) For example, the UK's biggest wind farm – Seagreen – is paid to not generate 71% of the time it could be generating. As a result, the effective cost of electricity it does generate is four times higher than it should be. The constraint costs – which are collected from consumers – are huge. The ticker reveals, in real time, how much bill payers' money is spent to turn off as systems that can't keep up with the power generated. Constraint costs are on track to cost the UK a staggering £8 billion a year by 2030. This year, the UK has already paid £650 million to turn off wind farms – more than £200m more than the same time last year. Soon, figures and information on current constraint costs will be added to the 7.5m bills sent every month and will feature in its app, used by 500,000 people daily. READ MORE: Thousands face major delays and cancellations as French air control strikes Additional information breaking down more details on the costs of waste, and where customers' money goes, will be added shortly. Pete Miller, Octopus Energy's head of customer experience, said: 'It's crazy to build wind farms where there's no grid, then pay them to sit idle, and then pay the most expensive fossil fuel plants to generate the power instead. 'Octopus was clear with customers that the energy crisis was caused by the cost of gas, and now we need to be clear that high electricity prices are the cost of a broken energy system.'
