Latest news with #ex-Tory
Spectator
2 days ago
- Business
- Spectator
Farage gains another Tory councillor in Scotland
To Scotland, where Nigel Farage is visiting for the first time in six years. It's a day of firsts for Reform UK, it seems, as the party announced this morning it had recruited ex-Tory councillor Duncan Massey – the first local councillor in Granite City to join Farage's crowd. Massey is the 14th councillor to join Reform UK in Scotland, blasting his former party for failing to offer Scots a vision for the future. 'The whole country is struggling at the moment,' Massey told the assembled press pack outside Aberdeen's seafood restaurants The Silver Darling. The oil and gas economist has been publicly critical of the Scottish and UK government's approach to the industry, resharing on Twitter posts that claim 'net zero means deindustrialisation' and that the net zero movement is a 'death cult'. Speaking to reporters today, he added:
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Nigel Farage jeered during Aberdeen press conference
Protesters outside the venue held signs and banners reading: 'Farage not welcome in Scotland" and "Aberdeen Stand Up to Racism", chanting 'Oh, Nigel is a racist" and "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here." Police were eventually called, with five uniformed officers blocking the main entrance to the restaurant. READ MORE: While still leader of UKIP, Farage visited Aberdeen in June 2013 — and was forced to cancel a luncheon reception at the city's Marriott over fears of anti-fascist protesters. He would not return to the Granite City for another decade, hosting a live recording of his GB News talk show at a golf club near Pittodrie Stadium in April 2023. While Reform finished fourth in both Aberdeen constituencies at the last general election, the party has performed better in the surrounding Shire, poaching four councillors from the Conservatives in recent months. Earlier on Monday morning, ex-Tory councillor Duncan Massey became the party's first defection on Aberdeen City Council.
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Michael Gove admits he felt 'mortified' after video of him dancing in Aberdeen nightclub went viral
The Record first reported how the former senior Tory Cabinet minister was spotted pulling some questionable dance moves in a bar in Aberdeen back in 2021. Michael Gove has admitted he felt "mortified" after a video clip of him dancing in a late night bar in Aberdeen went viral. The Record first reported how the former senior Tory Cabinet minister was spotted pulling some questionable dance moves at the Bohemia club in the Granite City back in August 2021. Clips shared with the Record showed the then 54-year-old two-stepping, arm waving, hip jolting and head banging with fellow ravers, who allegedly bought the top-earning politician drinks all night. The now ex-Tory MP is originally from the Granite City and was back in his hometown enjoying a night on the tiles. It came a few months after it was announced he was divorcing from his journalist wife, Sarah Vine. One onlooker at the time said they "couldn't believe what she was seeing" when the "merry" politician "rocked up" to the watering hole just before closing time. Gove has now looked back on the incident in an interview with Tatler. He told the magazine he was out with an academic friend in Aberdeen when the clip was filmed. Gove said: "We were having a nightcap in a pub, and there was a club upstairs. And I thought, whyyyy not? "Aberdeen, in my mind, is safer territory.' I remember the next morning waking up and thinking: 'oops'. "And then during the day, it became clear that pictures had been shared, and feeling mortified that afternoon. Gove added the best place to boogie for him now is "at home". The former MP added: "There are many more embarrassing or foolish situations in which I found myself. "I've been called all sorts of names, often with justification, and that is the choice I made. I remember a friend of mine once said, 'Michael, you know, it's like joining the mafia. This is the life we choose. You are a made man in politics, suck it up.' And I thought that is fair enough." The Record previously reported how that when last orders were announced at the popular pub, punters urged a suited, solo Gove to join them upstairs at a nightclub, Bohemia. Ravers headed to club night Pipe, dubbed 'an unpredictable mix of the most high energy UK and global club music scenes'. Living up to its description, scenes of Gove clumsily bouncing and bopping along to heavy techno beats were caught on camera in a series of hilarious clips. "He was still there when I left at 2.30am," an onlooker added.
Daily Mirror
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Nigel Farage is voters' last choice to be PM - as he's branded 'political fraud'
In embarrassment for Nigel Farage, YouGov released a poll on his popularity ratings as he took to the stage to claim voters were behind him in a major press conference Nigel Farage is voters' last choice to be Prime Minister - with Brits preferring Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch or Sir Ed Davey over the Reform UK leader. In embarrassment for Mr Farage, YouGov released a poll on his popularity ratings as he took to the stage to claim voters were behind him in a major speech. The Reform UK leader was branded a 'political fraud' by the TUC after announcing a series of headline-grabbing tax and welfare policies - funded through controversial cuts to climate change strategies and diversity programmes. And Labour accused him of making 'tens of billions of pounds of fantasy promises' like disgraced ex-Tory PM Liz Truss, who crashed the economy. In his speech, Mr Farage claimed Mr Starmer's leadership was "dismal" and "uninspiring" yet 44% of the public backed the Labour leader to lead the country compared to 29% choosing Mr Farage when asked who would be the best PM out of the two. The Reform UK leader also used his central London speech to fiercely attack the Tories, branding them 'completely irrelevant'. He said Kemi Badenoch was not having a 'particularly great time' - yet 29% of the public think she'd make the best PM versus 25% who backed Mr Farage. Elsewhere, 41% of people said Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed would make the better PM compared to 27% who picked Mr Farage. Asked about the poll results, Mr Farage said the UK did not have a 'presidential election' and he needed a 'team of people that look competent and capable of going into government'. He said Reform UK's weakness was that it has never been in government and that newly-elected council leaders now needed to show the party is capable of governing. 'These boys and girls need to do a good job, and we'll be judged very much on that,' he added. During a more than an hour-long press conference, Mr Farage set out a series of eye-catching plans including for Brits to avoid paying tax on any earnings up to £20,000 if he was elected. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the tax plan would cost between £50billion and £80billion. Currently workers pay the 20% basic rate of income tax on everything between £12,570 and £50,270, with higher rates applying after that. The Reform UK leader also said he would introduce tax breaks for married couples to 'encourage people to have children' amid dwindling birth rates. It would reportedly exempt one spouse from paying tax on the first £25,000 of their income. The other would get the tax-free income of £20,000. The former UKIP leader also attempted to outflank Labour by committing to scrapping the two-child benefit limit and fully reinstating the winter fuel payments. Mr Farage said he would fund the policies through 'big savings', including ditching the plan to reach net zero carbon emissions, end the use of asylum hotels and scrapping diversity, equality and inclusion schemes in the public sector. He said Reform had set up its own 'DOGE unit' - inspired by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency in Donald Trump 's administration. Elsewhere Mr Farage declined to commit to keeping the triple lock pensions guarantee. TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: ' Nigel Farage is a political fraud who'll jump on any bandwagon to chase headlines. He is full of empty promises, writing cheques he knows will never be cashed. 'Because when it really counts, Farage always sides with the rich and powerful against working people. And who bankrolls Farage? Hedge fund managers and speculators – the same people profiting from economic chaos. He pretends to be anti-establishment, but in reality he's as establishment as they come.' Unison general secretary Christina McAnea warned the deep-rooted change the country needs 'won't happen overnight'. "It's easy to announce policies to appeal to voters, but far harder to work out how to fund them,' she said. "The future for many families continues to look bleak. But voters should be wary of politicians promising the earth and trying to be all things to all people.' She also pointed out that Mr Farage had voted against Labour's workers' rights reforms, adding: 'Reform has shown by its words and actions that the party's no friend of working people.' Labour chair Ellie Reeves said: "There's nothing new about what Nigel Farage said today: the tens of billions of pounds of fantasy promises he made this morning are exactly how Liz Truss crashed the economy, devastating the finances of families across the country. 'Those families don't need to be told what the consequences would be of this nonsense. They live through it every month through the higher mortgages, higher rents, higher prices, and higher bills inflicted upon them by the last government. 'Labour is delivering security and renewal through our Plan for Change. NHS waiting lists are falling, the economy is growing, wages are rising faster than prices and we've had four interest rate cuts, along with three major trade deals that will put more money in working people's pockets. All Reform offer is a return to the chaos of Liz Truss." ::: YouGov surveyed 2,212 adults in Great Britain on May 18 and 19.
Daily Record
25-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
David Cameron 'lost the plot' by making PPE scandal tycoon Michelle Mone a Tory peer
The ex-Tory PM's decision to elevate Glasgow-born entrepreneur Mone to the House of Lords has been examined in a new TV documentary. David Cameron had 'lost the plot' when he made PPE scandal tycoon Michelle Mone a Tory Peer, an ex-business associate has claimed. The former Tory prime minister was behind the decision to elevate Glasgow-born Mone to the House of Lords in 2015. Mone, 53, and her husband Doug Barrowman, 60, are being probed by the National Crime Agency (NCA) over a £203million deal to supply NHS equipment in the pandemic and the former Ultimo bra boss is on a leave of absence. In two-part BBC show The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone – on BBC iPlayer from tomorrow – ex-colleagues criticise the peerage decision. It also looks at Mone's Ultimo lingerie firm MJM International's accounts in the years before her appointment revealing by 2012 it had a loss of about £500,000. Speaking to filmmakers, PR consultant Jack Irvine, who worked with Mone in the 90s, recalled receiving a phone call from a top Tory to tell him about the proposed peerage. Irvine said: 'I honestly burst out laughing.' He added: 'I went through the history, the fantasy world, the money they'd lost and all the things she'd done and I said, 'Anyway, who's pushing this?' "He said David Cameron and George Osborne. I remember thinking at the time, Cameron and Osborne have completely lost the plot.' Scots businessman Douglas Anderson, boss of the Glasgow -based Gap Group, wrote to Cameron at the time to protest the appointment. He told the programme: 'I'm a proud Scottish person and I don't like anybody, but especially don't like Scottish people, being less than truthful. 'If the only thing she achieved was self-publicity, I don't think that's a very good reason to put you into the House of Lords.' Mone is alleged to have taken advantage of her peer status to use a 'VIP fast lane' to recommend PPE Medpro – led by Barrowman – supply medical equipment to the government. She denied any involvement in the firm for three years before admitting in 2023 she had lied. Barrowman admitted making £65million from equipment deals, with £29million transferred to a trust in the name of Mone and her kids. The firm is being sued by the Government for £122million for breach of contract. The couple, who live on the Isle of Man, have had £75million of assets seized, including properties in Glasgow. They deny any wrongdoing. In a statement to the BBC, the pair's spokesperson said they had 'provided full and detailed statements to the NCA and co-operated with the investigation throughout. They have never been arrested and no charges [have] been brought against them'. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. Mone said she was 'deeply disappointed' a show was being broadcast 'which appears to be relying on misleading and one-sided accounts of my life and career'. She added: 'Without having seen the programme or the allegations in their full context, it would not be fair to respond to them individually. "The allegations relating to my husband's company, PPE Medpro, will be defended in court.' Cameron and Barrowman were asked for comment.
