Well, well, well. The Scottish Tories have lost a number of councillors to Nigel Farage’s ranks and now Labour appears to be facing the same fate. This morning, a former Labour councillor in Fife who left the party over claims she was blocked from becoming a general election candidate has jumped ship to Nige’s Scottish operation. Julie MacDougall – the daughter of Gordon Brown ally John MacDougall – is the latest local politician to have joined Reform UK. Another one bites the dust…
Commenting on her move, MacDougall claimed she joined Farage’s group after ‘thoughtful consultation’. She added:
I want more grown up, authentic politics and an opportunity to work together to offer better. I look forward to this exciting new chapter and I remain fully committed to serving the people of Fife as always with my full commitment, honesty and integrity.
The announcement follows her dramatic decision last year to leave Labour in protest at the party ‘parachuting’ in a candidate based in London to the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath seat. Melanie Ward MP was chosen for the constituency after the first candidate, Wilma Brown, was found to have liked ‘racist’ posts on social media, which described former first minister Humza Yousaf as the ‘First Minister of Gaza’ and ‘Hamas Yousless’. What a mess, eh?
MacDougall is the second former Labour councillor to have switched red for teal – although she did sit as an independent initially – after Reform picked up ex-Labour man Jamie McGuire in Renfrewshire. Steerpike has heard two more councillor defections are on the way. Party insiders also tell Mr S most candidates for next year’s Scottish parliament elections have now been vetted and the list is set to be announced in late autumn this week. The party is causing quite the headache for the Scottish Conservatives – and it looks increasingly like Labour needs to watch out too…
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