The defector: Reform UK's first in-road into Glasgow

Councillor Thomas Kerr is 45 minutes late. I’m waiting for him in Rustico, a charming Italian cafe and gelataria, in the Mount Vernon end of Shettleston, the East End ward Kerr has represented since 2017. The spot was Kerr’s suggestion. When he finally takes a seat opposite me, his apologies are profuse. A chat about his City Chambers office ran over. 

Later I am told by a reliable source that this meeting concerned a dispute over Kerr’s new digs. Previously he shared an office with a colleague, Conservative councillor John Daly. But on 16 January, Kerr announced he was defecting from the Conservatives to become the first Reform UK politician to sit on Glasgow City Council. Upon hearing the news, some of his fellow councillors were downright frosty.