Why did the Green defectors jump ship to Your Party?

Your Party makes its first inroads in Scotland 

Three Scottish Green councillors defected to Your Party on Friday. Glasgow’s Dan Hutchison, Seonad Hoy and Leodhas Massie have become the first elected representatives in Scotland of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s nascent political party. Joining them were five Holyrood candidates: Ellie Gomersall, Malena Roche, Louise Andersen, Athol Bond, Charley O’Hear. (Seonad Hoy is also a Holyrood candidate.) The announcement seemed to be choreographed to coincide with a Your Party Glasgow branch meeting on the same day — at which Sultana was speaking. The Scottish Greens Glasgow branch said they were “saddened” but would work “constructively with all parties who share progressive and eco-socialist values”. 

Inopportune timing?

The Scottish Greens are fresh out of a leadership contest won by Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay, during which a radical grouping made up of Ellie Gomersall, Iris Duane and Seonad Hoy made a failed leadership bid. Meanwhile, under new leader Zack Polanski, the Green party of England and Wales (a separate party from the Scottish Greens) is polling at 15%, with its membership set to overtake that of the Conservative party. Scottish Greens membership stands at 8,680, the highest level since 2016 — more than the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Liberal Democrats. 

Why now?

Seonad Hoy told us that many in Glasgow have “been pushing the Scottish Green Party for several years to become more socialist and to break out of its traditional middle class comfort zone”. She says that push has not been well received by the leadership. She also mentioned a motion at the Scottish Greens conference earlier this month to encourage collaboration with Your Party, which was unsuccessful. Hoy described this as “a missed opportunity for collaboration across the left, which is urgently needed at a time when the far right is on the rise”. 

She also criticised co-leaders Greer and Mackay for indicating that they “would be willing to enter into government with the SNP in 2026” — citing budget cuts made under the previous Bute House Agreement when the Greens entered a coalition government with the SNP. 

‘A complete misrepresentation’ 

This isn’t the full picture, according to a Scottish Greens insider with whom we spoke. They believe the defectors have wrongly framed the conference debate as “shutting the door” on collaboration with Your Party. “There was a good number of votes on both sides but a clear margin saying no”. The reason the party voted no? Your Party are “just not ready yet”, the insider told us, saying they “don't know what they stand for”. They added that it’s not “no, never” and that suggesting the Scottish Greens have turned their backs on cooperation “completely misrepresents what happened”.

Whose party? Your party  

It is worth noting that Your Party was only registered on September 30. They don’t have a policy platform yet, a name, or a formal position on Scottish independence (unlike the Scottish Greens and Green Party of England and Wales). The early months of Your Party have been marred by infighting and a public dispute between Sultana and Corbyn — with the former accusing the latter of being part of a “sexist boys club” and threatening legal action. 

We spoke to defector Dan Hutchison this morning, who said he felt “lighter” than he has in years, and that a “weight” had been “lifted from his shoulders”. Like Hoy, Hutchison described having grown disillusioned with the Scottish Greens for “voting through more austerity measures”. “For good or ill, people see the Greens as a middle class and fluffy party. People are so affected by poverty that they need people out fighting, saying they won’t cut or continue austerity, that we will tax the rich,” he explained of his hopes for Your Party. 

Hutchison conceded that there have been some “rumbles and disagreements down south”. However, he believes the situation in Scotland is different. “The left has been fractured for years in Scotland. And now we’re seeing people getting around the same table — to eradicate poverty, put differences aside and solve the big stuff.” He believes Your Party can get into power, but that it will take time. “Let's try and put the differences aside. Let’s solve the big stuff, and then once we’ve held power and fixed things, we can deal with those slight disagreements on how you manage the revolution,” he told us. It wasn’t the first mention of revolt: he also likened Your Party’s assembly model of governance to the way the Soviets organised “before the Russian Revolution” to “find positions that were amenable to the masses”. 

Is a Labour defection imminent? 

When we asked Hutchison on Friday about rumours a Labour councillor would be joining their ranks, he told us over text, “Only time will tell eh 😉”. Over the phone, he wouldn’t be drawn on names, but said he “absolutely” expects to see more councillors joining, and has been contacted by numerous intrigued politicians since Friday. Our Greens insider, for their money, “fully expects” they will be joined by a member of the Labour group. Why are they so convinced? To make up a group in the council they need four members, “so it’s almost certain there is another joining them to make a formal group”.

Who’s winning the woke wars?

For now, one thing is certain: The Greens are winning the meme wars. Case in point: a particularly memorable Scottish Greens ‘woke football sticker’ (a recent viral internet phenomenon) which set social media alight on Friday.

In fact, the meme was so popular that the Scottish Greens co-leader Mackay created her own woke football sticker. It strikes us that the true test of a political party’s electoral viability in this day and age is about capturing the zeitgeist via viral moments like this. The Green party down south have clocked this too, releasing their own official woke football sticker on X. We’ve yet to see Your Party feature on a single woke football sticker, let alone release their own. Just saying.

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Glasgow in Brief

🚴 Last week, we revealed that the founder of a cycling charity based on Glasgow Green had been suspended by the charity regulator OSCR. An inquiry by the watchdog found that Norman Armstrong of Free Wheel North had misappropriated charity funds by making five payments from FWN’s accounts for his own personal expenses between November 2022 and January 2024. The charity aims to improve mental and physical health via bike access, and a glance at its company filings shows that the suspended Armstrong ceased being a person with significant control this morning. 

Back in May of this year, Armstrong held an AGM after which OSCR concluded there was a “lack of clarity as to who is now a validly appointed charity trustee”. On Thursday, Free Wheel North had an emergency general meeting as mandated by OSCR to rectify this issue. Chair of the EGM Robin Fallas, an “independent representative” from law firm Morton Fraser MacRoberts, said the charity is on “end of life care” and that this EGM was the last chance to save it, according to a member who was there.  

Despite best intentions, it sounds like another mess ensued. Normally with charities, one signs up to become a member for free, and it’s rare that such sign ups would be declined. But members have informed The Bell that they attended the EGM unsure whether or not they were even a member of FWN. One person who thought they were a member at the time of the EGM was subsequently told via email that their votes to elect new directors to the board had not been counted. The result of said vote, where 11 names were put forward as potential trustees, yielded only one person who received enough votes — Harry McEwan. This, yet again, leaves Free Wheel North without a valid board, as it needs three directors to operate as per its constitution.

In a statement sent to The Bell this morning, Norman Armstrong firmly rejected OSCR’s findings and hit back by claiming that he was suspended “without due process” and alleging that an “opposition group” within the charity themselves misappropriated funds. In the statement, he called for the “hostile and unauthorised elements” of FWN to be “removed”. Unless governance of the charity gets sorted, Free Wheel North will be free-wheeling downhill with no breaks. 

🔫 Police bagged their first prosecution in Operation Portaledge last week, after a man pleaded guilty to being involved in serious and organised crime. It is the first case connected to the gangland feud that has blown up across central Scotland this year, involving numerous firebombings, 57 arrests, and the murder of Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan in Spain (even if Police Scotland continue to deny a link between the shooting and events in Scotland). Amid the unrest, the Scottish Sun now reports that the Daniels clan has “regained control” of north Glasgow, according to an insider. “Since the killings in Spain the D-Mob have regained control of much of the north of Glasgow – and everyone knows that if you control that part then you basically control the city,” they told the Sun. 

Last week, James English made his New Yorker debut, in one of the most remarkable pieces of journalism we’ve read this year: Ed Caesar’s investigation into Daniel Kinahan, the Irish cocaine kingpin and prominent figure in world boxing holed up in Dubai. English, who is set to stand trial over allegations of domestic abuse, recorded a three hour interview with Kinahan in 2022, which was never released due to legal reasons.

In yet more evidence of Dubai being the favoured destination for alleged criminals, last month four Scottish men — all said to be major figures in organised crime — were arrested by the Dubai police. Steven Lyons, Ross McGill and Steven Larwood have since been released from custody in the United Arab Emirates — but were told to leave Dubai. McGill is said to have orchestrated much of the recent gang violence across Scotland from a distance. His Tamo Junto gang targeted Edinburgh properties and individuals linked to cocaine dealer Mark Richardson, as well as addresses in Glasgow linked with the Daniel clan, over their association with Lyons-affiliated Richardson. 

Now, McGill has reportedly been offered safe haven in Morocco by one of the Netherlands most notorious criminals, Ridouan Taghi, according to the Daily Record. The Moroccan-Dutch criminal is responsible for several murders in the Netherlands, and is currently serving a life sentence. He is thought to still be leader of a crime syndicate and part of a supercartel of international cocaine kingpins, headed up by Kinahan. McGill was offered a chance to move to Morocco after befriending the sons of Taghi. How a former capo of the Union Bears has become cosy with one of the world’s top criminals remains a bit of a mystery. If you’re confused (and believe us we are too) the BBC did a rundown of the gang war with David Cowan last week on Scotcast. 

🎷 You’d be forgiven for missing Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith’s quiet announcement earlier this month (The Times, £) that he will never perform in Scotland again. The former Royal Conservatoire head of jazz was dismissed in June following allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a student. He subsequently resigned his position as leader of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra following concerns about his behaviour. 

If you’ve worked with Smith, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch on editor@glasgowbell.co.uk

Stories you might have missed:

💰 Ex-Tory council leader guilty of £188,000 romance fraud (BBC)

🚲 When Bikes Outnumber Cars: What Scotland’s Cycling Surge Can Teach North America (momentummag.org)

🚢 CalMac’s MV Hebridean Isles to be scrapped imminently (Greenock Telegraph)

📱 Ex-Apple employee Sam Sung changes name to Scottish village to avoid attention (Daily Record)

👶 “I'm so sorry” Fake baby scandal 'mum' addresses scam that shocked social media (Daily Record)

🔪 From Glasgow to Brixton: United front in battle against knife crime (STV)

Read/listen/watch: Fergus McCreadie - The Shieling

We were lucky enough to see Fergus McCreadie perform not once but twice at the Islay jazz festival last month. The first, with his trio at Caol Ila distillery, was spellbinding. The second performance, with Shetlander pianist Amy Laurenson was equally ethereal. Needless to say, we’ve been keenly awaiting the arrival of his fifth album, ‘The Shieling’. After four carefully planned LPs, the latest offers something of a departure, having been recorded over five days in a cottage on North Uist. “Uist really felt like another world at times, so far removed from everything yet so calm, and I think placing ourselves here to make music drew out an energy from us that hasn’t been captured on record before,” McCreadie writes in the album notes. Buy/listen here.

We also rec: 

• Meet the secret network running pigeon hospitals from their Glasgow flats (£)
• ‘Your dog shagged my cat’: How viral tics launched Andrea Bisset’s acting career (£)

Catch up and coming up:

• Getting fully into spooky season, and retracing her childhood search for the Erskine witches, Jennifer Morrison’s weekend read told the chilling story of Western Europe’s last witch hunt.

Renfrewshire’s murdered witches refuse to rest

In 1697, seven people became the victims of Western Europe’s last witch hunt. What is their legacy?

The BellJennifer Morrison

• On Wednesday, our resident deep diving data dude James Gilmour looked at the economic past, present, and future of Govan. There were some great comments on the piece, so get stuck in.

Headline of the week: ‘Diarrhoea’ incident forces pool to shut for second time in two weeks

Re:view: Rishi's, 61 Bath Street

Having now eaten at both Madhras Dosa (once) and Rishi’s Indian Aroma (far too many times to mention), I can confidently say that the latter takes home the prize for the best dosa I’ve ever eaten in Glasgow. The fermented batter, made of rice and urid dhal, is crisp, chewy and light. The potato masala within is layered with the delicate aroma of cumin and mustard seeds, ready to be smothered with chutney and sambal, which are also top shelf. We are fully aware that there is an entire menu at Rishi’s including south Indian curries, tandoori meats and biryani. And yet every time we visit, we immediately flip the menu over and inevitably order from ‘Dosa Corner’. There are 15 varieties, but I always opt for the masala version. Call me boring, I don’t care — I’ll be stuffing my mouth with fermented pancake. If you know of a better dosa in the city, let me know.—Robbie

Glasgow Calendar: Imagine Glasgow

An alcohol free brewery, a Pollokshields housing co-op, a green highline next to the Clyde Expressway, an alternative Met Tower, a woodworking institute and an alternative temporary homeless housing concept. These are just a few of the ambitious architecture and design ideas that feature at this bi-annual exhibition imagining a Glasgow of the future. At New Glasgow Society 1307 Argyle Street, until 2 November.

Other dates for your diary:

• Scottish Queer International Film Festival | by dontation| 27 October–1 November
• Witch hunts and hidden truths | pay what you can | Friday 31 October | online

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