Scots Lib Dem MP sacked from Westminster frontbench job rebelled in memory of late husband
A Scottish Lib Dem MP who was sacked for rebelling against the whip said she did so because of her late husband.
Christine Jardine was removed from the party frontbench after opposing a Tory amendment which would have slashed benefits for some mental health conditions. The Lib Dems had whipped for MPs to abstain on the amendment.
Jardine's late husband Calum Macdonald had bipolar disorder. She said this meant she not voting against the amendment was "unpalatable".
She was binned from her jobs as women and equalities and Scotland spokesperson on Wednesday night.
This was despite later obeying the party whip to vote against the Labour Government's welfare bill.
The Edinburgh West MP told the Record: "Calum had bipolar disorder. Several people around me have mental health conditions the amendment dismissed as 'minor'.
"It's the first time in eight years I have not gone with the whip, but it was personal and something I had to do
"I fully appreciate that having gone against the whip, my position on the frontbench was untenable for the party.
"I continue to support Ed and the party, everything we do and everything that we strive to achieve.
"I'm disappointed but to not oppose that amendment would have been, to me, unpalatable."
Jardine only found out she had been booted from the frontbench after seeing a journalist post about it on social media.
The Tory amendment to the welfare bill would have lowered Universal Credit payments for those with "less severe" mental health conditions and have left out some foreign nationals from certain benefits.
She was one of nine Liberal Democrat MPs who voted against it.
Macdonald died of a heart attack just weeks before Jardine was elected as an MP in 2017.
He had been a journalist with the Herald for 25 years.
The couple had been married for 30 years.
Jardine is a former journalist, having worked as the editor of the Press Association in Scotland.
Labour's welfare cuts passed in the House of Commons on Wednesday night following a huge U-turn from the government.
Most measures slashing benefits were removed, but four Scottish Labour MPs still rebelled against the government.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
STV News
14 minutes ago
- STV News
Nearly 2m waiting over four hours since A&E target last hit
Almost two million people have waited more than four hours in A&E since the last time the Scottish Government's target was hit, figures show. The Government aims for 95% of people each week to be seen and subsequently admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours in the country's emergency departments. But that figure has not been hit since the week of July 12 2020, in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the number of people going to hospital plummeted. According to analysis by the Scottish Lib Dems, since the target was last hit, 1,921,053 people waited four hours or more. Elsewhere, 237,623 people waited more than 12 hours during that period and 588,480 people waited longer than eight hours. First Minister John Swinney has pinpointed the NHS improvement as key for his Government, announcing this week an £85 million investment in Hospital at Home provision in an attempt to keep people out of hospitals and reduce delayed discharge, as well as placing frailty teams in A&E units to divert elderly patients to other services and free up emergency care. Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain said: 'Under this SNP government, A&E has been mired in crisis for years. 'Staff are stuck working under pressure-cooker conditions and patients are stuck having to wait hours for vital care. 'We are now on our fourth different Health Secretary since this SNP government last met the A&E waiting time target. 'Jeane Freeman, Humza Yousaf and Michael Matheson have all come and gone without making a dent and it looks as if Neil Gray will go the same way.' She added: 'Alongside efforts to alleviate the pressure on A&E and ambulance staff, we need to invest in care services to get people out of hospital and free up space. 'That's why Scottish Liberal Democrats fought for more money for social care in the budget and back a new UK-wide minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher.' Scottish Tory public health spokesman Brian Whittle said: 'Under the SNP, millions of patients have suffered because they can't meet their own targets. 'Real lives are being lost to delays that could and should have been avoided. 'Dedicated frontline staff are working tirelessly for their patients, but they're had the carpet pulled from under them by successive nationalist health secretaries. 'The SNP still don't have a credible plan to fix this crisis. This is a national scandal.' Scottish Labour's deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: 'These stark figures lay bare the human cost of SNP incompetence. 'Scots have lost their lives as a result of these dangerously long waits and many more have suffered in agony for hours on end. 'Year after year, an array of different SNP health secretaries and first ministers have all promised to fix the crisis in our NHS, but they have all failed. 'If the SNP was capable of fixing this mess it would have done it by now – our NHS needs a new direction and a new government with Scottish Labour.' The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Daily Mirror
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Tories enjoy Ascot Ladies Day freebies on eve of historic assisted dying vote
Kemi Badenoch's shadow ministers Stuart Andrew, Greg Smith and Louie French were off to the races last month – on the same day Parliament sat miles away in Westminster Kemi Badenoch's Tory shadow ministers were off to the races enjoying Royal Ascot freebies – on the eve of an historic assisted dying vote. Stuart Andrew bagged two tickets with hospitality worth £550 to attend Ladies Day last month. Fellow shadow ministers Greg Smith and Louie French also went despite the daytime event falling when Parliament was sitting. Voters might have expected them to be hard at work in Westminster where debates took place on June 19 — and with MPs backing assisted dying the next day. But smartly-dressed Andrew was pictured glass in hand, enjoying the Ascot jolly. The Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport's partner who posted the image on social media even boasted about it being "the hottest day of the year". It comes after PM Keir Starmer and Labour ministers found themselves under fire last year over taking freebies. Dozens of miles away from Ascot, the Commons had a busy schedule on June 19, meeting at 9.30am and not adjourning until 5.17pm. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed, the Solicitor-General, Lucy Rigby, and the Leader of the House, Lucy Powell, faced statements on UK infrastructure and warm home discount expansion also took place. Later, there was a motion to approve licensing hours for the Women's Euros, as well as debates on incontinence and water safety education. It is not known whether the Tory shadow ministers attended Parliament at all that day but with Ascot's gates opening at 10.30am and races starting at 2.30pm it would have given them little time at their desks. The trio voted against the assisted dying bill the following day. Andrew's tickets with hospitality came courtesy of Ascot Racecourse Ltd, the MPs' register of financial interests shows. His partner, Robin Rogers, deputy chairman for politics at Daventry Conservative Association, posted pictures of the couple on Instagram. He wrote: 'What do you do on the hottest day of the year? [sun emojis] It's obvious isn't it? Get trussed up like a turkey and head for Ascot!!!' With a series of horse and drinks emojis, he added: 'Not complaining today it's the Royal enclosure all the way!!' Shadow Sports Minister Louie French got two tickets 'and lunch with representatives of Ascot and British Horseracing' worth £590 on June 19, thanks to Ascot Racecourse. Tory Shadow Business Minister Greg Smith joined the fun, accepting two tickets worth £590 from Ascot Racecourse Ltd so he and a family member could go on the same day. In an earlier comment piece about assisted dying, Smith argued "we can all agree that the process for introducing such a consequential piece of legislation needs to be rigorous and thorough". And Tory MP and ex-minister Sir John Whittingdale – who also voted against the assisted dying bill – bagged hospitality and two tickets worth £3,600 to attend Ascot on June 19 too, courtesy of the Betting & Gaming Council. Andrew, French, Smith and Sir John were contacted for comment. A Conservative Party Spokesperson said: 'Racing is a valued part of the British economy, supporting 85,000 jobs and generating £4 billion a year. The industry is now under threat from Labour Government red tape and taxes."
The National
39 minutes ago
- The National
MP calls for Ofcom probe after BBC uses GB News clip of Nigel Farage
In an edition of BBC News shown on Thursday, July 10, the corporation used footage shot by the alt-right GB News of Reform UK leader Farage on a boat trip in the Channel monitoring migrant crossings. Max Wilkinson, the LibDems' culture and media spokesperson at Westminster, has written to Melanie Dawes, the chief executive of watchdog Ofcom, urging her to open an investigation. READ MORE: 'Skewed': BBC slated for pushing small boat crossings as top Scottish story Wilkinson said in his letter to Dawes that he believes that the BBC breached section 5 of the Ofcom broadcasting code, which states that the corporation must not 'give undue prominence to the views and opinions of particular persons or bodies on matters of political or industrial controversy and matters relating to current public policy'. The LibDem MP goes on: 'As I'm sure you are aware, numerous parliamentarians and media commentators have expressed concern that Britain's national broadcaster is currently giving disproportionate coverage to one political party, namely Reform. 'The BBC's weighting of Reform's reactions to national and international news is disproportionate to the small number of seats they hold in Parliament. 'It is in this context that I write to request your review of yesterday [Thursday] evening's broadcast. Yesterday afternoon, Nigel Farage's boat trip to the Channel was carried by GB News, amongst other outlets. I understand that the BBC was not originally one of those outlets. 'However, the BBC still carried Farage's comments for the 6 O'Clock News, clipping GB News' own broadcast for their programme. GB News went on a boat trip with Nigel Farage into the Channel, and the BBC used the footage (Image: GB News) 'My issue is not with the reuse of other broadcasters' material in and of itself but with the lengths gone to by the BBC to carry the voice of one politician, lengths that we imagine would not be proportionately extended to other political parties. 'However, I would also add that licence payers' money seems poorly spent on the BBC if that outlet is 'cutting and pasting' other broadcast outlets' content, rather than fulfilling its duties to research and report news independently and impartially.' Wilkinson claimed that the BBC were 'making special allowances' in order to feature Farage, warning that it risks 'delegitimising its platform; undermining its reputation for impartiality; and undercutting its commitment to providing a distinct, unbiased news service'. 'I am concerned that this approach blurs the lines between independent broadcast journalism and partisan political coverage,' he wrote. READ MORE: BBC issues correction after Scottish Government driving test claim 'It is for these reasons that I ask you to open an official investigation into this issue. I hope you will take appropriate action, should you agree that the BBC's due impartiality requirements have once again not been met.' The LibDems won 72 Westminster seats in the 2024 General Election, while Reform UK won five. However, Reform have more recently been polling above Labour and the Tories in UK-wide surveys. BBC guidelines say that both should be taken into account when deciding on the prominence to give any one party's views. The BBC News broadcast which sparked the complaint is not available on the corporation's iPlayer. Ofcom and the BBC have both been asked for comment.
