Latest news with #GMB
Daily Record
15 minutes ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Labour 'can't win in Scotland' because of North Sea oil and gas ban, warns union chief
Gary Smith, whose union is a major donor to Labour, said "people don't get that energy is an emotional issue in Scotland". Labour will lose next year's Holyrood election because of the UK Government's opposition to new oil and gas developments in the North Sea, a trade union chief has predicted. Gary Smith, general secretary of the GMB, said Keir Starmer's party had failed to understand the energy sector was an "emotional issue in Scotland". The UK Government is expected to grant permission for the giant new Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the North Sea to go ahead as they already have licenses approved. But Ed Miliband, the UK Energy Secretary, has repeatedly said no future licenses will be granted by Labour - meaning the North Sea sector will continue to shed jobs over time. Smith, whose union is a major financial donor to Labour, said the party's opposition to oil and gas was a gift to Nigel Farage. "On the current policies, I don't believe that Labour can win in Scotland," the union chief, who lives in Paisley, told the New Statesman. "People don't get that energy is an emotional issue in Scotland. We went hundreds of miles out in this inhospitable sea and built this incredible, groundbreaking energy infrastructure. "If you're on the west coast of Scotland, most people of a certain age have a drop of oil from Sullom Voe because there are so many families who were involved in building that project when they landed the oil in Shetland. This was an emotional story about Scotland. It's important to its sense of self and the economy, and I don't think people have really got that." Asked if he thought Labour would ultimately be forced to rethink its policy, Smith added: "They will have to rethink it because the consequences in terms of energy prices, in terms of national security, in terms of the economy and jobs, are so profound. "What we should be doing is taking a public stake in what is left of the oil and gas sector and using the profits for that sector, or part of them, to invest in a new green future. "We should be talking about North Sea Two, how we're going to collaborate with Norway – not just decarbonising the North Sea, but what comes next. Oil and gas is not the enemy: it's actually the gateway to whatever comes next, and we've got to stop seeing it as a threat.' But Smith said his union was not reconsidering its donations to Labour as a result. It comes after Unite members voted to review its financial relationship with the party. The union chief said: "It's up to Unite what they do. We're not interested in what other unions do. "For us, a relationship with government should be contentious, there should be disagreement and debate. But I'd much rather have a Labour government in power than the alternative. And let's be clear about the Tories – they're done – the alternative is going to be Reform." The Record asked Scottish Labour for comment.
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Good Morning Britain hosts 'send love' to Ozzy Osbourne's family after shock death
Good Morning Britain has paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, after his death aged 76. Good Morning Britain has honoured the legendary Ozzy Osbourne following his death at the age of 76. The passing of the iconic Black Sabbath frontman was announced just a short time after he performed his last concert, with heartfelt tributes from across the showbiz world flooding in. On Wednesday's (July 23) edition of Good Morning Britain, presenters Ed Balls and Kate Garraway were joined by I'm A Celebrity's Melvin Odoom who read out numerous tributes and expressed condolences to Ozzy's wife, Sharon. The programme began with Kate and Ed paying their respects to the rock legend, remembering him as a "trailblazer" and a "great man". Melvin said on air: "We at GMB also want to send our love to Sharon and the family and all of Ozzy's friends," reports the Manchester Evening News. "He was very much a trailblazer in the world of music and entertainment and by all accounts a great man so big love from us." Ozzy's family released a statement on Tuesday revealing: "It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. "He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time." Following the news, Black Sabbath expressed their sorrow, stating they "lost our brother", while Metallica described Ozzy as: "Hero, icon, pioneer, inspiration, mentor, and, most of all, friend are a few that come to mind." Reflecting on Ozzy's impact, Kate noted on Good Morning Britain how his final performance would have been "an incredible moment" for his fans. "For anyone that was at that show it would have meant even more," Melvin replied, noting it was a "sad day" for rock enthusiasts like Ed. Good Morning Britain kicked off with Kate announcing: "Good Morning Britain, he was the Prince of Darkness, a pioneer of heavy metal, and one of rock's most iconic frontmen. "Ozzy Osbourne has passed away at the age of 76 just weeks after reuniting with his Black Sabbath bandmates for one final show." On July 5, Ozzy graced the stage at Villa Park in Birmingham alongside his bandmates for their final performance. He performed with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward, thrilling fans for the very last time. "It's so good to be on this stage. You have no idea," he expressed, extending heartfelt thanks to those present "from the bottom of [his] heart. "You have no idea how I feel."
New Statesman
4 hours ago
- Business
- New Statesman
GMB chief Gary Smith: 'Oil and gas is not the enemy'
Illustration by Ellie Foreman Peck Gary Smith is not a man who disguises his passions. The wall of his office features framed pictures of pioneering Scottish trade unionists, the Durham Miners' Gala, steam ferries on the Mersey, the jazz poet Gil Scott-Heron, and Hibernian FC. As the general secretary of the GMB – the country's third-largest trade union, with around 630,000 members – the blunt, puckish Scotsman leads an organisation that is more central to national life today than it has been for decades. Its parliamentary group alone comprises more than 250 Labour MPs (making it, as Smith likes to quip, over twice the size of the Conservative Party), including Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner. GMB's presence in sectors such as defence, energy and manufacturing means that cabinet ministers heed its voice. 'It's a huge improvement on what went before, impossible to compare it,' said Smith, 57, with a thatch of boyish blond hair. We met in Euston, central London, at the GMB's national office, Mary Turner House (named after the indomitable Irishwoman who served as the union's president for 20 years). Smith praised the government's rescue of British Steel, its defence industrial strategy, the commitment to build the Sizewell C nuclear plant and the 'transformative' Employment Rights Bill. 'Has the government made mistakes?' Smith asked. 'Yeah, absolutely, and we have been outspoken in our criticism about winter fuel payments. Nobody said there shouldn't have been reform of payments; it was just badly handled. Likewise, on disability benefits, we were very worried about the poorest and most vulnerable – many of our people who are in work get Pip payments.' Smith, who was elected general secretary four years ago, has often been an ally to Starmer when it's mattered most. At the 2021 Labour Party Conference it was post-midnight conversations with Smith in Brighton hotel suites that convinced Starmer and his chief aide, Morgan McSweeney, that they had the votes required to rewrite the party rule book and marginalise the Corbynite left. But Smith is unsparing in his criticism of Labour's first year in office. 'The big thing that is missing is a clear vision about the future. What we need is a sense of national mission and I don't think that's there. I don't think we've got that emotionally compelling story about the future of the country. 'We are emerging into a new world order as well. That's very difficult for any government to navigate. This is a new epoch that's opened up in front of us: the end of globalisation, the end of neoliberalism. Any government's got to wrestle with what Britain's place in the world is going to be.' He added: 'It frustrates me that the right-wing press accuse[s] Labour of talking down Britain. I think in many ways people are underestimating the state the country's in. Our finances are precarious, we've seen that in the past few weeks. We are beholden to the bond markets; this could unravel very quickly. The country's in a really difficult situation and so I don't envy what they've had to inherit.' (The Office for Budget Responsibility's recent report warned that the UK had the sixth-highest debt, fifth-highest deficit and third-highest borrowing costs of the 38 OECD countries.) This year Donald Trump has become the unlikely hero of some US unions, with the United Auto Workers praising his tariffs as necessary to 'end the free-trade disaster'. Smith invoked the US New Right – and its embrace of protectionism over Reaganism – several times during our conversation. 'The New Right saw an opportunity with working-class communities hollowed out by globalisation. We can talk about average GDP, we can talk about how many people in the globe got wealthy. There were a whole number of our communities that were absolutely abandoned. 'People were told that they're competing in this global labour market and the jobs went abroad and that left people embittered, angry and absolutely disoriented. And the New Right in America got this – they certainly got it better than the liberal left did.' To some this will sound reminiscent of Blue Labour, the party's economically interventionist and socially conservative faction. (Its founder, Maurice Glasman, was the sole Labour parliamentarian invited to Trump's inauguration.) But Smith bridled at the comparison. 'I'm not being critical of anybody but we're not Blue Labour. Why do we have to stick badges on things all the time? We're a working-class organisation; we spend a lot of time listening to our members. So I'm not interested in fashionable factions in the Labour Party, I'm just interested in listening to working-class people, and our members have been telling us this for a long time. They are tired of low-paid, insecure employment. That was a Tory economic model. 'You know, we got to a point in Barrow where we couldn't build nuclear submarines. The only growth industry was heroin, and that happened under Cameron and Osborne. So what shapes our world-view is not some factional philosophy in Labour – it's just listening to working-class people and our membership.' Unite, the UK's second-largest union, this month vowed to 're-examine' its affiliation to Labour and excoriated the party's record in office, with union representatives since surveyed on the matter. 'It's up to Unite what they do. We're not interested in what other unions do,' Smith replied diplomatically when I raised the subject. 'For us, a relationship with government should be contentious, there should be disagreement and debate. But I'd much rather have a Labour government in power than the alternative. And let's be clear about the Tories – they're done – the alternative is going to be Reform.' What does Smith believe is fuelling Farage's ascendancy? 'This is a fuck-you vote, people are just angry: they're pissed off and they're looking for somebody to kick. A lot of this ultimately is about declining living standards. We're a country where in our towns and communities people just look beat. You live in a city like London and even if you're on a good wage you're struggling to keep your head above water… Farage is feeding off that anger and frustration and decline.' In recent months, Farage has reframed Reform as 'the party of working people', speaking of his desire for a 'sensible relationship' with the trade unions and vowing to reopen the Port Talbot steelworks. But Smith – precisely the kind of earthy general secretary whose endorsement Farage would relish – is unimpressed. 'I think he's a chancer. He is no friend of trade unions or working-class people. Peel back the rhetoric: where was he on the Employment Rights Bill? He's voted against working people at Amazon having the right to organise and collectively bargain over their pay. He's voted against people having stronger collective rights at work, which will allow us to better redistribute wealth in this country.' Smith ridiculed Farage's claim that he was appalled by Michael Heseltine's closure of coal mines as Conservative trade and industry secretary in the 1990s. 'Do you think he went on picket lines and supported the miners? Do you think he argued for the steel workers? No, he was a metal trader in the City of London, lifting another glass of Champagne as all this devastation of UK industry and communities went on.' Gary Smith was born in Edinburgh in 1967; his father was an electrician and his mother a bookmaker's clerk. He became a Scottish Gas apprentice at the age of 16 (the GMB later paid for him to study at Ruskin College, and he gained a Master's degree in industrial relations from Warwick University). His political consciousness was shaped by the fraught social conflicts of the early Thatcher era. 'I saw working-class people and communities getting treated very badly,' he said. 'I get so angry when I listen to people talk fondly about the Thatcher era because a lot of kids didn't get off the housing estates. It was mass unemployment, cheap heroin, and HIV/Aids. There's a whole generation of young men who died and never made it through that period.' Four decades on, Smith is once more haunted by the spectre of deindustrialisation. He spoke of a recent encounter with an oil and gas worker moved to tears in Middlesbrough ('big guy, really impressive guy') who declared at a town hall meeting: 'They're doing to us what they did to Middlesbrough in the 1980s.' For this, Smith attributes much blame to the UK's net zero policy of which he is the fiercest Labour critic. 'For too long, we were exporting jobs and importing virtue, so we closed down British industry. That was great for emissions, not great for communities. Our notional emissions have fallen but all we've done is export jobs and industry to China, where they burn coal to produce the goods we then import on diesel-burning barges and ships – and that includes the vast bulk of all renewables industry.' Though he emphasises that he is not a climate change denier – 'We're not in the same place as the US New Right' – he believes that current energy policy is a gift to Farage. 'We have been decarbonising through deindustrialisation and it's counterproductive because the communities that have seen their industries closed down, they've been abandoned and will end up voting for the right, and exactly the way that they have in America.' Smith fears that the political ramifications of net zero could be greatest of all in his native Scotland – he lives in Paisley – where Labour aims to prevent the SNP winning a fifth term next May. 'On the current policies, I don't believe that Labour can win in Scotland,' he warned of the government's decision to ban new North Sea oil and gas licences. 'People don't get that energy is an emotional issue in Scotland. We went hundreds of miles out in this inhospitable sea and built this incredible, groundbreaking energy infrastructure. 'If you're on the west coast of Scotland, most people of a certain age have a drop of oil from Sullom Voe because there are so many families who were involved in building that project when they landed the oil in Shetland. This was an emotional story about Scotland. It's important to its sense of self and the economy, and I don't think people have really got that.' While Starmer is expected to grant permission to the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the North Sea – which are exempt as existing licences – he has consistently reaffirmed the ban on new ones. 'That is absolutely our position,' he recently declared (a stance that Trump publicly derided ahead of his planned meeting with Starmer in Aberdeen). Does Smith believe that Labour will ultimately be forced to rethink its policy? 'They will have to rethink it because the consequences in terms of energy prices, in terms of national security, in terms of the economy and jobs, are so profound. What we should be doing is taking a public stake in what is left of the oil and gas sector and using the profits for that sector, or part of them, to invest in a new green future. We should be talking about North Sea Two, how we're going to collaborate with Norway – not just decarbonising the North Sea, but what comes next. Oil and gas is not the enemy: it's actually the gateway to whatever comes next, and we've got to stop seeing it as a threat.' The GMB's stances have often put it at odds with the Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband – who has championed net zero as the 'economic opportunity of the 21st century' – but Smith hints at something of a rapprochement: 'I hope and think that Ed realises that in haemorrhaging jobs through this charge to net zero, the political consequences could be very, very profound for Labour. I get a sense that he's starting to listen and I think he also knows that a lot of these new, fashionable green companies are vehemently anti-union. 'And that's a huge problem because it's completely at odds with the government's agenda. Sea Wall in the North East – we're fighting for recognition there and have a strike ballot – they've had access to tens of millions of pounds of government funding and they're anti-union. Octopus Energy? Anti-union.' We return to Labour's future. Even those who sympathise with Starmer often say they do not know what he stands for ('There is no project,' one loyalist MP recently told me). 'If I'm honest with you, I don't think we've clearly defined what Starmerism is,' Smith said. 'There's huge opportunities post-globalisation and post-neoliberalism. How do we grasp those? 'Keir has done some really good stuff on the international stage. But we need to have a national mission and people need to believe again that there is a brighter tomorrow. Labour does need to be that light on the hill.' Just a year into government, cabinet ministers already speculate about whether Starmer will fight the next election. Does that surprise Smith? 'I always said that people underestimated him – let's see. He's got a huge and really tough job but people have underestimated him before. I never thought I'd see a Labour government again in my working life; Keir was part of the team that delivered that extraordinary election result last year and I think he deserves a bit of credit and a bit of time. If they end up all just turning on each other, stabbing each other in the back, it'll just be electoral disaster for them.' [See more: Can Nigel Farage have it both ways?] Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Related
Daily Record
6 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Donald Trump whisky tariffs 'bad for business' as President urged to reconsider ahead of Scotland visit
The First Minister is being urged to appeal to the US President to end tariffs on Scotch whisky when the pair meet next week. John Swinney must tell Donald Trump about the damage the President's trade tariffs are doing to the Scotch whisky industry, a leading trade union has said. The GMB is urging the First Minister to raise the matter with the Republican leader when they meet in Aberdeen in the coming days. Trump, who does not drink, will separately meet Swinney and prime minister Keir Starmer when he makes a private visit to Scotland this weekend to visit his two five-star golf courses in South Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire. Robert Deavy, GMB Scotland senior organiser, said the US president's visit to his courses at Turnberry, where a round can cost £1000, and Aberdeen is the perfect opportunity to tell him US import tariffs on Scotch will not only hit one of Scotland's most important industries but threaten the success of his resorts. He said: 'Donald Trump insists he is a businessman above all and must be made to understand why tariffs on our whisky are bad for his business. Scotch is a crucial part of our economy and, if our economy suffers, his golf courses will suffer. "Golfers from around the world are spending a huge amount of money to visit his luxury resorts and they want to visit a successful, prosperous country and that means protecting our whisky industry.' Scotch whisky accounts for three quarters of Scottish food and drink exports and about a quarter across the UK creating more than 40,000 jobs in Scotland. The industry is also a huge tourist attraction for domestic and international visitors. The US imported almost £1billion of Scotch last year and is a crucial international market for the industry but companies, including Diageo, Scotland's biggest whisky producer, have warned US tariffs could slash profits by hundreds of millions of pounds. Deavy added: "The US spends more on imported Scotch than any other country and there will never be a better moment to persuade Donald Trump to return to zero-tariffs on whisky. He has family ties here, investments here and must be urged to protect jobs here. "There will never be a better moment for John Swinney and Keir Starmer to protect our whisky industry and its thousands of skilled, well-paid jobs." The US previously imposed a 25 per cent tariff on whisky between October 2019 and March 2021. It caused a 25 per cent fall in scotch exports to the US during the last three months of 2019. More than £600m of exports were lost in total, about £1m a day, over the 18-month period. The US market is worth about £971million to the Scotch whisky industry, while salmon is worth £225million in exports.
Daily Record
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
ITV Good Morning Britain fans 'switch off' as they're left furious over star's replacement
Good Morning Britain viewers took to social media to fume over the "disgraceful" change in the show. Good Morning Britain fans "switched off" after they were left furious over a star's replacement during Tuesday's instalment of the show. During's today episode of the hit ITV programme on July 22, presenters Kate Garraway and Ed Balls updated viewers with the latest news stories from across the UK and the rest of the world. Weather presenter Laura Tobin was also in the studio to deliver regular updates while Jonathan Swain presented the rest of the day's news. Kate and Ed discussed the new powers to tackle those making money from illegal immigrants crossing the channel, and revealed a shocking investigation into female reproductive health care. The hosts also welcomed JLS star JB Gill to chat about his latest career adventure. In another segment of the programme, regular commentator Kevin Maguire appeared to discuss the day's topical stories. However, viewers were quick to spot that his usual co-star Andrew Pierce was replaced by former Conservative MP Michael Gove, the Mirror reports. During the segment, Kevin and Michael disagreed over the small boats crisis and Nigel Farage's "zero-tolerance" approach on crime. They also chatted about the ongoing conflict in Gaza after the UK and 27 other countries have called for an immediate end to the war. Speaking about the current Labour government, Michael said: "There's a difference between what diplomacy can achieve and what the public want." Kevin replied: "You need lots of different policies, and I think you just get a change of government where you get a fresh approach. "The old government has got bogged down. There's no single measure that'll solve [immigration]." After spotting Michael on the show, many Good Morning Britain viewers rushed to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their frustration. A second penned: "GMB this morning is a painful watch." Another chimed in: "Why is Michael Gove on GMB this morning? Defo switching over." 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'. Meanwhile, another shared: "#GMB why do you have Gove on? No one wants to watch that." Another wrote: "Don't know why I even bothered switching this on."
