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

Dear readers — welcome to your Thursday edition of The Bell. We've got a profile for you today: Moya is off to a Shettleston cafe for a frank coffee date with Thomas Kerr, whose recent defection from the Conservatives makes him Reform UK's first politician to sit on Glasgow City Council.

Reform's increasing foothold in Glasgow is one born out of rising wave of right-wing sentiment. We don't think that's controversial to say. And any local paper worth their salt will be (and are) covering this, along with all the other political strains contained in this city.

As we'll get into, Councillor Kerr's defection has met with a hostile response from colleagues in City Chambers. An interesting gossipy titbit that didn't make the final cut: Kerr told The Bell that local Green councillors have pledged to leave the room when he enters it at the next full council meet. Not true, said the Greens when The Bell reached out — that was a mooted Labour plan. Meanwhile, the SNP are staying quiet.

This is a members-only story, so if you'd like to read it — and support local journalism for less than £8 a month — push one of the big red buttons below and join The Bell's 400 (!) paying members. We want to reach 500 by the end of February. A lofty goal, but we think Glasgow can do it.

'I could have joined Labour': Thomas Kerr is Reform's first councillor in Glasgow. He sits down with The Bell to tell us why he lost faith with his party and how the SNP's housing lead is a conservative at heart.

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.