Cllr Daniel Hampsey

Reform UK Councillor for Dunoon Ward, Argyll & Bute Council. Promoted by Daniel Hampsey, Kilmory, Lochgilphead, Argyll, PA31 8RT.

[Max Bannerman MSP 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @Max4Moray]

I have written to the Presiding Officer to ask that he recall Parliament for an urgent ministerial statement from the Transport Secretary on the safety of the MV Glen Sannox.

There are serious questions about the gas leak which MSPs must be able to put to Stephen Flynn.

[Malcolm Offord MSP @Malcolm_Offord]

This young man is passionate and articulate, but has been told at every turn that wealth cannot be earned.

I want a Scotland where wealth is no longer a dirty word - because passion for enterprise and industry pays.

[Cllr Fiona Higgins @Fiona_Higgins_]

⚖️ HIGGINS v STANDARDS COMMISSION JUDGMENT: SUCCESS

Today is an historical day.

The Court of Session has ruled that the Standards Commission acted “outwith its lawful powers” when it refused to admit seven key documents I wanted to rely on in my defence.

Lord Sandison also identified “an apparent lack of internal logic” in aspects of the Commission’s reasoning.

I did not go into politics expecting to spend my time in the Court of Session. I became a councillor because I wanted to represent people, protect public services and speak up when decisions made in powerful institutions have real consequences for ordinary families.

And that is where this story actually began: with teachers and Glasgow’s children.

Before I was a councillor, I was a teacher. I know what happens when schools lose staff. It is not a just a figure on a spreadsheet. It means less time for the child who needs extra help, more pressure on staff already giving everything they have, and fewer opportunities to intervene before a young person starts to fall behind.

So when serious questions arose about proposed cuts to teacher numbers and how those proposals had been presented to councillors and the public, I spoke out.

That is not something I apologise for.

Councillors are not elected simply to sit quietly, accept what we are told and move on. We are elected to ask questions, scrutinise decisions and stand up for the communities that put their trust in us - particularly when doing so is uncomfortable.

When I subsequently faced Standards proceedings over what I had said, I believed something equally basic: if I was going to be judged, I should be allowed to put the relevant evidence before those judging me.

The Standards Commission refused to admit a number of those documents.

I challenged that decision.

And today, the Court has ruled that seven of those refusals were outside the Commission’s lawful powers.

I am pleased with that outcome, but I am also very conscious that this judgment matters beyond me.

It deals with much bigger questions about fair hearings, relevant evidence, access to justice and the ability of courts to intervene when someone says a regulatory or disciplinary process is itself unfair.

Those principles do not belong to one councillor, one political party or even one Standards Commission case. They matter wherever institutions are given the power to investigate, discipline or sanction people.

If public bodies have the power to hold others accountable, it is right that their own decisions can also be tested against the law.

There are people without whom I would never have reached today.

Paul McManus stepped forward when the financial reality of taking a case like this to the Court of Session could very easily have stopped me in my tracks.

Paul did more than say, “I support you.”

He made it possible for me to keep going and have these questions properly tested in court.

There is something deeply human about somebody seeing another person facing a fight they could not realistically fund alone and deciding simply: I’m going to help.

Paul, I will never forget that. Thank you.

I am enormously grateful too to Professor Peter Watson, Michael McKitrick and everyone at PBW Law, who have worked tirelessly on my behalf, and to Jack Irvine for his advice, encouragement and steadfast support throughout.

Before Lord Sandison, Dan Byrne KC assisted by Ross Cameron, Advocate, advanced my case with exceptional skill and clarity. Watching people of that calibre argue the principles at the heart of my case was something I will remember for the rest of my life.

And then there are all the people who will never appear in a judgment or press release.

The messages. The phone calls. The quiet “keep going”. The person checking in at exactly the moment it was needed.

Support has come from across public and political life, and I have been genuinely humbled by it.

The underlying Standards Commission proceedings remain ongoing. Today’s judgment does not decide the merits of the original complaint, and I will continue to respect that process.

But it does mean that important evidence can now be heard.

And after everything that has happened, I come back to the same reason I spoke up in the first place.

I was elected to represent a community.

I was elected to ask questions.

And when decisions affect teachers, children and families, I believe those questions are worth asking - even when asking them comes at a cost.

Public service can never be reduced to keeping your head down. It should mean remembering who sent you there, and having the courage to speak for them.

Today was an important day.

Thank you to everyone who helped me get here - I really could not have achieved this euthoit you.

Sincerely
Cllr Fiona Higgins

[Malcolm Offord MSP @Malcolm_Offord]

Plaid Cymru is implacably opposed to Reform.

But Rhun ap Iorwerth has shown true leadership in his initial comments as First Minister of Wales, showing respect for the whole country he wishes to serve.

[Malcolm Offord MSP @Malcolm_Offord]

Never.

I’m sick of ambitious young Scots having to leave Scotland to make a success of themselves.

I don’t want them to have to go to London to make their money, like I did, or be drawn to Dubai.

I’ll not be going anywhere until Scotland works for those who work.

[Malcolm Offord MSP @Malcolm_Offord]

The SNP centralised power and decision-making in Holyrood, and saddled councils with huge unfunded spending obligations. It’s why council taxes are now rising faster than inflation while basic public services are crumbling.

When I was at the Scotland Office we showed them what real investment in communities looks like, for the first time in 25 years.

[Cllr Daniel Hampsey @DanielHampsey]

@AyeCowal @argyllandbute @theSNP @scotlibdems Cllr Andrew Kain’s comments throughout the Mull school saga have been disgraceful. As is the smoke-and-mirrors response from the administration. On 4 April 2024, on becoming leader, Cllr Jim Lynch said the lack of clarity on a Mull school showed the need for change. Some ‘change’

[Reform UK Scotland @ReformUKScot]

Scottish workers and business owners are paying too much tax 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Cllr Jaymey McIvor 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @McivorJaymey]

Scotland Needs Reform. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧

Great press conference this morning where @Malcolm_Offord outlined three policy areas for @ReformUKScot 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Welcome to @DanielHampsey who has joined @reformparty_uk to work alongside our brilliant councillor team 🇬🇧

📍 Scotland

[Cllr Daniel Hampsey @DanielHampsey]

Delighted to have joined @ReformUKScot today. The political establishment have failed our country, Holyrood has had the same political consensus and it’s time for change. With @Malcolm_Offord leadership, Reform have all the momentum going into the elections in May.

[Reform UK Scotland @ReformUKScot]

Delighted to welcome @DanielHampsey to Reform UK Scotland.

We have all the momentum in Scottish politics 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[The Telegraph @Telegraph]

🔴 Pro-Scottish independence accounts on X have gone dark after an internet shutdown in Iran, exposing suspected links between the regime in Tehran and online influencers attempting to interfere with UK politics
https://t.co/Si4QAv0dp9

[Cllr Daniel Hampsey @DanielHampsey]

@AyeCowal @DrDMacaskill @heraldscotland @argyllandbute Thanks Michael agreed a good piece in the Herald. Proposals here in Argyll & Bute now vastly radical to the extent it could ruin, potentially cost lives. Time for all parties, nationally and locally to put politicking aside - the cost is the entire system collapsing.

[Michael Breslin 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @AyeCowal]

@DrDMacaskill has written an excellent piece in today's @heraldscotland .

For years, the care sector has been the poor relation to the SNHS.

This has to change, not least in @argyllandbute .

There is talk of telecare and day care being cut. Utterly false economies.

@DanielHampsey deserves thanks for his support.

https://t.co/vCidErkf27

[Piers Morgan @piersmorgan]

Charlie Kirk’s assassin Tyler Robinson, 22, killed him because he hated his opinions and thought he was a fascist. Yet ironically, HE was the fascist, killing someone to silence their opposing views.
The woke left love to say ‘speech is violent.’
It’s not - violence is.

[Agent P @AgentP22]

Scottish civil servants told to come in 2 days a week — respond with:

🏊 “Where’s the pool?”
💸 “Pay me to commute!”
🤫 “We need shush rooms.”
🚶 “What about my long lunchtime walks?”
⚖️ “Is this a human rights breach?”

What a bunch of skivers.

Meanwhile the rest of us are paying the highest taxes in the UK to fund it all.

https://t.co/P6cf1Nkivv

[Garrett Stell @stell_garrett]

After a meeting that lasted four hours, @argyllandbute voted Tobermory as the preferred site for the new Mull Campus.

Multiple councillors registered dissent and said they had "serious misgivings" about the process.

https://t.co/A0qqpiYuUQ

[Hugh Henry @hughhenry_12]

In Scotland I have to pay Aldi an extra £2.35 for this compared to customers in Carlisle. Not a penny goes to public services, the supermarkets keep every extra penny. Does making me and others like me pay more to supermarkets for a bottle of wine really stop problem drinking?

[British Electoral Politics @electpoliticsuk]

Scottish Independence Voting Intention 10 years on from the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum:

NO: 56% (+1)
YES: 44% (-1)

Via @YouGov, On 29 Aug-3 Sept,
Changes w/ 2014 Independence Referendum.

[@GinaDavidson @ginadavidsonlbc]

This is quite the watch.

[BBC Scotland News @BBCScotlandNews]

SNP choices contributing to financial pressure - watchdog https://t.co/1glhdZR6ER