Glasgow councillor at centre of 'white racism' row joins Reform

Audrey Dempsey will become the party’s second councillor in Glasgow, after Thomas Kerr defected from the Tories in January.

She was suspended by Labour last year after being accused of making racist remarks, and later quit the party.

At the time, Ms Dempsey, who represents Springburn and Robroyston, said she had been the victim of a "character assassination".

Her decision to join Reform comes after former Tory MSP Graham Simpson defected to Nigel Farage’s party on Wednesday.

Ms Dempsey said she was “proud to have found my new political home with a party that shares my values, beliefs and convictions for real and radical change”.

She added: “Reform UK and Nigel Farage aren’t just challenging the status quo; they’re ripping it apart. They’re focused on tackling illegal migration, standing up for women and girls’ safety and transforming working people’s lives for the better.”

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Mr Kerr said: “I’ve been honoured to call Audrey Dempsey a friend for a number of years and have seen first-hand her fearless championing of Glasgow’s forgotten working-class communities.

“Glasgow is being ripped apart due to SNP incompetence and Labour negligence. They aren’t interested in Glaswegians – for them it’s career, for us it’s country.

“Reform UK is growing in numbers, elected members and polling. Yesterday, we got our first MSP, with my friend Graham Simpson joining our party to help transform Scotland and get Nigel Farage into Number 10.

“Audrey might be the latest, but I assure you she won’t be the last.”

Ms Dempsey is the seventeenth Scottish councillor to join Reform. Her decision means the party may now be represented on council committees in Glasgow.

Speaking to journalists in Scotland on Wednesday, Mr Farage said he wanted Reform to be “strong enough” in Scotland to “get rid of the SNP”.