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Ex-Tory MSP joins the Lib Dems

(Photo by Ken Jack/Getty Images)

The Scottish Liberal Democrats aren’t best known for their ability to grab headlines – but today the spotlight is on them. At the group’s spring conference in Inverness, leader Alex Cole-Hamilton this afternoon unveiled the latest addition to the party: the ex-Tory MSP who dramatically quit the Conservatives on Thursday after blasting their ‘Trump-esque’ style. Talk about a quick turnaround, eh?

Emerging from the shadows, Jamie Greene MSP joked with the Lib Dem membership: ‘I’m not sure who’s more surprised to see me here – me or you!’ Going on, the former Conservative politician and onetime leadership hopeful told his crowd that he had gone from being ‘politically homeless in the last 24 hours to a new home’. Quick to blast the direction his former party had move in, Greene insisted:

Right wing populism and the scapegoating of people must be fought against and be defeated… No one should ever be afraid to speak their mind… We must bring back decency, tolerance and respect into Scottish politics.

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Steerpike
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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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