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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Jamie Greene

I’ve quit the Tory party because it’s become a Trumpesque mess. Others will follow

Jamie Greene (left), Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton (centre), and Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, at the party’s Scottish conference at the Eden Court theatre, Inverness, 4 April 2025.
Jamie Greene (left), Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton (centre), and Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, at the party’s Scottish conference at the Eden Court theatre, Inverness, 4 April 2025. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

I joined the Scottish Conservatives in 2015, back around the time when David Cameron was still hugging hoodies. By that point, he had pushed equal marriage through a sceptical and deeply difficult party, had moved to the middle ground on issues such as the environment, and had, of course, stood arm in arm with Nick Clegg outside No 10, publicly embracing moderate, centrist liberalism as circumstances necessitated. Ten years later, the party has changed enormously, and I have left.

For me, it all began well. I was duly signed up by Ruth Davidson to the Scottish party, and elected in 2016 to the Scottish parliament. You may remember her karate-esque political punches, tank-driving photos and, during the Brexit referendum, the way she took down Boris Johnson in front of thousands of people at Wembley Arena.

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