JOANI Reid, the Labour MP who's husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China, has said she has since faced a "rough few months", with her experience informing who she has chosen to back in the Scottish Labour leadership contest.
The East Kilbride MP voluntarily suspended herself from the party in March following the arrest of her husband David Taylor.
She was not accused of any wrongdoing by the police and has since been readmitted to the party following an internal investigation.
"I've had a rough few months, and politics can go quiet around you when that happens," she explained, before saying she has received support throughout from another MSP.
"But not Joe. He stood by me when there was nothing in it for him. Because he thought it was the right thing to do. That tells me something about his character. He is a decent man. And a kind man."
Joe Fagan, a South Scotland regional MSP elected in the May election, is one of three candidates standing to replace Anas Sarwar as leader.
Michael Marra and Monica Lennon are also preparing a bid, although Lennon does not yet have enough support to get on the ballot.
Speaking to the Record, Reid continued: "People hear a great deal from the Scottish political class about language, identity and symbolism.
"They hear far less that convinces them Scottish Labour understands their lives, respects their values or is interested in where they live.
"Joe understands that because he has never been absorbed into the Holyrood bubble. His politics were formed in East Kilbride and local government.
"He listens properly, knows his own mind and is comfortable with people who don’t spend their lives talking about politics.
Since he announced his intention to stand, Fagan has faced accusations that during his time in local government he presiding over "severe bullying" in South Lanarkshire Council.
East Kilbride councillor Monique Equi also accused her former boss of “political cronyism”.
Equi said she not only faced “severe bullying” but also “hostility in the workplace” as well as a “political system that closed ranks to protect those in power”.
The East Kilbride councillor added: “When our own party rules and leadership lag behind the statutory standards we champion for the rest of the UK, it is women in public life who pay the price."
Much of the criticism levied against Fagan centred around when Equi was investigated by the council’s standards committee for disclosing confidential information on the potential closure of leisure facilities in 2021.
She was eventually pulled up by the ethics watchdog in August 2023, who said her actions had been motivated partly by “political gain”.
Speaking about the investigation and how it was handled, Equi defended herself and said that neither Fagan nor the-then Scottish Labour general secretary James Kelly “offered to help or speak up” for her.
“This was a clear example of political cronyism in action, a culture where protection of the internal network comes before truth, accountability, or the duty of care owed to candidates," she added.
Fagan, in June 2023, was also suspended for two months for disclosing confidential information to the press in a similar breach – with the ruling again saying it was motivated "at least in part" by political gain.
We previously reported on how Fagan’s Wikipedia page was quietly edited to downplay this row just before he announced his leadership campaign. Fagan did not respond to these claims when approached for comment.
Reid added that Fagan will take the "same approach" to the North Sea as he took in local government.
"He is the first candidate to say he will fight for Rosebank and Jackdaw until the UK Government approves them. I agree with him, and I would sooner say it now than after more jobs are lost.
