Former Chair of Glasgow University Labour defects to Reform UK

The announcement comes ahead of a by-election in South Lanarkshire, in which Reform UK presents a serious challenge to the Scottish National Party and Labour.

Jamie McGuire, a University of Glasgow graduate and former Chair of the Glasgow University Labour Club, has left Scottish Labour to join Reform UK. McGuire is the first elected Labour figure in Scotland to make the switch to Nigel Farage’s party.

McGuire currently serves as councillor for Renfrew North and Braehead after being elected in 2022 while still completing his undergraduate Politics degree. He announced his defection on Monday, just days before the Holyrood by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse on 5 June.

Before graduating last year, McGuire was active in student politics, Chairing the Glasgow University Labour Club (GULC) from 2021 to 2022 and even hosting a guest appearance by Jeremy Corbyn at Dram, while the former Labour leader was in Glasgow for COP26. He later served as Secretary of both Scottish Young Labour and Scottish Labour Students from 2022-2023.

His move brings the number of Reform UK councillors in Scotland to 14, and comes amid a high-profile Reform push in the Hamilton by-election. Party leader Nigel Farage visited the constituency last week, describing Reform as a “fresh positive voice” between the SNP and Labour “seesaw” in Scottish politics.

At a press event, Farage claimed the party was “beginning to eclipse Labour” in parts of Scotland, as he welcomed McGuire and another defector, former Aberdeen Conservative councillor Duncan Massey.

McGuire’s former party colleagues have similarly condemned the defection. Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon called it “a shameful defection to the far-right motivated by personal ambition.”

A former student who served on the GULC committee alongside McGuire told Hillhead Review that the defection felt like “a slap in the face”, saying: “I am quite shocked because he was so deep within the Labour circles and organised some decent events too for the society. 

“He got elected councillor and trained by the party to be a candidate so it does feel like a slap in the face. It is shocking but at the same time, it is obvious now that he is a careerist first and foremost with no values.”

Another former member of GULC committee who worked with McGuire also said that: “He [McGuire] was never a Corbyn supporter or left wing, but also became fully ingrained in the Starmer project and rode on the coattails of Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour project and this was all in an effort to get him further into the political hierarchy

“It has always been clear that he wants to be a politician, and he now sees Reform breaking through and has aligned his path with them to enter the political game.”

A University of Glasgow graduate who studied Politics alongside McGuire told Hillhead Review he was “beyond floored” when he saw Reform’s announcement that McGuire had defected to the party. 

“I assumed some SNP cybernat had made it up as a joke…[McGuire] was the biggest Labour party advocate I knew at university. I even spoke to him last year and he was talking to me about his excitement for what the Labour party was going to do in government and his excitement for the Scottish elections. It feels like a fever dream.

“He’s one of the most lovely guys I’ve met, I’m really curious to hear more about his decision and hopes for the party’s future.”

Cllr. Jamie McGuire has been contacted for comment.

Published 3 June 2025