A LABOUR MSP has fired a thinly-veiled swipe at Keir Starmer – proudly branding herself a “tree hugger”.
The Labour leader is reported to have said he “hates tree huggers” during a meeting of his top team in July – but firebrand Central Scotland MSP Monica Lennon has literally embraced the label.
On what appeared to be a fact-finding visit to Inversnaid forest, Tory net zero spokesperson Graham Simpson posted to Twitter a photograph of him, Lennon and Greens environment spokesperson Mark Ruskell hugging an 800-year-old ash tree.
The first meeting of the Cross-Party Group for tree huggers 🌳 🤗 https://t.co/4N0DuNARZJ
— Monica Lennon MSP (@MonicaLennon7) August 9, 2023
Simpson said: “I am on a fascinating visit to Scotland’s Inversnaid rainforest with [Scottish Environment LINK]. As the species champion for the ash I was excited to see an 800-year-old one so [Lennon, Ruskell] and myself decided to hug it!”
Lennon reposted the image with the caption: “The first meeting of the Cross-Party Group for tree huggers.”
Starmer was reported in July to have delivered a cutting response to what was said to have been an “animated” presentation from shadow energy secretary Ed Miliband – who is widely thought to be at odds with the party leadership because of his enthusiasm for the green agenda.
A source was reported in The Sunday Times as saying: “[Starmer] thanked him for his presentation, but said he wasn’t interested in hope and change, he was more interested in creating sustainable new jobs to replace jobs in old sectors that were being lost.
“He then said he was not interested in tree-huggers, before adding to everyone’s surprise, ‘In fact, I hate tree-huggers’.”
Starmer went on to disown the remark, telling the BBC shortly after the row: “What I said to the shadow cabinet and others is they’re not tree-huggers, they’re not glueing themselves to the road, they haven’t got placards, but they are absolute evangelists for green steel.”
But, as we previously reported, the rumoured comment sparked anger among Scotland’s tree-hugging community, who told us the comments were “disappointing”.
And they appear not to have been forgotten by the one-time Scottish Labour leadership contender Lennon – who has form for expressing her ire at the direction Starmer is taking the UK party…
