EXCLUSIVE: The East Kilbride Constituency Labour Party voted on Thursday evening for Reid to be readmitted.
David Taylor (left) and MP Joani Reid(Image: Facebook)
Local Labour members have urged the UK party to lift the suspension of a Scots MP amid allegations her husband spied for China.
The East Kilbride Constituency Labour Party (CLP) unanimously voted on Thursday evening for Joani Reid to be readmitted.
Reid’s spouse, David Taylor, was one of three people arrested on March 4th on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service.
Reid, elected as the Labour MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven at the general election, was suspended by the party twenty four hours later.
Senior party figures have questioned the move because the MP, who is a member of the Home Affairs committee, is not under investigation and has denied any wrongdoing
It is understood her local CLP agreed to write to party general secretary Hollie Ridley calling for her to be brought back into the fold.
A Labour member in East Kilbride said: “The local party unanimously agreed that the administrative suspension should be lifted.
“Joani Reid is an effective MP and campaigner.”
A Scottish Labour MP also said: “Joani is one of our most effective MPs and hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing herself, so it feels only fair she should be given the whip back.”
Speaking to the Record in March, the then Health Secretary Wes Streeting suggested it was unfair to judge Reid based on her husband’s situation:
“We’re now in the 21st century. I think Joani Reid’s put out a very clear statement, and I don’t think we should make assumptions about women based on the actions of their partners and husbands.”
Reid, who is currently sitting as an Independent MP, declined to comment.
She said in a statement in March: “The shock of recent days has been difficult for me and my family. I want to reiterate something very important: I am not under investigation by the police and no accusations have been against me. I have done nothing wrong. I love my country.
“To serve the people of East Kilbride and Strathaven as their MP and the Labour Party has been – and continues to be – the privilege of my life.
“I understand that speculation and gossip is fevered at a time like this. I do not want the circumstances that I and my family find ourselves in to be a distraction for this government, of which I am proud and in whom I believe.
“I also do not want my children – who have nothing to answer for and who deserve privacy and compassion – to find themselves subject to intrusion.”
