Paul Embery
- Political commentator
- Author
- Firefighter
- Trade unionist
Paul Embery is a British author, political commentator, and trade union activist. He has worked as a columnist for UnHerd and Huffington Post, and has hosted The Political Correction segment of GB News. Embery is a member of the Blue Labour campaign movement.
Biography
Embery was born and raised in Dagenham.[1] He served as a firefighter with the London Fire Brigade and was on the executive council of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), serving as the regional secretary of the Fire Brigades Union in London. He became a member of the Labour Party in 1994.[2]
In March 2019, Embery spoke at the pro-Brexit Leave Means Leave rally in London. As a result, he was dismissed from his role from the Fire Brigades Union and barred from being a Fire Brigades Union official for two years as the FBU stated Embery's decision to speak at the rally violated their anti-Brexit policy.[3] The decision was criticised by politicians Kate Hoey[4] and Jon Cruddas.[5] In August 2021, it was ruled that Embery had been unfairly dismissed from his position.[3] In April 2023, this decision was overturned at the Employment Appeals Tribunal on the grounds that as an elected lay official, Embery was not an employee of the Union.[6]
In 2020, Embery published Despised: Why the Modern Left Loathes the Working Class..[7][8]
In May 2023, Jo Grady, the General Secretary of the University and College Union, agreed to pay "substantial damages" to Embery after he made a libel claim against her. This followed tweets from Grady that Embery said falsely portrayed him as "a misogynist, a pervert and a liar" that were made in response to him highlighting the anti-social behaviour of a group of women on a train.[9]
References
- ^ "Paul Embery -- Despised: Why the Left Loathes the Working Class". YouTube. 6 November 2020.
- ^ "Paul Embery firefighter; trade unionist; columnist; author; broadcaster". Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ a b Bowden, George (5 August 2021). "Paul Embery: Pro-Brexit fire union official unfairly sacked, tribunal finds". BBC News. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ Hoey, Kate (29 July 2019). "The betrayal of Paul Embery". UnHerd. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ Cruddas, Jon (16 December 2019). "In Defence of Paul Embery". Blue Labour. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ "Fire Brigades Union wins in Employment Appeals Tribunal". Fire Brigades Union. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- ^ Despised: Why the Modern Left Loathes the Working Class. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ "Despised". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Pilgrim, Tom (9 May 2023). "Union boss to pay damages to firefighter over 'reckless' tweets, court told". The Independent. Retrieved 10 May 2023.