Paul Embery
{{Short description|Political commentator}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Paul Embery
| image =
| nationality = British
| occupation = {{Unbulleted list|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.{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvAphpNCkZY | title=Paul Embery -- Despised: Why the Left Loathes the Working Class | website=YouTube | date=6 November 2020 }} 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/speaker/paul-embery/ |title=Paul Embery firefighter; trade unionist; columnist; author; broadcaster |access-date=14 January 2022}}
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.{{cite news |last=Bowden |first=George |date=5 August 2021 |title=Paul Embery: Pro-Brexit fire union official unfairly sacked, tribunal finds |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56376172 |work=BBC News |access-date=14 January 2022}} The decision was criticised by politicians Kate Hoey and Jon Cruddas.{{cite web |url=https://unherd.com/2019/07/the-betrayal-of-paul-embery/ |title=The betrayal of Paul Embery |last=Hoey |first=Kate |date=29 July 2019 |work=UnHerd |access-date=14 January 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bluelabour.org/home/jon-cruddas-mp-in-defence-of-paul-embery |first=Jon |last=Cruddas |title=In Defence of Paul Embery |date=16 December 2019 |publisher=Blue Labour |access-date=14 January 2022}} In August 2021, it was ruled that Embery had been unfairly dismissed from his position. 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.{{cite news |date=14 April 2023 |title=Fire Brigades Union wins in Employment Appeals Tribunal |url=https://www.fbu.org.uk/news/2023/04/14/fire-brigades-union-wins-employment-appeals-tribunal |work=Fire Brigades Union |access-date=17 April 2023}}
In 2020, Embery published Despised: Why the Modern Left Loathes the Working Class..{{cite book |url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NWM4RFW/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0|title=Despised: Why the Modern Left Loathes the Working Class |access-date=14 January 2022 |date=18 November 2020 }}{{Cite web |title=Despised |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54883507-despised |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=www.goodreads.com}}
In May 2023, Jo Grady, the General Secretary of the University and College Union, agreed to pay "substantial damages" to Embery after he sued her for libel. This followed tweets from Grady, in response to Embury highlighting the anti-social behaviour of a group of women on a train, that Embery said falsely portrayed him as "a misogynist, a pervert and a liar".{{cite news |last1=Pilgrim |first1=Tom |title=Union boss to pay damages to firefighter over 'reckless' tweets, court told |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/ucu-greater-anglia-high-court-london-norwich-b2335526.html |access-date=10 May 2023 |work=The Independent |date=9 May 2023}}