🔗 Share this article Reform UK Leader Addresses Party's Biggest Gathering in Scotland Following Controversy and High-Profile Switch The Reform UK figurehead addressed the biggest Reform UK public meeting so far in Scotland, however avoided engaging with local journalists afterwards. Instead, recently switched member of the House of Lords the former Conservative donor was left to field questions on claims of discriminatory behaviour and antisemitism surrounding the party leader. Welcoming a New Recruit The leader presented the ex-Tory lord and wealthy businessman at a packed event of about 700 attendees in a hotel venue near Falkirk. The businessman, who worked as a junior minister for Scotland under the last government and was until recently treasurer of the Scottish Conservatives, announced his intention to give up his peerage in order to become a candidate for the party in next May’s Holyrood elections. The leader stated he was “delighted” to welcome Offord to the party. He described the switch as “a courageous and significant move”. Avoiding Media Scrutiny The Reform leader spoke to the crowd following a difficult period which included him delivering a fierce criticism of the broadcaster for questioning him regarding a report into alleged racist and remarks as a youth. But, Farage dodged the expected press huddle post-rally. Questioned why Farage did not make himself available to answer mounting allegations concerning his history, the new recruit responded: “That is a question for him to answer.” Challenged about whether he believed an apology was necessary for the comments he is said to have made about Jewish students, Offord said: “I think that’s something he’ll need to consider with his own advisers.” Insisting on Fitness The peer maintained that the leader is “ethically suitable” to be the country's leader and denied he was employing coded political messaging. While addressing supporters, Farage had doubled down on his remarks about pupils in Glasgow who are not native English speakers by asking the rally: “Who voted for the wholesale change of the population of Glasgow?” Although Scotland's First Minister criticised Farage’s original remarks as “discriminatory”, and Keir Starmer labeled them “toxic and divisive”, Offord maintained that his new leader was “drawing attention to a real concern” that “voters are discussing”. A Party on the Rise The event, attended by an lively and passionate audience of predominantly older, white male backers who each paid £6 to attend, showcases Reform's increasing self-assurance before next May’s elections. While the Scottish National Party remains ahead, Reform UK has made substantial progress in the past year, securing 26% of the vote in a recent parliamentary by-election. After the collapse in support for Scottish Labour, Reform has regularly pushed it into third place in recent months, polling up to 22%. Declaring that Reform UK membership in Scotland had quadrupled over the last twelve months to a running total of 12,000, a senior party official stated his belief it could win around twenty parliamentary seats in May, which would place Reform in “a very strong position” at Holyrood. Fighting Talk Thomas Kerr, a local representative for the party, elicited loud cheers as he referred to the leader as “Britain’s next prime minister”. He instructed the crowd to “prepare for a fight” as we “challenge the ruling class”, cautioning that “the next five months will be tough”. Although the party has yet to produce any Scotland-specific policies, speakers from the north-east pledged Reform would “take on the green blob and the net-zero grifters”. Farage himself expressed his pleasure at the party’s emergence as a force in the political scene in Scotland over the past 12 months, admitting to the audience that he was once told he “wouldn’t get 20 people in a room”. Local Context Meanwhile, a few miles west in the heart of Falkirk, anti-immigration and anti-racist protesters were gathering for what have become regular weekly confrontations outside a local hotel where asylum seekers are now housed. A group coordinating protests said it was galvanised by a criminal case involving an asylum seeker. In an interview, First Minister John Swinney warned that “what the far right do is to assign responsibility … to asylum seekers or migrants and I think that is the root of the poison”. However, he differentiated extremist opinions and people with “legitimate points” about strain on public services or community safety.