Nigel Farage spoke to the biggest Reform UK rally so far in Scotland, but declined to speak with local journalists following the event. Instead, recently switched peer the former Conservative donor was left to field questions on claims of discriminatory behaviour and anti-Jewish sentiment surrounding the party leader.
Welcoming a New Recruit
The leader presented the former Conservative peer and wealthy businessman during a sold-out rally of roughly seven hundred supporters at a hotel conference centre in central Scotland. Offord, who served as a Scotland Office minister in the previous administration and most recently served as treasurer of the Scottish Conservatives, announced his intention to relinquish his seat in the Lords in order to become a candidate for the party in next May’s Holyrood elections.
Farage said he was “extremely pleased” to greet the new member. He called the peer’s defection 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 about an investigation into alleged racist and antisemitic behaviour from his teenage years. But, the leader avoided a planned media briefing post-rally.
Questioned why Farage did not make himself available to address growing claims concerning his history, the new recruit responded: “That is a question for him to answer.”
Pressed on if he thought an apology was necessary for his alleged remarks about Jewish students, Offord said: “That is a matter for him to deliberate on with his team.”
Defending the Leader
The peer maintained that Farage was “morally fit” to be prime minister and denied he was employing coded political messaging. While addressing supporters, the leader had reiterated on his remarks about the number of Glasgow schoolchildren who speak English as a second language by asking the rally: “Who voted for the wholesale change of the population of Glasgow?”
Although the first minister, John Swinney condemned the initial comments as “discriminatory”, and the Labour leader called them “toxic and divisive”, the defector argued that Farage was “highlighting a factual issue that “voters are discussing”.
A Party on the Rise
The rally, attended by an lively and passionate audience of largely male, white and middle-aged supporters who each paid £6 to attend, showcases Reform's increasing self-assurance before next May’s elections.
While the Scottish National Party remains ahead, the party has made substantial progress recently, achieving a quarter of the vote in a recent parliamentary by-election. After the collapse in support for Scottish Labour, the party has often relegated it to third in recent months, with support reaching over a fifth.
Announcing that Reform UK membership in Scotland had increased fourfold over the last twelve months to 12,000 members, a senior party official stated his belief it could gain up to 20 MSPs in May, putting the party in “a very strong position” in the Scottish Parliament.
Campaign Rhetoric
Thomas Kerr, one of Reform’s 19 Scottish councillors, 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 take on the political establishment”, cautioning that “the next five months will be tough”.
Despite not yet publishing a distinct policy platform for Scotland, representatives pledged Reform would “confront climate activists and those profiting from green policies”.
Farage himself underlined his delight at Reform's rise as a significant player in the political scene in Scotland over the past 12 months, confessing to supporters that he was once told he “couldn't fill a small venue”.
Local Context
Meanwhile, a few miles west in the heart of Falkirk, demonstrators with opposing views assembled for a now-regular weekly standoff near a hotel used to accommodate asylum seekers.
A group coordinating protests said it was galvanised by a serious local crime. Speaking previously, Scotland's leader warned that “what the far right do is to apportion the blame … to asylum seekers or migrants and I think that is the source of a harmful narrative”.
However, he differentiated between those who hold far-right views and people with “legitimate points” about pressure on local services or neighbourhood security.
