How Reform UK is using Alex Salmond's image to get ready for the Scottish Parliament election

It was one of the dominant images of the 2015 election: a poster of Alex Salmond with Ed Miliband in his pocket.

The Conservative ad was deployed with weeks to go until the UK-wide ballot as a post-indyref surge built up around the SNP, suggesting a Labour win would hand power to the party Salmond had led.

Now it’s being used by Reform UK to get its network campaign-ready.

In an internal presentation for candidates, Reform UK campaigns and training director Jack Duffin calls the image “the most impactful message [he has] ever seen in politics”, saying it cost Nigel Farage’s old party Ukip seats.

He said: “This was dropped about three to four weeks out from the election, and going out and knocking doors I’ve never seen voter intentions change so quickly from people going ‘I’m Ukip, I really want Ukip to win but I’m going to vote Conservative because this terrifies me’.

“Singlehandedly, something changes there right at the last minute.”

The material comes from a leaked pack obtained by London Centric and seen by Holyrood.

The wide-ranging presentation references major contests on the horizon, including the Scottish and Welsh parliament elections, England’s local government race and the 2029 general election.

It urges candidates not to “drink and tweet”, calls for a “positive” focus and advises on how to avoid defamation on leaflets.

Polls suggest Reform UK has built sizable support in Scotland and could be on track to win big in May, potentially becoming the second or third largest bloc.

Analysis by Ballot Box Scotland suggests Farage’s party could win 18 seats, coming neck-and-neck with Anas Sarwar’s Labour.

The party is currently represented in Holyrood by Tory defector Graham Simpson, and achieved its first electoral win this month when candidate David McLellan triumphed in a West Lothian Council by-election.

In the presentation, Duffin warns would-be politicians against complacency, telling them not to rely on a “five-ten per cent lead” and instead build up to a “15/20 per cent” advantage to avoid losing out to “squeeze messaging”, such as that used by the Conservatives in 2015.

Labour’s hopes under Miliband were dashed when the Tories secured an 11-seat Westminster majority, and Scottish Labour was reduced to a single MP in Ian Murray as the SNP managed an unprecedented 56 wins under Nicola Sturgeon.

Despite her ascent to the top of the SNP, it was Salmond who featured in the Tory attack ad.

Duffin said it will “always haunt” him about “what can happen in a political campaign”.

Drawing influence from tried-and-tested Liberal Democrat tactics, the guidance encourages Reform UK teams to present local campaigns as two-horse races and urges them to resist posting on social media and instead remain “under the radar” to avoid attacks because “biggest threat” to Reform’s standing “is Reform itself”.

Duffin said: “If this drops on a desk of an anti-Reform journalist, what are they going to read into it? What are they going to do with it?”

He goes on: “The simplest rule here: don’t drink and tweet. Sounds silly, but it’s certainly important to remember. If you’re in any doubt, just don’t post it. It’s not hard. Just press delete and leave it, or just save it in the drafts and think about it tomorrow.”

On another slide, he comments: “Ideally, a candidate won’t be politically active on social media because you see it so often, people just want to give an opinion on everything happening in the world. And then six months down the line those things seem nuts and then you’re opening yourself up to a whole range of criticism and negativity.

“Social media is not going to make a difference whether you win a local election. It could be the difference from where you lose it because you’ve tweeted some ridiculous stuff in the past. Do not focus on social media to win your campaign. Keep leafleting, keep knocking on doors.”

“We’re trying to be the party of government,” he says elsewhere, “and if you want to be in government, you’ve got to act like an adult.”

Part of the argument is about leaving social messaging to Farage and his top team. Duffin says the party is “dominating the digital and air war”, adding: “Nigel and the team around him in HQ are doing an amazing job. You only have to look at TikTok.”

In material on election literature, there is a warning against naming opposition, and a caution that any negativity should be directed towards rival parties, not candidates, because “you can’t defame a political party in the same way you can defame an individual” and it “gives you an extra little bit of protection”.

The presentation says “generic leaflets” will be prepared on “Wales, Scotland and more”. The economy, health and crime are also described as key Reform issues, and party players are encouraged to follow YouGov polling to ensure they’re focused on top issues of concern for voters. The presentation says: “The massive campaign that’s going on about ‘Britain is lawless’, that’s perfect for us as a party.

“We’re already the party that’s going to deal with immigration. If we become the party that deals with crime, suddenly we’ve got two of the top four locked-in.”

On a local level, social housing, bin collections, protecting the green belt and scrapping the “woke agenda” are all recommended for campaign literature.

However, contenders are warned that “people never tend to ask policy questions”. “For the time being, there’s not a record and reason for people to hate us,” Duffin says.

Reform UK was contacted for comment.