Malcolm Offord confirmed as Reform leader in Scotland

Malcolm Offord has been announced as Reform UK’s new leader in Scotland.

A former Scotland Office minister, Offord defected from the Conservatives in early December.

He has also announced his retirement from the House of Lords, effective from 30 January.

The announcement came as it emerged Robert Jenrick has been sacked by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and had the whip removed amid suggestions that he too was set to defect. 

Offord said: “The momentum is with Reform, no question about it. We are going to campaign from now on, on a very, very positive campaign with one clear message, one clear objective: we want to remove this rotten SNP government.”

Reform MSP Graham Simpson brought forward an amendment to the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill last autumn which banned dual mandates in the Lords.

Offord would have been able to stand for election but, if elected, would have had to give up his position in the Lords.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the move as a “brave and principled” decision, and announced “plain Malcolm Offord” as the party’s new Scottish leader.

Farage also said his party had now vetted 100 candidates for May’s election, with an announcement to be made “over the next very weeks”.

And he claimed the election was a “two-horse race” between his party and the SNP.

A poll published earlier today put Reform and Scottish Labour tied for second place, with the SNP out in front.

Farage said: “I believe that we will be seen as the main opposition because neither the Conservative Party or Labour Party have been able to provide genuine, real coherence to much of the damage the SNP have done to Scotland.”

He suggested this was due to “big internal divisions” with the two parties and insisted his was “united”.

Farage said his party would hold a conference in March to unveil the rest of its Holyrood candidates.

Responding to the announcement about Offord, SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: “Nigel Farage appointing his man in Scotland underlines exactly what Reform is – a bunch of former Tories who Scotland has already rejected time and time again, pretending to be on the side of ordinary people.
 
“Now that Offord is in post, the people of Scotland deserve to know where he actually stands on the key issues facing them.  He cannot get away with just ranting on the sidelines.”

And Scottish Labour's Anas Sarwar said: “Lord Offord’s appointment confirms that Reform are simply Tories in disguise – the same team, with a different badge. Like so much of Reform’s top brass, Lord Offord was a loyal member of the Tory party until he saw a chance for personal gain.”

During the press conference to unveil Offord, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch was reported to have been “presented with clear, irrefutable evidence that [Jenrick] was plotting in secret to defect” to Reform.

Speaking at the press conference in Fife, Farage denied there was a “plot”.

Asked about Badenoch's decision, Farage said “she's flapped, she's panicked”.

On Jenrick joining, he said: “There's no deal been signed. I'm going to give him a ring this afternoon, I might buy him a drink and see what he wants to do.”