Nigel Farage introduced Malcolm Offord, a former Conservative peer and millionaire donor, at Reform UK’s largest rally to date in Scotland, held near Falkirk. Offord announced he would give up his peerage to stand for the party in next May’s Holyrood elections. Farage called the defection “a brave and historic act.”
Farage avoided a press huddle after the event, leaving Offord to field questions about allegations of racism and antisemitism. Offord said Farage would need to consider an apology with his own advisers, but insisted the leader was “morally fit” to be prime minister.
During his speech, Farage doubled down on remarks about Glasgow schoolchildren speaking English as a second language, asking: “Who voted for the wholesale change of the population of Glasgow?” First Minister John Swinney had previously condemned the remarks as “racist.”
The rally, attended by about 700 supporters, highlighted Reform UK’s growing confidence ahead of the Scottish parliament elections. Party chair David Bull claimed membership in Scotland had quadrupled to 12,000, and predicted up to 20 MSPs in May.
Speakers criticised net-zero policies, and a bagpiper led proceedings. Meanwhile, anti-immigration and anti-racist protesters gathered in Falkirk, where asylum seekers are housed at a local hotel.
