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Nigel Farage spoke to the biggest Reform UK rally held in Scotland to date, however declined to speak with the press corps afterwards. In his place, newly defected member of the House of Lords the former Conservative donor was left to responding to queries on claims of discriminatory behaviour and antisemitism linked to the party leader.

A High-Profile Defection

The leader presented the former Conservative peer and wealthy businessman during a sold-out rally of roughly seven hundred attendees in a hotel venue near Falkirk. Offord, who served as a Scotland Office minister under the last government and was until recently treasurer of the Scottish Conservatives, announced his intention to relinquish his seat in the Lords in order to stand for Reform UK in next May’s Holyrood elections.

Farage said he was “delighted” to welcome the new member. He called the peer’s defection as “a courageous and significant move”.

Avoiding Media Scrutiny

Farage spoke to the crowd after a turbulent week which saw him launch a fierce criticism of the broadcaster for questioning him about an investigation into claimed discriminatory and remarks as a youth. But, the leader avoided the expected press huddle post-rally.

Questioned why his new party’s leader was not available to address growing claims concerning his history, the new recruit responded: “You’ll need to ask him that question.”

Pressed on whether he believed an apology was necessary for his alleged remarks about Jewish students, he stated: “I think that’s something he’ll need to consider with his own advisers.”

Insisting on Fitness

The peer maintained that Farage was “morally fit” to be the country's leader and denied he was employing dog-whistle politics. While addressing supporters, Farage had doubled down on his remarks about the number of Glasgow schoolchildren who speak English as a second language by posing the question to the crowd: “Who voted for the wholesale change of the population of Glasgow?”

While Scotland's First Minister condemned Farage’s original remarks as “discriminatory”, and Keir Starmer called them “harmful and polarising”, Offord maintained that his new leader was “highlighting a factual issue that “voters are discussing”.

A Party on the Rise

The event, filled with an lively and passionate audience of predominantly older, white male backers who bought tickets for the event, showcases Reform's increasing self-assurance before next May’s elections.

While the Scottish National Party remains ahead, Reform UK has gained significant ground recently, achieving a quarter of the vote in its first Holyrood byelection test. After the collapse in support for Scottish Labour, Reform has regularly pushed it into third place lately, with support reaching over a fifth.

Announcing that Reform UK membership in Scotland had increased fourfold in the past year to 12,000 members, the party chair, David Bull stated his belief it could gain up to 20 MSPs in May, which would place Reform in “a very strong position” in the Scottish Parliament.

Fighting Talk

Thomas Kerr, one of Reform’s 19 Scottish councillors, prompted a roar of approval as he described Farage as “Britain’s next prime minister”. He told supporters to “prepare for a fight” as we “challenge the ruling class”, warning that “the next five months will be tough”.

Despite not yet publishing any Scotland-specific policies, speakers from the north-east vowed the party would “confront climate activists and those profiting from green policies”.

The leader personally underlined his delight at Reform's rise as a significant player in Scottish politics in the last year, confessing to supporters that he was once told he “couldn't fill a small venue”.

Local Context

As the event was taking place, a few miles west in the heart of Falkirk, anti-immigration and anti-racist protesters were gathering for a now-regular weekly standoff outside a local hotel where asylum seekers are now housed.

A group coordinating protests stated they were motivated by a criminal case involving an asylum seeker. Speaking previously, Scotland's leader cautioned that the tactic of the far-right is to assign responsibility … to new arrivals and I think that is the root of the poison”.

However, he differentiated between those who hold far-right views and people with “legitimate points” about strain on public services or community safety.