🔗 Share this article Reform UK Leader Speaks at Party's Largest Scottish Rally Amid Scrutiny and Defection Nigel Farage addressed the largest the party's rally held in Scotland to date, however declined to speak with local journalists following the event. In his place, recently switched peer the former Conservative donor took on the task of responding to queries on allegations of racism and antisemitism surrounding the party leader. A High-Profile Defection The leader presented the ex-Tory lord and wealthy businessman during a sold-out rally of about 700 attendees at a hotel conference centre near Falkirk. Offord, who served as a junior minister for Scotland in the previous administration and was until recently treasurer of the Scottish Conservatives, stated his plan to give up his peerage in order to become a candidate for Reform UK in next May’s Holyrood elections. The leader stated he was “delighted” to greet the new member. He described the switch as “a brave and historic act”. Avoiding Media Scrutiny Farage spoke to the crowd after a turbulent week which included him delivering a fierce criticism of the broadcaster after they quizzed him about an investigation into alleged racist and antisemitic behaviour from his teenage years. But, Farage dodged the expected press huddle post-rally. When asked why his new party’s leader was not available to address growing claims concerning his history, Offord said: “You’ll need to ask him that question.” Challenged about if he thought Farage should apologise for his alleged remarks towards Jewish pupils, he stated: “I think that’s something he’ll need to consider with his own advisers.” Insisting on Fitness Offord insisted that Farage was “ethically suitable” to be prime minister and rejected claims of coded political messaging. While addressing supporters, Farage had doubled down on his remarks about pupils in Glasgow 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?” Although the first minister, John Swinney criticised the initial comments as “racist”, and Keir Starmer called them “harmful and polarising”, the defector argued that Farage was “highlighting a factual issue that people are talking about on the doorstep”. A Party on the Rise The event, attended by an energetic and enthused crowd of largely male, white and middle-aged supporters who bought tickets for the event, showcases the party’s growing confidence before next May’s elections. Although the Scottish National Party remains ahead, Reform UK has made substantial progress in the past year, achieving a quarter of the vote in a recent parliamentary by-election. After the collapse in support for Scottish Labour, Reform has regularly pushed it into third place lately, with support reaching over a fifth. Declaring that party membership north of the border had increased fourfold in the past year to a running total of 12,000, the party chair, David Bull stated his belief it could win around twenty parliamentary seats in May, which would place Reform in “a powerful situation” at Holyrood. Campaign Rhetoric A Reform councillor, one of Reform’s 19 Scottish councillors, prompted a roar of approval as he described Farage as “Britain’s next prime minister”. He instructed the crowd to “man the barricades as we take on the political establishment”, warning that “the next five months will be tough”. Despite not yet publishing any Scotland-specific policies, speakers from the north-east pledged Reform would “confront climate activists and those profiting from green policies”. The leader personally expressed his pleasure 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”. Protests Nearby Meanwhile, a few miles west in Falkirk town centre, anti-immigration and anti-racist protesters assembled for what have become regular weekly confrontations near a hotel used to accommodate asylum seekers. The organisers of the demonstrations said it was galvanised by a serious local crime. Speaking previously, First Minister John Swinney 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 extremist opinions and people with “legitimate points” about strain on public services or community safety.