The Reform UK figurehead addressed the biggest Reform UK rally so far in Scotland, however declined to speak with local journalists following the event. Instead, newly defected member of the House of Lords the former Conservative donor took on the task of responding to queries on allegations of racism and anti-Jewish sentiment surrounding the party leader.
Welcoming a New Recruit
Farage introduced the former Conservative peer and millionaire donor at a sold-out rally of about 700 attendees at a hotel conference centre near Falkirk. The businessman, who worked as a junior minister for Scotland in the previous administration and was until recently the Scottish Tory party's chief financial officer, stated his plan to give up his peerage in order to stand for Reform UK in next May’s Holyrood elections.
Farage said he was “extremely pleased” to greet Offord to the party. He called the peer’s defection as “a brave and historic act”.
Dodging the Press
Farage spoke to the crowd following a difficult period which saw him launch a fierce criticism of the broadcaster for questioning him regarding a report into alleged racist and antisemitic behaviour as a youth. However, the leader avoided a planned media briefing post-rally.
Questioned why Farage was not available to address growing claims concerning his history, the new recruit responded: “That is a question for him to answer.”
Challenged about if he thought Farage should apologise for his alleged remarks towards Jewish pupils, he stated: “That is a matter for him to deliberate on with his team.”
Defending the Leader
The peer maintained that the leader is “morally fit” to be prime minister and rejected claims of dog-whistle politics. During his speech, the leader had reiterated on previous comments about pupils in Glasgow who speak English as a second language by asking the rally: “Who authorised the complete transformation of Glasgow's demographics?”
Although the first minister, John Swinney condemned the initial comments as “discriminatory”, and Keir Starmer called them “toxic and divisive”, Offord maintained that his new leader was “drawing attention to a real concern” that “voters are discussing”.
A Party on the Rise
The rally, attended by an energetic and enthused crowd of predominantly older, white male backers who bought tickets for the event, showcases the party’s growing confidence before next May’s elections.
While the Scottish National Party remains ahead, the party has gained significant ground recently, achieving a quarter of the vote in a recent parliamentary by-election. After the collapse in support for Scottish Labour, the party has often relegated it to third in recent months, with support reaching over a fifth.
Declaring that party membership north of the border had increased fourfold over the last twelve months to 12,000 members, a senior party official said he believed it could win around twenty parliamentary seats in May, which would place Reform in “a powerful situation” at Holyrood.
Fighting Talk
Thomas Kerr, one of Reform’s 19 Scottish councillors, prompted a roar of approval as he described Farage as “the future PM of the UK”. He told supporters to “man the barricades as we “challenge the ruling class”, cautioning that “the next five months will be tough”.
Although the party has yet to produce any Scotland-specific policies, speakers from the north-east pledged Reform would “take on the green blob and the net-zero grifters”.
Farage himself underlined his delight at Reform's rise as a significant player in Scottish politics in the last year, admitting to the audience that he was once told he “couldn't fill a small venue”.
Protests Nearby
As the event was taking place, not far away in the heart of Falkirk, anti-immigration and anti-racist protesters assembled for what have become regular weekly confrontations outside a local hotel where asylum seekers are now housed.
The organisers of the demonstrations said it was galvanised by a criminal case involving an asylum seeker. Speaking previously, First Minister John Swinney warned that “what the far right do is to assign responsibility … to new arrivals and I think that is the source of a harmful narrative”.
He also made a clear distinction between those who hold far-right views and people with “valid concerns” about strain on public services or neighbourhood security.
