Reform UK announce former Tory peer Malcolm Offord as new leader in Scotland

Nigel Farage has unveiled Reform UK’s new leader in Scotland as millionaire former Conservative donor, Lord Malcolm Offord.

The former Tory minister was made a peer by Boris Johnson before defecting to Mr Farage’s party in December, and will now lead Reform UK’s efforts in Scotland.

Announcing his new role during a press conference in Fife on Thursday morning, Farage announced Lord Offord will be giving up his seat in the Lords to stand for election to Holyrood in May.

Rather than being elected to the role of leader, Mr Offord was appointed to the post directly by Mr Farage, with the new Scottish leader saying it is a “great honour”.

He added: “I think we could even surprise ourselves with just how many votes we manage to garner in this elections.

“A huge chunk of the Scottish electorate are looking for something different, they’re tired of the decline this country has seen under SNP Government.”

Noting that opinion polls have shown “some considerable shift” towards Reform, Mr Farage continued: “I’m increasingly of the view that these elections on May 7 will be literally a two-horse race in Scotland between us and the SNP.

“I believe we will be seen as the main opposition because neither the Conservative Party nor Labour Party have been able to provide genuine, real coherence to much of the damage the SNP have done for Scotland.”

Mr Offord previously served in the Conservative government as an exports minister before Labour won the 2024 general election.

The former Scottish Conservative party treasurer has donated around £150,000 to the Conservatives, and was made a life peer and given his first ministerial job by former prime minister Mr Johnson in September 2021.

When he defected to Reform in December, he declared he believed the Scottish Conservatives have “given up” on Scotland.

Ahead of the press conference, photographers crowded around a copy of a letter from the office Lord Offord, appearing to confirm his wish to retire from the House of Lords.

His leadership in Scotland is the latest in a series of announcements the party has made ahead of May’s local elections, which are expected to see a Labour wipeout and a Reform surge.