Former Tory peer could lead Reform in Scotland

Photo : Lord Offord has been pictured with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage

A former Tory peer who defected to Reform UK could lead the party in Scotland ahead of the campaign for the Holyrood elections next May.

Lord Offord of Garvel, a former Scotland Office minister, has featured on Reform leaflets distributed to target voters, and has been picked to represent the party in STV’s leaders debate next Monday.

The former Tory donor defected earlier this month, and his growing prominence in Reform’s campaigning operation has led to heightened speculation that he will be its Scottish leader going into the elections.

A photo of him posing with Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, was featured prominently on the leaflets sent to target voters in central Scotland.

The letter, seen by The Telegraph, stated that he peer would be standing for Reform as “plain old Malcolm from Greenock”, the town on the Clyde where the financier grew up.

A senior party source said: “Malcolm’s done a fantastic job since he’s come on board. He’s an excellent member of the team and is doing a great job representing us. He definitely has the potential to be our leader.”

The latest polling shows Reform would be the second largest party in Holyrood, winning 21 per cent of the constituency and regional list vote, meaning it could be in a position to make pacts with rival parties in May.

Reform eyeing election pacts

It comes as Graham Simpson, who defected from the Scottish Tories in August, strongly hinted that Reform would be willing to make deals with other parties to eject the SNP from power.

Mr Simpson, Scotland’s only Reform MSP, said there could be “some arrangement” which would see the party working with opposition groups to deprive the SNP of a third decade in power.

Pressed on the prospect of Reform joining forces with other parties, Mr Simpson said: “That is a scenario. But if people are going into this election seriously wanting the SNP out of government, then they have to think ‘how do we do that?’ The only way you do it is by working together, and Reform are serious to getting the SNP out of government.”

Writing in The Telegraph earlier this month to explain his defection, Lord Offord said: “Scotland is crying out for fundamental reform; this requires a new, principled party to drive that change. One that genuinely believes in rebuilding our communities from the bottom up and trusts the people who live in those communities to deliver better outcomes for themselves, their families and their country.”