🔗 Share this article Nigel Farage Speaks at Movement's Biggest Gathering in Scotland Following Controversy and Defection The Reform UK figurehead spoke to the biggest the party's public meeting so far in Scotland, but declined to speak with local journalists afterwards. Instead, recently switched peer the former Conservative donor was left to responding to queries on allegations of racism and anti-Jewish sentiment linked to Farage. Welcoming a New Recruit Farage introduced the ex-Tory lord and wealthy businessman during a packed event of roughly seven hundred supporters at a hotel conference centre near Falkirk. The businessman, who worked as a junior minister for Scotland in the previous administration and most recently served as treasurer of the Scottish Conservatives, announced his intention to give up his peerage in order to become a candidate for the party in the upcoming Scottish parliament vote. The leader stated he was “delighted” to welcome Offord to the party. He described the switch as “a brave and historic act”. Dodging the Press Farage spoke to the crowd after a turbulent week which saw him launch a fierce criticism of the broadcaster after they quizzed him regarding a report into claimed discriminatory and remarks as a youth. However, the leader avoided a planned media briefing after Saturday’s event. When asked why his new party’s leader did not make himself available to answer mounting allegations concerning his history, the new recruit responded: “You’ll need to ask him that question.” Pressed on 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 Offord insisted that the leader is “morally fit” to be the country's leader and rejected claims of coded political messaging. While addressing supporters, Farage had doubled down on previous comments about the number of Glasgow schoolchildren who are not native English speakers by asking the rally: “Who voted for the wholesale change of the population of Glasgow?” Although Scotland's First Minister condemned Farage’s original remarks as “racist”, and the Labour leader labeled them “toxic and divisive”, the defector argued that his new leader was “drawing attention to a real concern” that people are talking about on the doorstep”. Growing Confidence The rally, attended by an lively and passionate audience of largely male, white and middle-aged supporters who bought tickets for the event, showcases Reform's increasing self-assurance before next May’s elections. Although the SNP continues to lead in the polls, Reform UK has made substantial progress recently, achieving a quarter of the vote in its first Holyrood byelection test. Following Scottish Labour's decline, the party has often relegated it to third in recent months, polling up to 22%. Declaring that Reform UK membership in Scotland had increased fourfold in the past year to a running total of 12,000, a senior party official stated his belief it could gain up to 20 MSPs in May, which would place Reform in “a powerful situation” in the Scottish Parliament. Campaign Rhetoric A Reform councillor, a local representative for the party, prompted a roar of approval as he referred to the leader as “the future PM of the UK”. He instructed the crowd to “man the barricades as we “challenge the ruling class”, warning that “the next five months will be tough”. Despite not yet publishing any Scotland-specific policies, representatives pledged Reform would “take on the green blob and the net-zero grifters”. 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”. Local Context Meanwhile, not far away in the heart of Falkirk, anti-immigration and anti-racist protesters were gathering for a now-regular weekly standoff near a hotel used to accommodate asylum seekers. The organisers of the demonstrations said it was galvanised by a criminal case involving an asylum seeker. In an interview, First Minister John Swinney warned that the tactic of the far-right is to assign responsibility … to asylum seekers or migrants and I think that is the source of a harmful narrative”. However, he differentiated between those who hold far-right views and people with “legitimate points” about strain on public services or neighbourhood security.