“`html
Lord Malcolm Offord, a former Conservative business and Scotland Office Minister, has defected to Reform UK.
Nigel Farage unveiled Lord Offord at a rally held at the Macdonald Inchyra hotel in Falkirk on Saturday.
Lord Offord was the Treasurer of the Scottish Conservatives and served on the Lords front bench from 2021 to 2024. Prior to his resignation on Saturday, he was the Conservative spokesman in the Lords on energy matters.
At the rally, Lord Offord announced his intention to step down from the Lords and campaign as a Reform UK candidate in the 2026 Holyrood elections.
In announcing his defection, Lord Offord stated that the Conservatives had “given up” on Scotland.
He described the Conservative party as “parochial, not political” and characterized it as “a party without a vision.”
“I’m concerned for Scottish politics, very concerned about what happens in Scotland,” he stated.
“And that’s why I’m leaving the Scottish Conservative Party, because the Scottish Conservative Party, I believe, have given up on Scotland and, ladies and gentlemen, I can’t do that.”
He added: “From today, for the next five months, day and night, I shall be campaigning with all of you tirelessly for two objectives.
“The first objective is to remove this rotten SNP government after 18 years, and the second is to present a positive vision for Scotland inside the UK, to restore Scotland to being a prosperous, proud, healthy and happy country.”
While a life peerage cannot be renounced, members can resign from the House of Lords.
Current legislation disqualifies members of the House of Lords from becoming members of the Scottish Parliament.
Reform UK currently has one MSP at Holyrood, Graham Simpson, formerly of the Conservative party, who defected in August.
Mr. Farage expressed his “delight” in welcoming Lord Offord to Reform UK, calling his defection “a brave and historic act.”
He further stated, “He will take Reform UK Scotland to a new level.”
A Scottish Conservatives spokesperson responded: “Any vote for Reform next year will only tighten the SNP’s grip on power at Holyrood.
“Nigel Farage has been clear he is fine with John Swinney staying as first minister, his party stood pro-independence candidates in the last election, and he is still courting others who would break up the UK.”
SNP MP Stephen Gethins stated that he was not surprised by the “convergence between the Conservatives and Reform.”
Speaking to BBC Scotland News, he added, “Nigel Farage has got a dreadful track record and the SNP are going to take him on on it at the Holyrood elections.
“Instead of leaning into Reform’s policy agenda, which has failed, as Labour and the Conservatives are doing, the SNP stands against everything Reform is for.”
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie described Reform as a “party of failed Conservatives playing political musical chairs.”
She stated: “This defection proves what we already know, Reform aren’t even Tories in disguise anymore, they are just Tories – the same Tories that broke the immigration system, collapsed the economy and left working Scots to pay the price.
“This isn’t change – it’s the same failed politicians and failed ideas trying to divide our country.”
Patrick Harvie, Scottish Greens constitutional spokesman, commented: “Reform is the party of the super rich. They have no interest in improving the lives of ordinary people and families.”
Lord Offord, the founder of investment firm Badenoch and Co, was appointed a life peer in 2021 under Boris Johnson.
He had previously donated nearly £150,000 to the Conservative party.
Following his peerage, he became Baron Offord of Garvel, of Greenock in the County of Renfrew, and was appointed as a junior minister in the Scotland office.
He also served as minister of exports from 2023 until the general election in June 2024.
Previously, he was director of the Vote No Borders campaign during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
The group faced controversy after being compelled to withdraw a cinema advertisement which asserted that Scots would lose access to the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London if they voted for independence.
The hospital objected to the message, stating that it had not endorsed the content nor been consulted prior to its broadcast.
Lord Offord also stood as a Conservative list candidate for the Lothian region in the 2021 Holyrood election, but did not secure a seat, finishing fifth.
While Malcolm Offord may not be a household name, Reform’s Scottish operation will be pleased to have him.
He’s held several UK government ministerial posts and was a serving Conservative frontbencher in the House of Lords.
He aims to run in the next Holyrood election, bringing both business and political experience to Reform UK.
Taking to the stage in Falkirk, he spoke against the perceived “monopolitics” of Labour and the Conservatives.
He appears to have lost faith in his former party.
The crowd welcomed him warmly, despite his recent Tory affiliation.
However, some of his former colleagues may not be saddened by his departure.
One Scottish Conservative insider described him as a “treacherous snake.”
Ouch.
Ian Cooper has publicly addressed the allegations of making racist comments online.
This follows an internal investigation into racist content on social media.
The chancellor is facing accusations of presenting an excessively negative assessment of the economy to justify impending tax increases.
The Reform UK leader characterized a situation where a high proportion of children in Glasgow do not have English as a first language as “cultural smashing.”
The Reform UK leader is now criticizing the BBC as he responds to further inquiries related to allegations of racist behavior during his teenage years.
“`