I want to be first minister, says potential Reform leader in Scotland

The likely leader of Reform UK in Scotland has said he wants to be first minister.

Lord Malcolm Offord, who is in the running for the top job in Nigel Farage’s party north of the border, has said he is “in it to win it”, when speaking to BBC Radio Scotland on Thursday.

Mr Farage said on Wednesday he will name a leader next Thursday at an Edinburgh press conference, with Lord Offord – who defected from the Conservatives late last year – saying he is not the only member in the frame to take charge.

Asked whether it was his ambition to be Scotland’s first minister, he said: “Yes, I mean, you’ve got to be in it to win it.”

Some polls ahead of May’s Holyrood election have put Reform UK in second place behind the SNP, pushing Labour to third.

Speaking on Thursday, Lord Offord said it was between his party and John Swinney’s in May.

“As to whether we can win, of course, that would be an astonishing result to come from nowhere to that, but what is clear is that we do have the momentum here,” he said.

“We do have the momentum and this is a two-horse race between Reform and the SNP.”

He was asked whether Scotland’s only Reform MSP, Graham Simpson, who defected from the Tories in August 2025, and Thomas Kerr, Reform councillor for Shettleston in Glasgow, were also in the running.

Lord Offord told the programme: “I’m not going to divulge the names but, obviously, you’ve mentioned some of them, but there’s other names that are not known to the public, but that right now is an internal process.

“My name is in the hat. It’s not the only name in the hat and therefore we have to wait until next week to have confirmation of that.”

The Scottish financier previously served as a Scotland Office minister during the last Conservative government and was the Scottish Tories’ treasurer at the time of his defection.

Lord Offord also said he has written to the clerk of the UK Parliament to resign as a Lord and is waiting for that to be accepted.

He said that Reform currently has 12,500 members in Scotland and described it as a “movement which is gathering pace”.

Asked how it differs from the Scottish Conservatives, he said: “The difference is that the Scottish Conservatives had 10 years in opposition and, in that 10 years, we really had pretty incompetent government from the SNP, 10 years of incompetence and failure.

“The opposition party’s job is to land a blow on the government of the day and they haven’t done that.

“It’s also their job to create a narrative and a vision for the people of Scotland that they could say that they could replace it. And they haven’t done that.

“So, in that vacuum has come Reform, because the public, the people of Scotland, want an alternative vision for Scotland.”

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: “Lord Offord is talking nonsense.

“The Scottish Conservatives have been the only effective opposition to this disastrous SNP Government, forcing out two first ministers, blocking their reckless gender Bill and standing firm against their relentless drive to break up the UK.

“We offer a common-sense conservative alternative to the left-wing Holyrood clique, focused on growing Scotland’s economy and reducing welfare spending, so that we can cut people’s bills and fund our essential services.

“Nigel Farage has said he’s relaxed about another five years of SNP Government while his party has fielded numerous pro-independence candidates and Lord Offord has refused to rule out another referendum.”

SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson said: “Coming from someone who was ranked the fifth-best Tory on the Lothian regional list last time, Lord Offord certainly has a high opinion of himself.

“To suggest he is a candidate for First Minister is bordering on the delusional.

“What is clear is that Reform UK in Scotland is primarily a ramshackle coalition of tired opportunists who failed to secure election as Tories and who now want to pull the wool over the eyes of the electorate by pretending to be something new.

“Changing the shade of blue on his tie isn’t going to deliver Bute House to Lord Offord.

“Reform UK in Scotland is a policy-free zone reliant on cash from down south and reliant on the whims of Nigel Farage.

“They are ultimately wedded to the Westminster system that is holding Scotland back.

“Only a fresh start through independence can build a fairer, more prosperous country. And that is the vision that the SNP will put to voters in May.”