Millionaire lord hoping to lead Reform in Scotland: 'I want to be First Minister'

Malcolm Offord, who was handed a peerage by Boris Johnson, said his new party was "in it to win it" as the Holyrood election campaign ramps up.

View Image

The millionaire ex-Tory aiming to become the first leader of Reform UK in Scotland has claimed he wants to be the next first minister.

Malcolm Offord, who has handed a peerage by Boris Johnson in 2021 before quitting the Conservatives last year, said his new party was "in it to win it" as the Holyrood election campaign ramps up.

Nigel Farage revealed yesterday he will travel to Edinburgh next week to announce Reform's first dedicated leader in Scotland - a position widely expected to be handed to Offord.

The right-wing populists have enjoyed a sharp rise in opinion polls over the last 12 months and could emerge as the second biggest party at Holyrood in terms of MSPs.

But Offord insisted today his ambitions are even higher.

Asked whether he wanted to be the next first minister, he told the BBC: "Yes, I mean, you’ve got to be in it to win it.”

"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.

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

Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour deputy leader, said: "This is a laughable claim from a party allergic to honesty.

"The people of Scotland will see right through Nigel Farage and his stooge Malcolm Offord – a Tory lord who served in the disastrous governments of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

"The fact is only one of two people will be First Minister after the election – Anas Sarwar or John Swinney.

"The only way to put an end to SNP mismanagement and build a better future for Scotland is by electing a Scottish Labour government in May."

Reform's solitary MSP Graham Simpson and Glasgow councillor Thomas Kerr have also been touted as potential leaders.

Offord added: "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 millionaire ex-banker previously served as a Scotland Office minister during the last Conservative government and was the Scottish Tories’ treasurer at the time of his defection.

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”.

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."

To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here