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Lord Malcolm Offord, formerly serving as a Conservative business minister and part of the Scotland Office, has officially joined Reform UK. This was announced by Nigel Farage during a rally held at the Macdonald Inchyra hotel in Falkirk on Saturday. Lord Offord has also been the Treasurer for the Scottish Conservatives and sat on the Lords front bench from 2021 until earlier this year. At the rally, he declared his intention to resign from the House of Lords and run as a Reform UK candidate in the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections.
In explaining his decision, Lord Offord criticized the Scottish Conservative Party, accusing them of abandoning Scotland. He described the party as lacking political vision and being parochial, expressing deep concerns about the future of Scottish politics. “I’m concerned for Scottish politics, very concerned about what happens in Scotland,” he said. “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.”
Lord Offord outlined his campaign goals moving forward, stating, “From today, for the next five months, day and night, I shall be campaigning with all of you tirelessly for two objectives.” He emphasized the need to remove the SNP government, which has been in power for 18 years, and to promote a positive vision for Scotland within the United Kingdom, aiming for a prosperous and thriving country. While peers cannot renounce their life peerages, they can resign from the House of Lords, a necessary step since members of the Lords are barred by recent legislation from holding seats in the Scottish Parliament.
Reform UK currently holds one MSP in Holyrood, Graham Simpson, another former Conservative who defected in August. Nigel Farage expressed enthusiasm about Lord Offord joining the party, calling his move “a brave and historic act” that would elevate Reform UK’s presence in Scotland. However, the defection was met with criticism from Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie, who labeled Reform UK as “a party of failed Conservatives playing political musical chairs.” She accused the party of continuing the same failed policies that damaged the economy and immigration system, asserting, “This isn’t change – it’s the same failed politicians and failed ideas trying to divide our country.”
Lord Offord, made a life peer in 2021 by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is known for founding the investment firm Badenoch and Co. Prior to his peerage, he donated nearly £150,000 to the Conservative Party. After becoming Baron Offord of Garvel, Greenock, he served as a junior minister in the Scotland Office and was minister for exports from 2023 until the June 2024 general election. His political involvement also includes directing the Vote No Borders campaign during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, which sparked controversy due to a withdrawn cinema advertisement claiming Scots would lose access to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London if independence passed. Lord Offord also ran unsuccessfully as a Conservative list candidate in the 2021 Holyrood elections for the Lothian region
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