Another candidate supported deporting all Muslims
Reform UK is once again in hot water for the comments made by one of their candidates for public office. This time, it’s Linda Holt – a candidate for the Scottish Parliament – that’s in the spotlight.
Holt is standing for Reform in May’s Scottish Parliament elections in the Fife North East constituency. The Courier has discovered that Holt has made a number of inflammatory comments on social media, particularly about the former first minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf.
In social media posts, Holt described Yousaf as a “grandstanding Islamist moron” and as “not British”. She also said that while Yousaf was first minister, Scotland didn’t have a “British first minister” and said that “his background means his allegiances are naturally, even rightly, elsewhere but not with the vast majority of Scots.”
Holt was previously a Tory councillor in Fife.
Responding to the revelations, Reform’s Scotland leader Malcolm Offord told The Courier Holt had “only just become a candidate, and she wasn’t a candidate when she made those comments.”
He went on to say: “I don’t know the context in which she made it, I don’t know when she made those comments.
“I’m not commenting on individual comments on 73 candidates.
“I’m very clear that we’ve done a good vetting process. I’m very clear that we’ve got a very interesting group of candidates coming into Holyrood.”
Holt isn’t the only Reform Scottish Parliament candidate that has proven controversial.
The Daily Record has revealed that Senga Beresford – Reform’s candidate in Galloway and West Dumfries – has made supportive comments about far-right activist Tommy Robinson. She tweeted to Tommy Robinson when he was organising a march in London saying she was “behind you all the way”.
Beresford was also found to have supported deporting Muslims after responding to a post on X by an activist with the far-right group Britain First. Ashlea Simon, Britain First’s deputy leader asked on X “In the UK Muslims are demanding that sharia law is implemented. I demand that we deport the lot of them. Who’s with me?” Beresford responded simply by saying “me”.
On Beresford’s comments, Offord said: “This was done in a former life before she was a member of Reform UK.
“We’ve all said things in the past that may be temperate but we need to grow up on this and not take offence to everything.”
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
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