Malcolm Offord also said he’s lost friends since joining Reform
Malcolm Offord, the Scottish Reform leader has admitted that some of Nigel Farage’s language on immigration made him “uncomfortable”.
Referring to a video in which Farage said that nearly one in three pupils speak English as a second language and claimed there had been a “cultural smashing of Glasgow”, Offord said he had felt “uncomfortable and squeamish”.
Offord told the BBC’s Scotcast podcast: “I was uncomfortable… I was a bit squeamish about that.”
“But I do agree with the sentiment that we’ve got an issue [and] that immigration is an issue in some of our communities, especially our working class communities.”
Farage was heavily criticised for comments he made about Glasgow schoolchildren in December last year.
Keir Starmer said Farage was a “toxic divisive disgrace”, while Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “How dare [Farage] use Glasgow’s kids to spread his poison”.
First minister John Swinney said: “I think Nigel Farage’s comments are quite simply racist. There’s no other way to describe them.”
Offord also said he had lost friends as a result of defecting from the Tories to Reform in December last year.
The former Tory peer said: “I’ve got a couple of people who have said to me: we just can’t support what the party stands for.”
“I feel that that is a sacrifice that I have to make if I believe in the cause of what I’m trying to do,” he added.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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