Reform UK pledges to cut number of MSPs in Holyrood and 'shut down' quangos
The party said Scotland is ‘broken’
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has pledged to cut the number of MSPs in Holyrood and “shut down” the country’s quangos as it launched its manifesto ahead of the Scottish election in May.
The party said it would reduce the number of constituencies from 73 to 57, to align with Westminster. There are 56 list MSPs in the Scottish Parliament in addition to constituency members.
Elsewhere, it vowed to “shut down the quangos and return their powers to democratically elected ministers supported by the civil service”. Malcolm Offord, the party’s leader in Scotland, suggested every quango would be closed “until we find out which ones can justify their existence”.
There are around 130 public bodies north of the Border, including health boards, Scottish Water and the Scottish Sentencing Council.
Speaking at Reform UK’s Scottish conference in Bishopton, Mr Farage said his party will become "the official opposition" in Holyrood after the election, adding: "And who knows? Who knows. If it catches fire, who knows what we might be capable of?"
He said: "Scottish politics, up until this point, has been very, very hostile to any other voice. They may go on being hostile to our other voice, but do you know something? Now they can't stop us."
Polls show Reform is on course to become the second largest party in Holyrood after the election. The party unveiled its 73 constituency candidates at its conference at Ingliston Country Club and Hotel on Thursday.
Its manifesto vows to repeal “bad SNP laws” including the Hate Crime Act and land reform legislation, while also gradually phasing out Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and business rates over 10 years, to be replaced by a single Annual Property Tax.
The party has pledged to slash income tax immediately by aligning with the rest of the UK’s three bands and cutting 1p below each.
“This immediate alignment will cost £1.2 billion and every 1p cut thereafter will cost £850 million each,” its manifesto says. “Therefore, the immediate cost will be £2bn (only 3 per cent of the overall Holyrood annual budget) which can be easily afforded by re-allocation of the £1bn currently spent on ideological net zero projects and the bloated £6.5bn spent on 132 unaccountable quangos.”
The 27-page document also vows to “introduce high prison sentences for repeat offenders” and “increase prison capacity, to end the SNP’s reckless and dangerous policy of early release”. It is not clear if this would involve building new prisons.
On energy, the party promises to scrap all net zero “targets, subsidies and quangos” set by the Scottish Government, while also fast-tracking planning for new energy projects, including “open-cast coal mining”.
Its manifesto describes the upcoming Holyrood election as a "clear-cut choice" between Reform and the SNP. It says Scots “have no appetite for the rancour and division of another referendum any time soon”, but also attempts to reach out to Yes supporters.
“Rational unionists and realistic nationalists can find common ground and unite around one single ambition: to make Scotland the most successful country in the world,” it says.
Speaking in his first conference speech since being appointed as Reform’s leader in Scotland, Lord Offord told members the country is “broken”.
He added “Scotland is now at a crossroads, and the Holyrood election is the most critical we have had in 20 years. Under the SNP’s failed government, all we got in Scotland is mid-table mediocrity.
“The sad reality – and I hate to say this as a proud Scot, but I have to accept it – the sad reality is that Scotland is broken. But it doesn’t have to be this way. I know that all of you are just as ambitious as I am to put Scotland back at the top of the table, to make Scotland the most successful part of the UK.”
Mr Farage said the energy crisis caused by the conflict in the Middle East “should now be the biggest wake up call that Scotland and the North Sea have ever had”.
He said: "Just think about this: last year, on the other half of the North Sea, in exactly the same fields, the Norwegians drilled 49 new wells. Forty-nine new wells for gas and oil as part of a projected 250 that they intend to develop over the course of the next few years.
"How many new wells opened up on our side of the North Sea? Zero. And how many will open up this year? Zero.
"We charge 78 per cent super taxes on any profits a prospector makes. We refuse to open up licenses, and we are not self-sufficient, which we ought to be in oil and gas.
"And you know something? We open up the North Sea, we create here in Scotland thousands of well-paid jobs, better revenue for the exchequer and with gas, cheaper energy prices for every household and every business in this nation."
He added: "Through a result of net zero lunacy, we have closed down the North Sea and we've given ourselves the highest industrial energy prices in the world."
Mr Farage said the UK was committing “economic harakiri in the name of saving the planet”.
SNP depute leader Keith Brown said Reform “couldn’t care less about Scotland”.
He said: “We know Reform would sell off our NHS in a heartbeat, who knows what they’d do if they got their hands on our schools and other public services.
“Millionaires like Nigel Farage and Malcolm Offord are the beating heart of the Westminster establishment and they have no interest in what’s best for Scotland.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “The Farage circus came to town, and once again, he demonstrated that he is a cynical chancer who wants to divide us.”
He insisted Reform “are just failed Tories and offer Scotland nothing”.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: “Reform is the gift that keeps on giving … to John Swinney.
“As well as unveiling pro-independence candidates, Lord Offord has provided a roadmap to another referendum and is appealing to so-called ‘rational nationalists’.
“Nigel Farage has said he’s relaxed about another five years of SNP rule, and a vote for Reform only increases the chances of Swinney winning and unleashing his ‘secret plan’ for independence.
“Reform’s tax-cutting pledge doesn’t add up because – unlike the Scottish Conservatives – they have no detailed plans for cutting the out-of-control benefits bill.”
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