Overview
- Nigel Farage unveiled Offord’s switch at a rally in Falkirk, introducing him as Reform UK’s first member of the House of Lords.
- Offord said he will resign his seat in the Lords to campaign for a Reform UK seat at the Scottish Parliament election in May.
- The Greenock-born financier previously served in the Scotland Office and as minister for exports after being made a life peer by Boris Johnson in 2021.
- A former Conservative treasurer in Scotland and donor of nearly £150,000, Offord pledged to help remove the SNP government and promote a pro-Union agenda.
- Scottish Conservatives and Labour warned that votes for Reform could bolster the SNP by splitting opposition support, as Farage hailed the move as a major boost for Reform in Scotland.