Nigel Farage has secured his party’s first Member of the Scottish Parliament as Conservative MSP Graham Simpson defected to Reform UK at a press conference in West Lothian on Wednesday.
The Central Scotland MSP becomes Reform’s second-ever representative at Holyrood and the third Scottish Conservative to abandon the party since April, dealing another blow to new leader Russell Findlay ahead of next year’s crucial Scottish Parliament elections.
Speaking alongside Mr Farage at the announcement in Broxburn, Mr Simpson, who has represented Central Scotland since 2016, described leaving the party he first joined aged 15 as an “enormous wrench” after weeks of soul-searching.
“Leaving the party that I first joined when I was 15 is an enormous wrench, and I’ve been through a lot of soul searching in the past few weeks,” Mr Simpson told reporters. “I watched Reform with interest and I see the opportunity to help create something fresh here in Scotland, and it’s clear that the voters agree in increasing numbers.”
The defection comes just days after Lothian MSP Jeremy Balfour quit the Scottish Conservatives to sit as an independent, accusing the party leadership of “reactionary politics” and ignoring senior MSPs in favour of inexperienced advisers. In April, West of Scotland MSP Jamie Greene defected to the Liberal Democrats, criticising the party for becoming “Trump-esque in both style and substance.
Mr Farage, the Clacton MP and Reform UK leader, said he wants his party to be “strong enough” to topple the SNP government, adding with cautious optimism: “Let’s see how the scores on the doors work.
Speaking to GB News about the exodus from the Scottish Conservatives, Mr Farage said: “It’s difficult really to know what the Scottish Conservative Party is and that’s why you’ve got people leaving the parliamentary group on both sides.” He accused the party of pursuing a “broad church” strategy that offers “no religion” – no clear vision or Conservative values.
“I think they will go down – in my view – next May to an absolutely derisory vote and Reform are coming up as the opposition to the forces of the left,” Mr Farage predicted.
Mr Simpson denied any “backroom deal” had been struck to become Reform’s Scottish leader, with Mr Farage confirming: “We will, of course, have a leader of our group who will go in as a leader of our group and be a potential first minister.”
The new Reform MSP said his immediate focus would be developing “a policy suite that delivered for Scotland” beyond the party’s traditional focus on net zero and immigration. “One of the tasks that I’ve got is to develop a policy suite that’s not just those two issues, but actually looks at the powers that the Scottish Parliament has and how to address the challenges that Scotland faces,” he explained.
Mr Farage acknowledged that Reform’s Scotland strategy must differ from its approach south of the border, confirming he would not participate in TV debates before the 2026 election as he is “not standing for a seat in Holyrood.
On immigration, the Reform leader claimed it was “not the biggest topic in Scotland” but warned it could become so if left unchecked, citing 4,000 asylum seekers and illegal migrants being housed by Glasgow City Council. He noted that protests were now taking place “nearly every weekend” outside Scottish migrant hotels, suggesting the country’s “refugees welcome” attitude was “growing tired” for increasing numbers of communities.
First Minister John Swinney hit back at Mr Farage’s comments on immigration, saying: “I am sick of Westminster politicians blaming migration for their failures. Immigrants are our NHS staff, our carers, our neighbours. We are a welcoming nation and I am proud of that.” He argued that Brexit, austerity and rising bills had pulled down living standards, “not migration.
Mr Farage rejected accusations that he was responsible for an alleged rise in far-right activity at Scottish protests, claiming he was “the antidote to the far-right” and pointing to the British National Party’s collapse during his time leading UKIP.
Mr Simpson becomes Reform’s first MSP since Michelle Ballantyne’s brief stint as a Reform representative from January to May 2021, when she lost her seat. His defection leaves the Scottish Conservatives with 29 MSPs as they face mounting pressure from Reform UK in opinion polls ahead of next year’s Holyrood elections.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie dismissed the defection, saying Mr Simpson was “the latest Tory to flee their sinking ship in a bid to save their own career,” adding: “It’s clear that Reform are simply Tories by another name, but neither party has any answers to the challenges Scotland faces.”
A Scottish Conservative spokesperson responded: “We remain focused on holding the SNP and Labour to account. The Scottish Conservatives are determined to provide positive common-sense solutions to drive our economy forward, so we can reduce NHS waiting lists and invest more in education. Nigel Farage has said he’s content with another five years of SNP Government. We’re going to keep focusing on how to get the nationalists out of power.”
Mr Simpson will return to Holyrood on 1 September as Reform UK’s sole MSP, with his speech ending with an open invitation to former Conservative colleagues seeking “fresh thinking” to join him.
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