Nigel Farage: We have got nowhere near a generation since last independence referendum

Nigel Farage has argued that enough time has not passed for Scotland to hold another independence referendum.

The Reform leader said that a generation had “nowhere near passed” since the once-in-a-generation vote in 2014.

The comments come after Malcolm Offord, the leader of Reform UK in Scotland, led his MSPs to walk out of a debate on Scotland’s right to decide last week.

Offord branded the debate led by John Swinney as a “farce” and insisted that the issue of the constitution is a reserved matter and should not be discussed.

Days later, Prime Minister Andy Burnham ruled out another referendum in an interview with STV’s political editor Colin Mackay.

Burnham insisted that a “clear resolution was reached” in 2014.

Speaking to Colin Mackay during a trip to Scotland on Monday, Farage refused to define how long Scotland would have to wait for another referendum.

He said: “Constitutional referendums are a once-in-a-generation decision. Everybody agrees that. They always have; it’s a well-established principle. 2014 is not that long ago.

“We have got nowhere near a generation. Twelve years is not a generation; it would have to be much, much more than that.

“Here’s the irony: the SNP never accepted the Brexit referendum, never accepted the Scottish separation referendum, and both of those were clear. These were generational decisions.”

The Reform leader, whose party is currently under criminal investigation after allegations that they breached donation rules on foreign funding, insisted that the party “taking Scotland seriously” and will target seats in the next general election.

Asked whether any of the £72m Reform UK received from two crypto billionaires would be used to further the party in Scotland, Farage said he would be having discussions with Offord.

He added: “The union will be safe in our hands. I may be the national leader, but it’s Malcolm and his group that are now Reform Scotland, and we will be seen increasingly as the years go by as a genuine Scottish political party, not one with impositions from London.”