Scottish Conservatives leader Russell Findlay says rise of Reform will only help SNP by splitting vote

The rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK will only help the SNP by splitting the vote, the leader of the Scottish Tories has claimed.

Russell Findlay said he was “disappointed” that two of his councillors had defected to the right-wing party last week.

He criticised Reform for having “no Scottish policies and no Scottish leadership to speak of”.

North Ayrshire councillors Matthew McLean and Stewart Ferguson joined Reform just ahead of the party’s conference in Perth at the weekend.

Recent polling has put Reform on more than 10% of the vote, which could translate to around a dozen seats at the next Holyrood election.

At the last general election, the party came ahead of the Tories in every Glasgow constituency.

Speaking during a visit to The Corner Shop in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Mr Findlay said he understood why voters are seeking an alternative to the main parties.

Asked about the defections, he told the PA news agency: “I’m clearly disappointed.

“Since becoming leader just two months ago I’ve attempted to reach out to our membership and associations across Scotland to explain to them that we understand why people feel disconnected from politics, why they are desperately wanting a common-sense, conservative alternative to the socialist consensus at Holyrood, and I think we represent that.

“We’ll have to fight for every single vote.

“I don’t want to see anyone leaving the party, whether they are members or elected representatives.

“My job is to persuade them that we are the only solution.

“What we can’t have is another party coming along to split our vote – that would only be to the benefit of the SNP.”

The Scottish Tory leader said Reform poses just as big a threat to Labour as it does to the Conservatives.

He went on: “I think we have to keep things in perspective.

“Reform has no meaningful infrastructure, no Scottish policies and no Scottish leadership to speak of.

“I think at the general election a lot of people who voted Reform did so out of frustration at the feeling of disconnection from politics more generally, and our job is to work hard to persuade people that we’re on their side, we understand their problems.”

A spokesperson for Reform UK Scotland said: “The Tories have failed in opposition in Holyrood just as they failed in Westminster for 14 years.

“The Tories offer no real change for Scottish people and it’s clear that voters are tired of their vague old promises.

“Reform UK have set up lots of branches in Scotland and are rapidly building a vote-winning election machine across Scotland. Scotland needs Reform.”