Who is Nigel Farage's new Reform leader in Scotland Malcolm Offord?

Former Tory UK government minister Malcolm Offord has been announced as the leader of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party in Scotland.

The Scottish businessman and financier is a former long-term member of the Conservative party who defected to Reform UK last month.

He has now been chosen to lead the party into the Holyrood election in May.

Under the Tories, Offord held the role of under secretary of state for Scotland under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.

He also became under secretary of state for exports until the Conservatives lost the 2024 election to Labour.

Until his defection, he served as treasurer for the Scottish Conservatives.

The Greenock-born businessman was made a life peer in 2021 by then-prime minister Boris Johnson. Following his peerage, he was made Baron Offord of Garvel.

He had previously donated nearly £150,000 to the party.

In December 2025, he became the first Conservative peer to defect to Reform.

He announced plans to stand for the party at the Holyrood elections in May and said he would give up his seat in the House of Lords as he prepares to campaign.

Asked earlier this month whether it was Offord’s ambition to be Scotland’s first minister, he said: “Yes, I mean, you’ve got to be in it to win it.”

Speaking after his appointment on Thursday, Offord said: “It’s a great honour to be named today as the new leader of Reform UK Scotland. I shall be campaigning hard between now and May 7 to communicate a positive vision of how we can all work together to make Scotland the most successful part of the UK in the next 10 years.”

Offord claimed that Reform represent “ordinary, decent, hardworking Scots”, and he said the party will be fielding Reform candidates in all 73 constituencies at the Holyrood election.

“Make no mistake, this is now a two-horse race between Reform and the SNP,” Offord said.

“This is an exciting time for Scotland. The election in May allows Scots to finally get rid of this rotten SNP government who have had plenty of time to deliver prosperity for Scotland and have failed.

“Scotland needs Reform and Reform has arrived in Scotland.”