Scottish Reform leader and policies to come ‘in due course’, says Tice

Reform UK’s policy platform and leader for Scotland will be announced “in due course”, the party’s deputy leader has said.

The Nigel Farage-led party is currently surging in the polls, with some suggesting it could win a dozen seats at next year’s Holyrood election, despite not having a leader north of the border or any specific policies.

During a chaotic press conference in Glasgow – where he welcomed two new councillor defections to the party but appeared to forget or not know their surnames – deputy leader Mr Tice said the infrastructure to fight an election will be in place soon.

“We’re in March 2025, the elections are in May 2026, so patience is a virtue,” he said.

“There will be some specific policies, but as an overall, let me tell you, people want to be better off, they want more money in their pocket at the end of the week, and all our policies will drive towards that goal.”

Asked about the appointment of a Scottish leader, Mr Tice said: “Here in Scotland, we’ve got to make sure we build that infrastructure across all the different bits.

“Is it perfect? No, nothing’s ever perfect. Can we always do better? Yes, you’ve got to continuously improve, strive to get better.

“And yes, in due course, obviously, when we get people elected, then we’ll have a Scottish leader.”

Asked if that could mean no-one is appointed until after next year’s election, he added: “We’ll do that in due course.

“But everyone gets obsessed with if there’s a Scottish leader and if they agree with the UK leader, all that sort of nonsense.

“We’re not interested in that culture, what we’re interested in is policies that make Scottish people better off.”

At the event, held at the Val D’oro chip shop in Glasgow city centre, Mr Tice repeatedly said his party’s policy is to scrap “net stupid zero” initiatives and “drill, Scotland, drill”.

The visit to Scotland was ostensibly to introduce two new defections; South Lanarkshire councillor Ross Lambie and Renfrewshire councillor John Gray.

But asked by journalists if he knew the surnames of his newest members, Mr Tice appeared to have forgotten, or not to know.

“We’ve got John and Ross,” he said.

“I’m answering policy questions about what’s going to make people better off.”

The deputy leader repeatedly tried to move to another questions from journalists but was pressed for the names, adding: “We’ve got 10,000 members, I don’t know all 10,000.

“What we have got is policies that will make people better off in Scotland – that’s the key and that’s why we’re doing so well, that’s why we’re going up in the polls, that’s why we’ve got almost as many members as the Labour Party.”

Mr Tice had earlier claimed – citing “inside information” – that Labour has 12,000 members in Scotland.

Both councillors defected from the Scottish Conservatives, who Mr Tice said are “finished” in Scotland, adding: “They might as well give up, bye-bye.”

Speaking to journalists at Holyrood following First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay said: “As we all know, anyone voting for Reform or anyone joining Reform only emboldens John Swinney’s SNP Government.

“My job as the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives is to stand up to the SNP, and that’s what I’m intending to do.”

Asked if there will be more defections, he said: “There is no way of knowing what any individual will do.”

Mr Tice had earlier accused First Minister John Swinney and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar of being “terrified” of his party.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland on Thursday morning, he said: “We’re going up in the polls, I think you’re going to see us by the summer around 20%.

“We’ve almost got more members now in Scotland than the Labour Party.

“I think that’s the reason why John Swinney and the Labour Party, Anas Sarwar, are terrified.”

He added that attempts to “lock out” Reform from Holyrood by the First Minister calling a summit of political leaders and civil society are “desperate”, while he condemned accusations of bigotry against Mr Farage as “juvenile”.

Responding to Mr Tice’s comments, Scottish Labour’s Deputy Leader Jackie Baillie said: “The fact that he can’t even name his own councillors reveals just how superficial his interest in Scotland is.

“After nearly two decades of SNP incompetence, it’s understandable that people are frustrated about the state of our NHS, schools and economy – we need a government at Holyrood in the service of working people.

“Scotland deserves a new direction and Labour is ready to deliver it.”