Reform UK launched its Scottish election manifesto today with a pledge to “back ambition” and reverse current government policies on income tax, housing and the economy.

With the party contesting Labour for second place, Nigel Farage joined Reform UK Scotland leader Malcolm Offord with promises to scale back the size of the state and focus on business growth and “rehabilitating” North Sea oil and gas.

The Scottish manifesto rules out another independence referendum in the near term, saying it would be a distraction from good governance, and guarantees that the Scottish NHS will remain free at the point of need, fully funded by general taxation.

Reform has committed to restoring the ‘local connection’ requirement for housing applications in Scotland after it was abolished by the SNP in 2022, ensuring that Scots are prioritised for housing in their own country, and “ending Glasgow’s status as a UK asylum dispersal city”.

Speaking in Renfrewshire, Mr Farage predicted the party would beat Labour into second place and warned Holyrood’s “cosy” consensus that they were failing to understand the concerns of the public, particularly in working class areas, about issues such as immigration and crime.

Answering a question about the future of the Barnett Formula which enables to Scotland to get a funding top-up from Westminster, he said Reform’s growth plans would mean the Barnett Formula would no longer be required. “Getting more and more from central government is the wrong mindset,” he said.

He added that another referendum on independence could be a decade away. “I can’t predict for a moment what it will be. I very much doubt there will ever be a popular will for a vote to break up the United Kingdom,” he said.

Mr Offord declined to commit Reform to free university education and focused instead on a lack of traditional skills.

Referring to a recent visit to the Babcock yard at Rosyth, he said: “They [the SNP government] have cut a welding school and we have just brought in 300 welders from the Philippines. It is a national disgrace.”

Mr Offord has previously outlined his plan to cut income tax immediately by aligning with the rest of the UK’s three bands and cutting 1p below each one. The party would also scrap all net zero subsidies, focus on North Sea oil and gas as Scotland’s primary energy source and repeal the Hate Crime Act.

The income tax policy is estimated to cost around £2 billion, which the party calculates will be repaid four times over by economic growth. Under these plans, Scottish doctors will save £2,200 each year.

Reform Scotland’s target is to cut this to 3p below the UK’s bands within the first five-year term, and ensure that no-one faces a marginal tax rate above 50% on any additional £1 earned.

Mr Offord said: “We can immediately back ambition again by putting money straight back into people’s pockets – by realigning all our tax bands with England and cutting each of them by 1p, so that Scotland – just like that – becomes the best place in the whole of the UK to work.”

He proposes to pay for the cutback by scrapping many of the government quangos whose work he believes can be taken in-house.

On energy, the party says Scotland currently imports 70% of its gas from Norway which is extracting from the basin which Scotland is decommissioning.

Reform UK has pledged to scrap all net zero subsidies and prepare to rehabilitate North Sea oil and Gas as Scotland’s primary energy system. Using Scotland’s own natural resources again “will reduce household bills immediately and carve out the path to ensure that Scotland is set to flourish again”, said Mr Offord

“Reform is setting out a bold new direction focused on bringing down bills, protecting jobs and restoring Scotland’s competitive edge.

“We will back North Sea oil and gas, fast-tracking energy infrastructure and end costly ideological policies. The plan will deliver secure, affordable and reliable energy for households and industry alike.”

However, energy policy is largely a UK reserved matter, and some energy analysts say producing more oil and gas, while helping to secure supplies, will not cut bills as prices are dependent on international markets.

Mr Offord claimed that “together, these reforms mark a decisive break from years of stagnation, creating the conditions for higher growth, better jobs and stronger communities.”

He added:  “Our manifesto presents an unashamedly ambitious vision for a prosperous and flourishing Scotland. One that prioritises economic growth and ordinary people above the virtue signalling and total mismanagement that Scots have become accustomed to for the past two decades.

“Be under no illusion: the only way to end the SNP’s 19 years of managed decline and get Scotland growing again is by voting for Reform UK in May’s Holyrood election.”

Sarah Pochin, who won the Runcorn by-election for Reform UK last year, also spoke at the event and joked about wearing a burqa in a new Reform-inspired tartan. She said Britain was “going bankrupt” and “mad net zero has ensured the demise of the oil and gas industry”.

See also

Ramping up North Sea oil & gas ‘won’t cut fuel bills’