Former Conservative life peer Malcolm Offord has defected to Reform UK.
Lord Malcolm Offord was announced by Nigel Farage as the latest defector to join the party during a rally in Falkirk.
The Scottish financier previously served as a Scotland Office minister during the last Conservative government, and was the Scottish Tories’ treasurer at the time of his defection.
Mr Farage said he was “delighted” to welcome Lord Offord to Reform, describing his defection as “a brave and historic act”.
He added: “He will take Reform UK Scotland to a new level.”
During a speech, Lord Offord confirmed he would stand at the Scottish Parliament elections in May.
He said he would give up his place in the House of Lords as he prepares to campaign for a seat at Holyrood.
He said he wanted to restore Scotland to a “prosperous, happy, healthy country”.
“Scotland needs Reform and Reform is coming to Scotland,” he told the rally.
“Today I can announce that I am resigning from the Conservative Party. Today I am joining Reform UK and today I announce my intention to stand for Reform in the Holyrood election in May next year.
“And that means that from today, for the next five months, day and night, I shall be campaigning with all of you tirelessly for two objectives.
“The first objective is to remove this rotten SNP government after 18 years, and the second is to present a positive vision for Scotland inside the UK, to restore Scotland to being a prosperous, proud, healthy and happy country.”
The Greenock-born businessman was made a life peer in 2021 by then prime minister Boris Johnson and served as a minister of exports from 2023 until the general election in June 2024. He had previously donated nearly £150,000 to the party.
Following his peerage, he was made Baron Offord of Garvel.
He becomes Reform’s latest high-profile defection in Scotland. The party previously announced the defection of Scottish Tory MSP Graham Simpson, who gave a speech at the Falkirk rally, as well as a host of councillors around the country.
Lord Offord criticised his old for party for having “given up on Scotland”.
Discussing his experiences with the Scottish Tories, the former minister said: “What I found, quite candidly, is a party which is regional not national, parochial not political, timid not ambitious; a party without a vision of how to govern Scotland with a right-of-centre agenda.”
He previously stood for Holyrood in 2021 in the Lothian region but finished fifth.
