Green sceptics Reform embrace recycling – old Tories
Is anyone else struggling to keep up with which former Tory reject has defected to Reform recently? Blink and you miss another “new” face – one that looks suspiciously familiar.
Former Home Secretary, former Chancellor, former Scotland Minister, former Schools Minister. The list of “formers” grows longer by the day, to the point where Reform UK looks less like a fresh political movement and more like a clearance aisle for disgruntled Conservatives.
Never in my life did I think I’d ever agree with anything that comes out of Nigel Farage’s mouth, but even he managed to land a rare moment of clarity when he said, “never trust a Tory.”
Judging by the steady flow of Tory cast-offs into Reform’s ranks, it seems Reform didn’t get the memo. If anything, they’ve embraced the very political class they claim to despise.
And that raises a serious question: what does Reform actually stand for? Beyond the constant noise about immigration and a stubborn, almost ideological hostility to climate action, what are their policies? What do they believe in when the slogans are stripped away and, crucially, how would they deliver it?
Scratch the surface and what emerges is worryingly thin. Take Lord Offord’s call to scrap tax bands, a proposal floated with little regard for context or consequence. It conveniently ignores the fact that majority of Scottish taxpayers already pay less tax than counterparts in England and Wales.
Any Reform proposal would overwhelmingly benefit those at the very top (like the multi-millionaire Lord Offord!), while offering little to working families already stretched to breaking point.
And if Reform were ever to find themselves with real power, we can safely assume the end of the unique benefits that Scotland offers.
No free prescriptions; an end to free tuition; no more free bus trave; no Scottish Child Payment – one of the key policies proven to buck the trend and lift children and families out of poverty – gone for good!
These aren’t wild accusations, they are the logical outcomes of a political philosophy that sees public services not as a shared good, but as an inconvenient cost.
Both Reform and the Tories appear united in another belief too: that we have a second viable planet tucked away somewhere, because that’s the only explanation for their casual dismissal of the climate emergency.
Nothing is urgent. Nothing needs action now. And yet, in a delicious twist of irony, they have finally embraced recycling -by repackaging old Tories as something new.
With Labour trail behind Reform, the choice facing voters this May is becoming clearer by the day. Only the SNP can truly deliver for Scotland.
This is our year of opportunity, a chance to back a party that puts Scotland front and centre, that believes political choices should help working people, not millionaires, billionaires and lobbyists.
So no, Reform may not believe in climate change. But they certainly believe in recycling. Out with the old and in with the old – just with a different logo slapped on the side.
SNP group leader, Edinburgh City Council