Findlay: 'Reform cannot be trusted on the Union - they can't be trusted, full stop.'

By MICHAEL BLACKLEY SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR FOR THE DAILY MAIL Published: 00:04, 7 April 2026 | Updated: 00:04, 7 April 2026 Nigel Farage’s Reform UK ‘cannot be trusted’ on the Union or its key policies, Russell Findlay will claim today. The Scottish Conservative leader will use a speech launching his party’s manifesto for the Holyrood elections to step up his attack on Reform. He will highlight heavy criticism of the Reform manifesto which was launched by Mr Farage last month, after the Institute for Fiscal Studies concluded that key policies like the pledge to switch back to three income tax bands and set them all 1p below the UK rate, rising to 3p in the first five years, are ‘not fiscally credible’.  There have also been revelations that some of the party’s candidates previously supported independence, while a series of other candidates have stood down and Scottish leader Lord Malcolm Offord has faced heavy criticism over a ‘homophobic’ joke. At his manifesto launch event in Edinburgh, Mr Findlay is expected to say: ‘Reform cannot be trusted on the Union. They cannot be trusted, full stop. ‘Their manifesto fell apart inside 24 hours. The IFS think tank described key pledges as a “mirage”.  'It was based on fantasy figures.Their candidates have been dropping like flies. Their leader, Lord Offord, has spent the campaign going in and out hiding. ‘How can they be trusted to take on the SNP if they can’t even sort their own candidate vetting process?’ Reform UK Glasgow councillor Thomas Kerr said: ‘Russell Findlay should spend more time focusing on the Scottish Tories incoming irrelevance rather than obsessing with Reform. ‘Reform is here to upset the apple cart and offer real change, not sit in permanent opposition collecting a wage like most Scottish Tory MSPs.’ Since it launched its manifesto and unveiled its constituency candidates just over a fortnight ago, Reform has suffered a series of setbacks including the loss of seven of its candidates. It has also faced internal rows about cronyism and a lack of democracy in its selection process, while its Scottish leader Lord Offord has been criticised for a past 'homophobic' joke. Last week Lord Offord highlighted figures showing that Glasgow City Council is providing temporary accommodation for more than 9,337 homeless people, with 64 per cent of them having refugee status. He also highlighted that the cost of hotels and B&Bs in Glasgow was £55million last year, which is equivalent to almost 15 per cent of all council tax revenue. Lord Offord said Glasgow is 'bursting at the seams' and criticised John Swinney for indicating immigration is not an issue for Scots in this election campaign. He said: 'The media bubble and the political class would have you believe this issue has been whipped up by Reform rhetoric. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.