Reform UK Suspends Candidate Stuart Niven Over Covid Grant Misuse
Reform UK has suspended Stuart Niven, its candidate for Dundee City West, after revelations that he had been struck off as a company director for diverting tens of thousands of pounds of Covid grants into his personal account. The suspension was confirmed by the party on Friday morning following the disclosure.
Institute for Fiscal Studies Criticizes Reform’s Scottish Manifesto
Hours after the suspension, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) dismissed claims in Reform’s Scottish manifesto that it could save billions of pounds in Holyrood spending. The thinktank described many of the party’s pledges as “not fiscally credible” and “unserious at best”.
Islamophobic Remarks by Candidates Spark Political Backlash
Reform UK has faced mounting criticism from across the political spectrum concerning the conduct of several candidates, shortly after Nigel Farage announced the party’s 73 hopefuls for the May Scottish Parliament election.
Anas Sarwar, leader of Scottish Labour, highlighted disclosures in multiple newspapers about candidates’ “divisive tweets,” raising serious questions about the party’s candidate screening process. Earlier this year, Farage had asserted that the party’s vetting procedures were now more rigorous than before.
Following Farage’s speech on Thursday, it emerged that Linda Holt, Reform’s candidate for Fife North East, had posted on social media describing Humza Yousaf, the UK’s first Muslim First Minister, as “not British” and a “grandstanding Islamist moron.”
Rachael Wright, Reform’s candidate for Stirling, shared a petition falsely claiming that a former private school in Perthshire was being converted into migrant accommodation. The school’s owners refuted this claim as “wholly unfounded,” though Reform asserted the denial was a result of its intervention.
Additionally, Senga Beresford, candidate for Galloway and West Dumfries, endorsed social media posts by far-right figures Tommy Robinson and Britain First, including tweets advocating mass deportations and a ban on burqas.
Party Leadership Defends Candidates Amid Criticism
Anas Sarwar described Malcolm Offord, Reform’s Scottish leader, as “spineless” for defending the controversial remarks. Offord acknowledged that the comments might have been intemperate but insisted they were “real” and made before the individuals became party candidates.
Speaking to BBC Radio, Offord said these remarks had been disclosed during Reform’s screening process, which requires candidates to “give full disclosure.” He added:
“We have brought in a whole range of candidates, 80% of whom are not politicians. They’re real people with real lives who said real things in a past life.
And what we got is a situation where, in all our lives in the past we’ve made comments that might sometimes be intemperate. But the issue with this modern world we live in is everything is now written down and remembered. I just think we have to be more realistic about the fact that real people say real things.”
Farage Promises Improved Vetting After Past Failures
In January, Farage was questioned by about whether Reform’s vetting was sufficient following the conviction of Nathan Gill, his former UKIP ally and Welsh Reform leader. Farage admitted the vetting had been inadequate in the past and promised improvements:
“It has been piss poor in the past and it won’t be in the future,”
“I promise you we are doing everything we can to make sure these candidates for the Scottish parliament are vetted, and are fit and proper people to put before the electorate.”
Scottish Labour Leader Criticizes Reform’s Candidates and Policies
Sarwar stated on Friday:
“Reform is treating Scots with contempt by asking them to vote for this hopeless gaggle of Tory rejects and oddballs, and I have no doubt Scotland will send them packing.
The spineless Offord has only suspended one candidate and effectively given the green light to the fringe views of the rest of them. Reform Scotland do not have credible policies or credible candidates – they are not even in this race.”
Offord Responds to Criticism Over Party Remarks
Offord was also questioned by the BBC regarding comments made during Reform’s rally on Thursday by Sarah Pochin, the Reform MP who won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election. Pochin had said she wanted to appear on stage wearing a “Reform tartan burqa” but was told she could not.
When asked about criticism from John Swinney, the First Minister, who described those remarks as racist, Offord replied that they were “perfectly harmless” humour:
“I just don’t think the public are interested in this definition of racism,”
he said.
IFS Expert Critiques Reform’s Financial Proposals
David Phillips, the IFS’s devolved finances specialist, criticized Reform’s manifesto pledges, stating the party misunderstood Scotland’s financial arrangements. Reform promised to fund a £2.3 billion tax cut by cutting costs, but Phillips said:
“The ‘self-funding’ tax cuts are a mirage created by a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the current devolution settlement and incorrectly comparing cumulative and annual figures.
This is not good enough.”
