Reform says membership in Scotland has topped 10,000

Reform UK has claimed it is “just the beginning” in Scotland as Nigel Farage’s party said its membership north of the border has topped 10,000.

It said it now has more members in Scotland than the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Alba.

The party, which does not currently have a Scottish leader, announced the “milestone” in membership as it came third in the Glenrothes and Thornton council by-election in Fife, which was won by the SNP with Labour in second place.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage with supporters during a visit to Ramsgate in Kent, while on the English local election campaign trail | PA

The party has also announced it will run in the Holyrood by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, with the June 5 contest taking place after the death of Scottish Government minister Christina McKelvie.

Polls have indicated Reform could return a number of MSPs in next May’s Scottish Parliament election.

Thomas Kerr, a Glasgow councillor who defected from the Tories to join Reform, said the rise in membership is “just the beginning”.

He said: “Across Scotland, people are rejecting tired ideologies and career politicians who talk about change but deliver none.

“Reform is the voice of the people, clear, bold and unapologetic in standing up for common sense, fairness, and freedom.

“The political class may sneer, hold summits, and call us names, but the voters are speaking louder, and we are listening.”