Holyrood election: Malcolm Offord denies Reform is spreading division after 'barrage' from rivals at hustings
Hustings chaired by The Scotsman sees political rivals clash over tone of debate in run-up to Holyrood election
Reform’s leader in Scotland has insisted his party is “running a positive campaign” after facing a “barrage” from his political rivals over accusations his party is spreading division ahead of the Holyrood election.
Malcolm Offord came under fire from the SNP’s Mairi McAllan, who said she feared “for the tenor of the debate” if Reform MSPs are elected to Holyrood, while Labour’s Martin Whitfield warned May’s election could be a “Rubicon moment” for Scottish politics.
Speaking at the Scotland 2050 hustings, chaired by The Scotsman, Mr Offord denied that Reform is responsible for an increased toxicity in Scottish politics.
Mr Offord came under renewed pressure over a homophobic joke he made eight years ago that came to light earlier this month - a matter he told the hustings was now “done and dusted”.
Mr Offord said he was “not homophobic”, but declined to apologise again, despite being repeatedly asked to, including from members of the audience.
One audience member said: “I’m gay and Malcolm should apologise.
“There will be tonnes of other gay people in this room who will be horrified, so on behalf of all of them we would appreciate an apology.”
Mr Offord came under attack for the joke and faced accusations his party is responsible for a heightened divisive politics.
Mr Offord, who said he faced “a barrage” from his political opponents, was asked if his party had contributed to an increase in political toxicity.
“Not at all”, he said. “We’re running a positive campaign. We haven’t said a negative thing about anybody in this campaign. We’ve said negative things about their policies. We haven’t made any personal attacks.
“Reform UK wants this country to be happy and healthy and wealthy and we need cohesive communities.”
Ms McAllan, who was housing secretary before the election campaign, accused Mr Offord of “an astonishing failure to acknowledge the hurt and disgust caused” by his joke.
Mr Offord apologies at the time and donated money to an LGBT rugby team as a way of “making amends”.
“What I find particularly distasteful…is throwing money at the problem. You really ought to have taken the opportunity tonight to apologise”, Ms McAllan said.
She warned about a “wider climate in our politics”, where the temperature and the volume is ever increasing and “it doesn’t serve our people”.
Ms McAllan accused Reform of “racist rhetoric”, branding the party “a bunch of incredibly wealthy people”, who she claimed were “trying to sow fear in our communities”.
The senior SNP politician claimed Mr Offord was “unfit for office”.
She said: “I genuinely fear for the tenor of the debate in the Scottish Parliament if, led by a man who can’t apologise for a deeply offensive so-called joke, are in the Scottish Parliament.
“It should be a worry for us all.”
Mr Whitfield said it was “absolutely on the politicians about how they respond” to the increased toxicity, as he raised “personal attacks” some politicians and activists were facing on the doorsteps during the campaign.
“We have situations where police have had to get involved,” he added.
He warned that people spreading hatred on social media and in person were now “empowered to treat people as less than themselves”.
Mr Whitfield said: “This election, particularly here in Scotland, is going to be a Rubicon moment. It’s for all of us to step up to that responsibility and call it out when it occurs.”
Former co-leader of the Scottish Green, Patrick Harvie, said as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, he felt "nauseous" at Mr Offord’s remarks.
He said: “We have to find it within ourselves to be the kind of country that defeats this vile, nasty and abusive culture war politics.”
Mr Offord pushed back at the accusations of division, claiming that “Reform speaks the truth”.
The Reform UK leader in Scotland claimed that there was “an issue with cohesion” in communities across Scotland.
He insisted that it was “not to do with racism”, but claimed it was down to the “sheer numbers of people arriving in the last five years to our shores”.
The politicians were also asked by audience members about how they will ensure the Supreme Court ruling that defines a woman in the UK Equality Act, is enforced.
The UK government has not yet signed off guidance for public bodies to implement the ruling.
Ms McAllan said: “We have a responsibility to balance the human rights of everyone, women and of trans people.
“Whilst the ruling was clear it was not a victory of someone's rights over another and we will implement the judgement, it’s being implemented now.”
Scottish Tory candidate Murdo Fraser claimed that the Supreme Court judgment “needs to be applied right across Scotland”.
He claimed that there was a “new fight”, claiming that the SNP and Labour’s plans for a full ban on conversion therapy could see “parents of gender-confused children being treated as criminals”, warning that would be “deeply harmful and unacceptable”.
Mr Harvie, who alongside Ms McAllan was confronted by members of the audience over the issue, claimed it was “another aspect of culture war politics which we need the courage to confront.”
On the economy, Ms McAllan issued a warning that “we absolutely have to get used to doing more, and our public services to work harder, with less investment” and “embark on a period of public sector reform”.
Warning over efficiencies and potential cuts, Ms McAllan said that “those who can pay a little bit more ought to pay a little bit more”, pointing to the “universal benefits that make the quality of life in Scotland better”, highlighting the SNP’s more progressive tax policies.
Mr Whitfield argued that the problem was a need to “spend far, far more efficiently”, as he called for a “far more ruthless grasp of how we spend in Scotland”, suggesting that a Labour Scottish government would cut back on public spending.
Mr Offord accused the SNP of bringing forward “a big fat lie” over the economy, accusing the Scottish government of putting “a whole bunch of disincentives in people’s way”, such as more progressive income tax bands.
He also suggested that Scotland has not faced austerity, claiming that funding from Westminster has increased.
Mr Fraser, warned that “we have to accept that there are difficult choices that need to be made”.
He argued that the Scottish Conservatives was the only party willing to "incentivise people to get back into work instead of being claimants of benefits”.
Mr Fraser added: “We would unapologetically put growth first, if we get more growth we create more jobs and get more tax revenues to pay for the things we want to see.”
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton warned that the public has been “let down by the parties of government”.
He said his party was putting forward “a vision of change with fairness at its heart”.
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