Malcolm Offord not most charismatic leader, Reform UK Scotland deputy says

Malcolm Offord is not the “most charismatic” party leader at FMQs, Reform UK Scotland’s deputy leader has said.

Thomas Kerr also said he did not want his boss’s job, amid claims from the First Minister about his leadership ambitions.

He said the party had “100%” confidence in Lord Offord and that he was doing a “fantastic job”.

Pointing to Mr Kerr in the chamber during FMQs last week, John Swinney told Lord Offord he would have to “think about somewhere else to go shortly, once the man to his right takes over from him very, very soon”.

Asked if he wanted Lord Offord’s job, Reform’s deputy Scottish leader told the Press Association: “No, and I think the First Minister should spend more time looking at the man that’s to his right, which is Stephen Flynn.

“I think if I was John Swinney, I’d be more focused on the knives that’s coming in his back than Malcolm Offord’s.”

Mr Kerr said he wanted to make sure Lord Offord was Reform’s candidate for first minister at the 2031 election.

The former Tory councillor, who was elected to Holyrood in May, said he and the party had full confidence in their leader.

Speaking at a pub in the east end of Glasgow, he told PA: “Nigel Farage was up a couple of weeks ago, and Nigel made it very clear that we are all very happy at what Malcolm is doing.

“Look, the point of Reform is that we are not polished politicians, right? Sometimes I will say something that gets me into trouble, and you guys will trace me down the garden lobby, right?

“Malcolm might not be the most charismatic person at FMQs, because he’s still learning on the job. I’m still learning how to do stuff in the chamber as well.”

Mr Kerr, who was first elected to Glasgow City Council at the age of 20, said: “We come from professional backgrounds. Malcolm Offord is a businessman who’s made a fortune, and I want to see more people like Malcolm Offord in our country.

“So I don’t think it’s about are you happy with this or not happy with that. We are still there on how to do the job as a leadership and as a whole in Reform.

“But Malcolm is doing a stellar job and I am 100% confident that that’s the person we need to be first minister of this country in 2031.”

Asked if he could promise whether Lord Offord, a former Tory peer and Scotland Office minister, would remain leader by the next election, Mr Kerr said he could “promise that it’s entirely up to Malcolm Offord what he wants to do”.

Reform UK Scotland skyrocketed from one MSP to 17 at the Holyrood election in May, placing joint second with Labour.

However, the recent defection of Amanda Bland has seen the party slide down to third place.

Ms Bland, a former police officer, accused Lord Offord and chief of staff Martyn Greene of misogynistic abuse, which she compared to her abusive father.

Mr Kerr said he did not believe the now independent MSP and was “disappointed” that she chose to leave, instead of raising concerns with other MSPs.

He told PA: “If there is issues inside Reform, then we’ll take that very, very seriously. But so far, all that we have is a public spat between one person who was angry and decided to leave, and nobody else.”

He added: “I don’t believe it at all. I don’t believe that that is the case. As I said, I’m disappointed if that has been the case, and if she did feel that way and she didn’t raise it with us in leadership, I’m disappointed in that.”

Mr Kerr also said that the allegations of a toxic and sexist working environment only emerging after she had resigned, “and after there had been briefings and things against her, I think, probably says more of a reasoning as to why that happened”.

Ms Bland has been approached for comment.