Analysis: Reform UK Scottish manifesto 2026

This briefing was published on 20/03/26 for PoliMonitor Scotland clients.

With the Holyrood election on 7th May only a few weeks away, Reform UK is no longer a footnote in Scottish politics. 

The party has been polling consistently in second place, ahead of Scottish Labour and the Scottish Conservatives, and its manifesto launch yesterday marked the moment it set out a formal claim to be a serious contender for government. Whether that claim survives contact with the campaign is another matter. But the document, and the day that surrounded it, told us all plenty about what kind of party Reform intends to be north of the border.

The launch was held at the Ingliston Country Club in Bishopton, Renfrewshire. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage joined Reform UK Scottish leader Malcolm Offord at what the party billed as its first Scottish conference, though the atmosphere appeared to be closer to a rally than a traditional party gathering. 

Offord, a former Conservative peer who defected to Reform in December last year and was appointed Scottish leader by Farage in January, opened his address by declaring his ambition to become Scotland's next First Minister. Farage predicted Reform would become Holyrood's second largest party, though added the party might "surprise" some people.

The event did not go entirely to plan. 

Before Farage had said a word, a protester had to be removed by security after heckling him from the floor. Outside, anti-fascist demonstrators had gathered earlier in the morning. And Reform MP Sarah Pochindrew immediate condemnation when, after her autocue failed, she joked about wanting to arrive in a "Reform tartan burqa". 

Pochin has previously used her first PMQs question to call for a ban on burqas. Scottish Labour noted it had taken her fewer than thirty seconds to make jokes about Muslims. Offord defended the remark as harmless humour.Faragedrew further criticism for comments about mass Muslim prayer in public spaces, which he linked to Scottish audiences by suggesting it would "come to Scotland" soon. The tone of both speeches prompted several commentators to note a clear difference in register between Offord's more devolution-focused address and Farage's willingness to stray into more contentious territory.

This controversy is important for those monitoring political risk, because it shapes the story that surrounds the policy content. Several of Reform's substantive proposals are significant. The noise around the launch makes it harder for those proposals to land cleanly.

Tax and the economy

The centrepiece of the manifesto is a commitment to scrap Scotland's six-band income tax system and realign it with England's three-band structure, before cutting each band by 1p. This would create a 19p basic rate, a 39p higher rate and a 44p additional rate. The manifesto sets a medium-term ambition of cutting each band to 3p below the equivalent English rate within the first parliamentary term. The Reform Scotland website has an interactive tax calculator feature highlighting the difference in take home pay under a Reform government and then under their vision for 2031. You can try it yourself at this link. 

Reform puts the initial cost at £2bn. The Institute for Fiscal Studies describes this as a reasonable short-term estimate, though notes costs would rise over time. The party argues the bill would be met by redirecting £1bn from Net Zero spending and £6.5bn from 132 quangos. Scrutiny of those figures has already begun. The quango budgets include bodies such as the Scottish Funding Council, which underwrites Scotland's colleges and universities to the tune of £2bn a year. Reform acknowledged at the launch that the process would require being, in Offord's words, "rational in a professional way."

The manifesto also proposes phasing out Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and business rates over ten years, replacing both with a single annual property tax retained entirely by local authorities. This sits within a broader commitment to devolve decision-making from Holyrood to councils, a direct contrast with what Reform describes as the Scottish National Party's centralising instincts.

Energy and Net Zero

This is where the manifesto draws its clearest dividing line with the current Scottish Government. 

Reform proposes scrapping all Scottish Net Zero targets, subsidies and associated public bodies, ending the ban on new nuclear facilities, and positioning North Sea oil and gas as Scotland's primary energy system. The party would also stop large solar and battery farms, end plans to phase out oil boilers in rural homes and abolish low-emission zones.

The manifesto frames this as an economic argument, pointing to energy costs it says are seven times those of China and four times those of the United States. Opponents, including the Scottish Greens, argue that scrapping climate commitments would cost Scotland the investment and jobs associated with clean energy transition. That debate is likely to run through the entire campaign.

Health, housing and justice

Reform's health proposals centre on establishing a Scottish Healthcare Reform Commission within the first six months of taking office, to examine delayed discharge, workforce planning, social care integration and technology adoption. The party commits to keeping the National Health Service free at the point of need, while arguing the current system is financially unsustainable.

On housing, the manifesto proposes reinstating the local connection requirement for housing applications scrapped in 2022, ending Glasgow's status as “a dispersal city for asylum seekers”, and building 15,000 homes a year through planning reform. The local connection policy drew the biggest cheer of Offord's speech, suggesting it resonates strongly with the party's activist base.

On justice, Reform proposes tougher sentences for repeat offenders, increased prison capacity, an end to early release programmes and scrapping the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2024.

Reforming Holyrood itself

The manifesto proposes reducing the number of Scottish Parliament constituency seats from 73 to 57, implementing a ten-yearly review of reserved powers through a joint Holyrood and Westminster committee, shutting down all quangos and returning their functions to ministers, and creating a department of government efficiency. 

The Scottish National Party responded that Reform was "openly trying to destroy" Scottish institutions. Other parties were similarly critical, with responses ranging from Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar’s description of the event as the "Farage circus" to Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay's observation that Reform was a gift that keeps on giving to First Minister John Swinney.

The Scottish Greens were among the most vocal in their response. 

Patrick Harvie MSP described Reform as "a party of the super rich, for the super rich, and funded by the super rich", arguing the manifesto would benefit wealthy households while cutting investment in health, housing and education. The Greens also accused Reform of scapegoating migrants and vulnerable groups, and warned that scrapping climate commitments would cost Scotland jobs and investment rather than deliver the economic benefits the party claims. Harvie framed the Greens as the principal alternative for voters who want Scotland to take a different direction entirely.

The political context

The launch illustrates the particular challenge Reform faces in Scotland that it does not face in Wales. In Scotland, every policy position Reform takes is refracted through the independence debate. Findlay's warning that Offord was providing a roadmap to another referendum reflects a genuine tactical concern: that a strong Reform showing splits the unionist vote and gifts the Scottish National Party another term.

Farage addressed independence directly, calling another referendum "pie-in-the-sky" and arguing there was no appetite for one "any time soon." Whether this reassures unionist voters who might otherwise consider Reform, or simply hands Swinney a convenient dividing line for the campaign, will be one of the defining questions of the next few weeks.

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