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Reform UK\u2019s new Scottish leader has pledged a cut in income tax and a bonfire of quangos to help turbocharge the economy.<\/p>\n
Malcolm Offord said that if elected First Minister of Scotland he would revert to three income tax bands in line with the rest of the UK.<\/p>\n
He would then cut 1p from each band with an objective of being 3p below each band in the first five years of a Reform UK government in Scotland.<\/p>\n
Speaking at his first press conference since his appointment, Mr Offord said: \u201cThis immediate alignment will cost \u00a31.2 billion and every 1p cut thereafter will cost \u00a3850m each. <\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, the immediate cost will be \u00a32bn which will be paid for by re-allocation of the \u00a39bn
currently spent on highly dubious environmental protection, economic development and 132 unaccountable quangos.\u201d<\/p>\n
He offered no explanation about how the functions of these quangos would be deployed or what would become of the thousands of staff they employ, although Graham Simpson, the Tory defector and only Reform UK MSP, said \u201call parties are looking to cut the number of quangos\u201d.<\/p>\n
His plan was announced as former Conservative minister Suella Braverman became the latest defection to Reform UK. The former Home Secretary becomes the third sitting Tory MP to join Nigel Farage\u2019s party in the last eleven days, and takes Reform\u2019s tally of MPs to eight. She said: \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve come home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Offord said his proposed income tax cuts were in response to frustrations among workers and business owners.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorkers and owners in Scotland are paying too much tax,\u201d he said. \u201cThose with the broadest shoulders are now shrugging their shoulders and saying, \u2018what\u2019s the point\u2026of expanding my business, of hiring more staff, of working longer hours, of launching new products?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the point indeed? The pendulum at Holyrood has swung too far from work to welfare and Reform Scotland will build a new economy which rewards work first and creates prosperity for all.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Offord, who has renounced his peerage to seek election in May, questioned what devolution had achieved since the parliament was established 25 year ago. He said the political class had created a welfare economy \u201cwhich does not create wealth; where work does not always pay more than welfare; and where 93% of Scots think the NHS needs significant reform.\u201d<\/p>\n He said Scotland\u2019s \u201conce world famous Scottish education has gone from outstanding to average\u201d; there is a \u201cchronic shortage \u201cof affordable housing; and \u201cuncontrolled, low-skilled immigration has destabilised our communities\u201d.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cContrary to SNP rhetoric, it has not been caused by a shortage of money. In 1999, the state spent \u00a334bn in Scotland; today that figure is \u00a3118bn. That equates to a compound annual growth rate of 5%, so no austerity there! <\/p>\n \u201cAs a percentage of GDP, state spending has increased from 43% in 1999 to 55% today meaning that costs have consistently out- paced revenues. By comparison, New Zealand spends only 42% with similar GDP per head.\u201d<\/p>\n Taking as swipe at the current Holyrood cohort, he said: \u201cThe reality is that modern, professional politicians have never worked in business, never had to generate their own revenues, never had to use their own money to make payroll on a Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cMost professional politicians are financially illiterate and yet make spending decisions worth billions of pounds of taxpayers money. And the one thing they all pay lip service to, but never deliver on, is economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n On Reform\u2019s ambitions for 7 May, he said: \u201cReform UK will be standing 73 new candidates covering every single constituency in Scotland. And what an impressive bunch they are: doctors, lawyers, economists, entrepreneurs, teachers, nurses, small business owners, farmers, civil servants, local councillors etc. experts from all walks of life and from every part of Scotland.<\/p>\n \u201cNot professional politicians, instead passionate Scots who are dismayed by our country after 18 years of SNP.\u201d<\/p>\n On the Scottish government\u2019s finances, he quoted the official GERS figures that confirm Scotland collects tax revenues of \u00a390bn, giving a \u00a330bn short-fall against the total spend of \u00a3120bn. <\/p>\n \u201cThis \u00a330bn deficit is funded by the block grant from UK Treasury supported by sterling and it is four times the deficit allowed by the EU, which is why [SNP leader and First Minister] John Swinney\u2019s plan for leaving the UK to join Europe is pie-in-the-sky.<\/p>\n \u201cJohn Swinney is being disingenuous with the country and disrespectful to his own supporters by promising to deliver Independence with the reality of this deficit conveniently ignored.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he really was serious about Independence, he would have spent the last 18 years reducing this deficit in preparation for separation, instead his Scotland is earning the equivalent of \u00a3750 per week and spending \u00a31,000 per week.<\/p>\n \u201cFortunately, the UK Treasury backed by sterling is content to fund this deficit on a friends and family basis, but international bond markets would not be so kind with an independent Scotland. Borrowing costs would be extortionate without a creditable currency and international investors would demand swinging austerity to balance the books.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn Scotland, we are protected from bond markets because we borrow through the UK Treasury which gives us access to affordable borrowing thanks to the credibility of sterling built up over 300 years.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that after the economy and the NHS, \u201cthe third most salient policy area of concern to Scots is immigration.\u201d<\/p>\n He explained: \u201cOur political opponents accuse us of fabricating this grievance because it suits them to pretend that this isn\u2019t really a problem.<\/p>\n \u201cSome want to label it as purely an English phenomenon, others take any opportunity to smear those of us who raise legitimate concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cWe totally reject that narrative, because the authenticity of Reform UK is to speak the truth on any issue. The sad reality is that immigration is now a serious issue here in Scotland and it cannot simply be wished away, swept under the carpet and ignored.<\/p>\n \u201cMake no mistake, Scots have always been welcoming to immigrants and we have a good track record of community cohesion and integration.<\/p>\n \u201cBut right now, especially in this cost of living scenario, we need to prioritise our own people over strangers. Instead, from Inverness to Falkirk, local people are witnessing priority of services, opportunity and safety being given to strangers, and that is not fair. <\/p>\n \u201cWhich brings me to the economic reality. Our population in Scotland is 5.5m of whom 3.6m are of working age. Of that cohort, 2.6m are active in work and 1m are economically inactive.<\/p>\n Exempting students, carers, early retirees and the long-term disabled leaves half-a-million Scots of working age locked out of aspiration and prosperity. Such wasted talent! <\/p>\n \u201cThis is a mark of national shame, and it needs to be addressed by Holyrood as a matter of national urgency. Work is a key component of the Scottish DNA. We need to help our neighbours back onto the pathway to work.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked by Daily Business <\/em>what would become of the renewables sector under the party\u2019s to reduce the UK\u2019s commitment to net zero, he replied that the country had been promised cheap energy, but following the recent wind farm allocations, the UK was committed to 50 years of subsidies.<\/p>\n \u201cIs that a good use of our money?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Asked how the government would compensate those who might lose out by a reversal of green policies, he said the current subsidy regime \u201cis the biggest transfer of money from the poor to the rich since Robin Hood.\u201d <\/p>\n \t <\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dailybusinessgroup.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Malcolm-Offord-for-news.png\")
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