MSP Amanda Bland resigned from the Reform Party to sit as an Independent in Holyrood chamber on 19 October.
This comes a day after the airing of ITV’s exposé documentary of Reform UK, which features footage of the party’s councillors and candidates allegedly making racist and sexist comments, putting Reform UK under intense scrutiny and sparking questions concerning the party’s vetting process for candidates.
Bland has not given an official reason for her resignation, only that her “principles and priorities remain unchanged” and that she would be most effective “holding the Scottish government to account” as an independent MSP.
Bland has denied claims that she resigned after she was called into a meeting to discuss the high turnover in her office.
Malcolm Offord, leader of Reform UK in Scotland, said he was “disappointed” by her decision, especially since she was only a few months into her 5-year tenure.
He has also criticised Bland’s decision to remain in the Scottish Parliament as an independent, saying she did not have a “personal mandate” to do so.
Her departure has relegated Reform to the third-largest party in Holyrood, leaving the party with 16 MSPs to Labour’s 17. As the third-largest party, Reform will potentially lose its second-place position at First Minister’s Questions.
In accordance with Holyrood’s rules, Bland will be replaced by the party’s next candidate at the next election.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said this chaos within reform is unsurprising and that the party had been “utterly useless at holding the SNP to account or getting results for the Scottish people.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat David Green MSP described Reform as being hit by “scandal after scandal,” adding that he believes more Reform MSPs will be “taking a long hard look at what they’ve signed up for.”
Image by Ulia Makoveeva for The Student
