Former Scottish Tory MP jumps ship to Reform
Oh dear. It's not been a good year for the Scottish Conservatives, who have seen multiple councillors defect to Reform UK ahead of next year's Scottish parliament elections. Now, in a further blow to the Tories, it transpires a former Conservative MP has jumped ship to Nigel Farage's party. Talk about a sinking ship, eh?
Ross Thomson – who had formerly backed Kemi Badenoch for the party leadership – less than a year after claiming his old group was the only party able to overcome the 'threat' of Farage. The eighth Conservative member in the region to turn his back on the blues, Thomson revealed his new colours after appearing in a party promotional video with Reform's new chairman David Bull at the weekend. Explaining his change of heart, Thomson told the Press & Journal:
I did so because only Reform have the courage and answers to the issues facing Scotland and the United Kingdom and Reform are best placed to beat the SNP and sort a Holyrood system that's in desperate need of Reform. Nigel Farage leads with conviction, courage, and above all, he listens. He is the only national leader who understands the serious challenges facing the north-east of Scotland – and what it will take to make our region thrive again.
Thomson stood down as an MP for Aberdeen South in 2019 and has since stayed away from frontline politics. But within the last 12 months, the former parliamentarian has been spotted campaigning for the Conservatives on the doors and threw his weight behind Badenoch at last year's Tory leadership contest. Thomson was also a backer of Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay during last year's leadership race north of the border – writing on social media that Findlay 'embodies authentic conservative values and prinicples'.
The ex-Tory MP's move follows the jump made by a number of other Conservative councillors to Farage's crowd in the last few months – and the party even managed to persuade a Labour councillor to join their ranks. While Reform UK didn't win the recent Hamilton by-election, the party's candidate Ross Lambie came third place with 26 per cent of the vote and Farage's lot have continued to poll well. While some polls suggest Reform could pick up as many as 15 MSPs from a standing start, others have suggested the start-up is on track to become the official opposition party of Scotland next year. Watch this space…
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