Kemi Badenoch has accused Nigel Farage of political opportunism after he urged Scottish nationalists to back Reform UK ahead of the Holyrood election. The exchange comes as parties position themselves in a fragmented contest where smaller parties could play a decisive role …reports Asian Lite News
Kemi Badenoch has accused Nigel Farage of being an opportunist who does not believe in unionism, after he called on Scottish nationalists to support Reform UK in the upcoming Holyrood election. The Conservative leader said her party was the only genuinely centre-right and unionist force, as she criticised Farage’s stance and messaging to different audiences.
Farage said earlier this week that “genuine nationalists” would not support the Scottish National party’s aim of rejoining the European Union, and urged them to vote for Reform in the election scheduled for 7 May. He also said that while he believed in the United Kingdom, it was “probably quite reasonable” to hold a second independence referendum in the future “if this issue came back”.
Speaking to reporters in Edinburgh on Thursday, Badenoch rejected Farage’s position and questioned his consistency. “Nigel Farage doesn’t really believe in anything except Nigel Farage. He tells everybody what they want to hear,” she said. “If he’s speaking to a unionist, he’s a unionist. If he’s speaking to a nationalist, he’s a nationalist. This is how Reform managed to vote for and against the two-child benefit cap on the same day in the same vote. They don’t know what they stand for, except that they are against everything and everybody that is part of the system. They can see problems, but they don’t have the solutions.”
The intervention comes as the Conservatives seek to limit losses to Reform UK, which opinion polls suggest could draw significant support from centre-right voters. The party is currently the second-largest at Holyrood, but surveys indicate it is trailing behind Labour, Reform and the Scottish Greens, and roughly level with the Liberal Democrats, with support estimated between 8 and 13 per cent.
Questions about Reform’s role after the election have also intensified. Malcolm Offord, the party’s Scottish leader, said his party would not necessarily block the SNP leader, John Swinney, from becoming first minister in the event of a closely balanced parliament. His comments have been cited by critics as evidence that Reform’s strategy could contribute to political instability rather than forming part of a clear governing alternative.
The SNP is widely expected to win the election, with some polls suggesting it could secure a majority. Swinney said on Thursday that if this were to happen, he would seek to demand a second independence referendum by 2028, despite the UK Labour government maintaining it would not grant approval for such a vote.
Opposition parties are exploring different scenarios in which the SNP could be prevented from forming a government, even if it emerges as the largest party. Scottish Labour and the Liberal Democrats have indicated they hope that a coalition of anti-SNP parties could command sufficient support at Holyrood to install Labour leader Anas Sarwar as first minister, potentially with Conservative backing.
However, the potential influence of Reform UK complicates these calculations. Polling suggests the party could win 10 or more seats, making it a potentially pivotal player in any tightly contested outcome. Asked whether Reform would work with Labour to keep the SNP out of power, Offord said: “No. Because we are the challenger party.”
Within the Conservative party, there are also differing views on how best to respond to the electoral landscape. Some senior figures have encouraged tactical voting among anti-independence supporters to reduce the chances of an SNP majority. David Mundell, a former Scottish secretary, urged voters to “use their votes wisely” to prevent Scotland entering what he described as a “constitutional cul-de-sac”.
His comments appear to diverge from Badenoch’s position that Conservative voters should remain loyal to the party. The debate reflects broader tensions among unionist parties as they attempt to navigate a competitive and uncertain electoral contest, with the prospect of a second independence referendum continuing to shape the political backdrop.
