In Politics, when it rains, it often pours. It’s rare to get just one piece of bad press in isolation, there’s very often a sudden pile-on.
Few parties know this wisdom better than Reform UK, who have faced scandal after scandal throughout 2026. The Scottish branch, in particularly, have faced a week of bad headlines.
From criminal investigations to dropping to third place in the Scottish Parliament, it’s astonishing just how fast Reform have fallen, having only just achieved a monumental result in the 2026 Scottish elections.
So,if you’ve been having a rough time recently, here’s the timeline of how Reform UK Scotland’s week has gone.
Wednesday: ITV’s Undercover Investigation
The losing streak started off with yet another undercover investigation into Reform, this time from ITV which showed a number of candidates using sexist, racist and offensive language.
The most viral clip from the whole showed Reform’s first female MP, Sarah Pochin, describe the party as being “so chauvinistic” and saying “They just exclude you if you’re a woman”.
The report also highlighted concerns around Reform’s vetting process, as a former candidate Alex Lomas claimed he failed vetting twice before being allowed to stand. Similarly, a prospective candidate was encouraged to delete posts supporting Tommy Robinson but was still told he could stand as a candidate.
The image of Reform as a bigoted old boy’s club is one the party have been trying to resist since their inception shortly before the 2024 general election. Reports like these only reinforce that negative image, especially in largely liberally-minded Scotland.
Saturday: A Police Scotland Investigation
The Ferret revealed yet more scrutiny from the police, as they reported four candidates failed to submit their campaign spending and five candidates in Edinburgh to sign a declaration saying they filled their information out accurately.
Though none of the candidates won their seats, they were each the 3rd place candidate in their constituencies, and it raises further concerns around Reform has been financing their campaigns.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Information has been received and is being assessed.”, as the Metropolitan Police continues its investigation into the party for breaking foreign-funding rules. Reform UK Scotland admitted “administrative errors” though denies any wrongdoing.
Reform have been struggling to legitimise themselves, despite their high seat count, and yet more scandal involving their finances is bound to only increase their perception as a corrupt organisation.
Monday: Amanda Bland Resigns
A major legislative blow came just earlier this week when Reform UK Scotland’s justice spokesman resigned from the party but refused to resign from parliament.
There’s been a lot of speculation as to why she did this but no official reason has been given. The BBC reported she had been called for a meeting by party leadership concerning high-turnover rates in her office shortly before she resigned.
Whatever the reason, it’s a severe blow to Reform, who have went from joint-second to third in the Scottish parliament. Due to this, Reform Leader Malcolm Offord will lose his title as the Leader of the Opposition and Reform will no longer have a seat on the Criminal Justice Committee, an incredibly hot-button issue for the party.
Despite Offord’s calls for Bland to resign, it appears the party are powerless to stop her and she will presumably serve the rest of her term as an Independent and thorn in the side of Reform.,
Today: Restore Britain Attacks
Restore Britain, the far-right party set up by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, continues to mount a massive attack on Reform’s rightward flank. The party has managed to attract a significant amount of support away from Reform in national polls and Lowe is now mounting a significant campaign in Scotland.
Today, he claimed that polling showed Restore had overtaken both the Conservatives and Reform in 21 seats and was tied for first in 11 seats. The poll in question has yet to be published but nevertheless is a reminder that already small right-wing vote in Scotland is now being split three-ways.
Rupert Lowe has rapidly begun to stage Scotland as a new battleground for the party and his continued attacks in the region can only be bad news for Reform UK Scotland
Restore Britain have been taking away votes from Reform across the UK and that effect is likely to become even more pronounced given the already small vote share Reform receives in Scottish elections.
Where are Reform now?
The promising momentum shown by Reform UK Scotland at the Scottish elections earlier this year now appears to have all but dried up. Not only have they been relegated to a mere third place in parliament, but a series of wider scandals are heavily affecting their image.
While this week has been especially bad for the party, they’ve been in something of a downward trend ever since Holyrood returned from its recess, following in line with the national party.
With that being said, Scotland is ultimately a different political battleground than the rest of the UK and, increasingly, the trends of Reform UK Scotland is beginning to diverge from the wider party.
What has become clear, however, is that the young upstart party which managed to leap-frog the conservatives in a single election now finds itself in a quagmire, and it’s going to take some serious effort to get the wind back in their sails.
2nd year History and Journalism Student
Politics Editor and Head of Podcasting
Also writes on Substack @jamesmcintyre609599
