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<\/p>\nNigel Farage’s right-wing populists have faced a chaotic start to their election campaign with multiple candidates dropping out of the race.<\/p>\n
09:40, 05 Apr 2026Updated 11:41, 05 Apr 2026<\/p>\n
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Malcolm Offord (left) was appointed Reform’s leader in Scotland by Nigel Farage(Image: Callum Moffat \/ Daily Record)<\/p>\n
A sharp dip in support for Reform UK<\/a> with just five weeks until the Holyrood election is “bad news” for the SNP, the country’s leading pollster has said.<\/p>\n The right-wing populists have faced a chaotic start to their campaign with multiple candidates choosing to quit. The Record also revealed party leader Malcolm Offord had faced a furious backlash after a vile homophobic joke about the late George Michael<\/a>.<\/p>\n Professor John Curtice said the declining popularity of Reform UK – if replicated on polling day – could increase the chances of Labour or the Lib Dems winning constituencies at the expense of the Nationalists.<\/p>\n John Swinney’s party must win the vast majority of first-past-the-post seats on May 7 if the First Minister is to secure an outright majority of MSPs, which he believes would act as a mandate for an IndyRef2.<\/p>\n But a new published last night by Norstat puts support for Reform UK at 15 per cent on the constituency and regional list votes, a drop of four points and the party’s lowest level in a year.<\/p>\n Labour is clear in second on 19 points in the constituency race, up two points, with the Conservatives on 11 per cent, Lib Dems 10 and Greens eight. The SNP remains out in front on 34 per cent.<\/p>\n If replicated on polling day, Professor Curtice projected the Nationalists would be returned as the largest party with 57 MSPs. Labour would return 20, Reform 16, the Greens 13, the Conservatives 12 and Lib Dems 11.<\/p>\n The academic told the Sunday Times that Reform’s drop means the party “must be concerned that the tide of support it has been enjoying has receded just weeks before it has the opportunity to turn polling numbers into electoral success”.<\/p>\n He added: “When voters are asked who they would back if they thought their contest locally was between Reform and the SNP, the SNP are 25 points ahead. In those circumstances, Labour and Liberal Democrat supporters are more likely to back the SNP than Reform.<\/p>\n “But if voters are persuaded that their local contest is between Labour and the SNP, the SNP lead falls to 11 points (much as it also does with the Liberal Democrats).<\/p>\n “Labour\u2019s apparent emergence as the second party nationally might help the party persuade people it has the best chance of challenging the SNP locally.”<\/p>\n READ MORE: Private schools would be hit with new tax under Scottish Greens proposals<\/a>READ MORE: Scots booking more flights last minute amid jet fuel supply threat from Iran war<\/a><\/p>\n Offord is a former Conservative peer who was handpicked to lead Reform in Scotland by Nigel Farage.<\/p>\n But he has faced multiple calls to resign after the Record first reported concerns about his conduct at a rugby club dinner in London.<\/p>\n