Reform UK: Falkirk councillor is latest Scottish ex-Tory to join Farage party

A member of Falkirk Council has been revealed as the latest Scottish councillor to join Reform UK.

The news comes on the eve of a visit to Glasgow by the party's deputy leader Richard Tice.

Falkirk Council member Claire Mackie Brown was a Tory politician until her resignation last year, and has since sat as an independent.

It is understood that she is one of three new Reform politicians to be announced by Tice on his trip.

Brown, who was contacted by Holyrood, has yet to comment on the move. However, her information on Falkirk Council's website has been updated and now lists her as a member of Reform UK.

The shift makes Brown the latest ex-Tory to join the party, which is led by Nigel Farage in the UK and currently has no Scottish figurehead.

Alec Leishman of Renfrewshire Council made the switch two weeks ago in a move that left Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay MSP "disappointed".

Thomas Kerr, who previously led the Tory group on Glasgow City Council, is the biggest name to make the change so far. He told Holyrood he had been branded a"racist" and a "fascist" since defecting.

Brown, who represents the Upper Braes ward and sits on the council’s scrutiny committee, is the seventh Scottish councillor to join Reform since the last local government election in 2022.

Reform has yet to comment on her membership of the party.

The news follows the publication of new polling from Ipsos Scotland showing that six in 10 Scots (61 per cent) have an unfavourable view of Farage, compared to 18 per cent who hold a favourable view of him. 

The MP polls better amongst those who voted for the Conservatives at the last Holyrood election in 2021, with 45 per cent of this group viewing him favourably. In comparison, 53 per cent of that group have a favourable opinion of Scottish Conservative leader Findlay.