The multimillionaire financier who has been made leader of Reform UK in Scotland has refused to say how wealthy he is, claiming that is a private matter.
Malcolm Offord, formerly a Conservative party life peer, was announced by Reform’s leader, Nigel Farage, as the party’s first Scottish leader, 10 weeks before a Scottish parliament election in which Reform is expected to win up to 18 seats.
Offord is a yachting enthusiast who wins races at Cowes, collects classic cars and recently bought a mansion on the banks of Loch Lomond for £1.6m without a mortgage. He previously endorsed suggestions the public could be charged to use the NHS.
Speaking at a press conference in Kirkcaldy, Farage and Offord, who was appointed to the House of Lords by the former Tory prime minister David Cameron in 2021, ceremoniously signed a letter stating Offord had “retired” as a peer in order to stand for Holyrood.
They acknowledged that Offord would remain a life peer since only an act of parliament can cancel a life peerage; Farage indicated they did not intend to apply to the king for such an act, but said Offord would no longer attend the Lords or use the title.
Pressed by reporters on whether he would declare his wealth before the May elections, Offord suggested he would not and declined to publish his tax returns. The convention at the Scottish parliament is for party leaders to do so.
“I’m not talking about my net worth,” he said. “That’s not of any relevance to anybody. For a start, it’s not something you pluck out of the air because your assets are not easily valued.”
Farage said Reform would put up 100 candidates in May’s Scottish election, to contest most of the 129 seats.
“We feel very confident that the list of men and women we put before the Scottish electorate will represent a very, very broad cross-section of working life in Scotland, people of real experience, not many professional politicians amongst them,” he said.
Offord said those candidates were “real, authentic people” who included midwives, teachers, doctors and a procurator fiscal – a state prosecutor. “They represent Scotland at its grassroots in every part of this country,” he said.
It was “very patronising”, he continued, to be asked whether he could properly understand the cost of living crisis experienced by ordinary voters if he was so rich.
“In terms of who I operate with and mingle with, I mix with a whole range of people across the whole of Scotland, from those in the most disadvantaged backgrounds to the top,” he said. “I’ll talk on equal terms to all of them.”
The rules for declaring interests at the Scottish parliament are regarded as far tougher than the rules at the House of Lords. If he wins a Holyrood seat in May, Offord will be expected to list his properties, shareholdings, directorships, consultancies and other assets.
Asked whether he expected to be the wealthiest person among Reform’s Scottish candidates, he said “no”, then added: “Well, I haven’t asked.”
“I don’t think that’s of any interest to the public whatsoever. I think the fact is a guy who’s a local guy went off and made a bit of dosh is neither here nor there, other than the fact he’s come to stand; he’s putting himself in front of the people pretty transparently because he happens to believe this country can be run a lot better and have a lot more successful people.”
Speaking to reporters in Edinburgh, the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, said she was unconcerned about Offord’s appointment: “Russell Findlay [the Scottish Conservative leader] is a man of integrity, who fights for other people. Malcolm Offord is all about himself. And given the fact that he’s never delivered a single leaflet, I’m not worried about what he’s going to be doing in the Scottish elections.”
The latest Scottish opinion poll, published by the political consultancy True North on Thursday and conducted by Survation, suggests Reform is neck and neck with Labour for second place, behind the Scottish National party, which the poll suggests has 34% of the constituency vote.
Survation estimated Reform was on 19% of the constituency vote, compared with Labour on 16%. On the list vote, Reform and Labour were tied at 18%. True North said the data implied the SNP would win 61 seats, less than an overall majority, with Labour and Reform tied on 18 seats.
