In an explosive claim a few days ago, the leader of Reform UK in Scotland, Malcolm Offord, has said that Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar approached him with a proposal that the two parties should work together in Holyrood to shut the Scottish National Party (SNP) out of government.
Coalition claims
The claim came during a televised leaders’ debate for the Scottish Parliament election, in which Offord said that Sarwar “bounced up to him” at Paisley Town Hall at the start of the election campaign and said: “We need to work together, Reform and Labour, to remove the SNP”. This was in response to the Scottish Labour leader alleging that one of the Reform UK candidates for Holyrood said his children should be deported.
Labour v Reform
It has long been a battle cry of Labour in England for local elections, parliamentary by-elections and the next general election, that it is a choice between Labour and Reform UK. It used it in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election of 2025 in which it lost to Reform by only six votes, and also in the Gorton and Denton by-election in February this year when Labour was pushed into a dismal third place as the Green Party of England and Wales went on to take the seat from it and beat runner-up Reform UK by a substantial margin.
In Scotland, Labour could point to the Holyrood constituency of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse and the by-election that took place there last year, where Labour won a contest which was largely seen as a fight between the SNP and Reform.
If, however, Scottish Labour is prepared to work together with Reform UK as Malcolm Offord claims, then the argument of “only Labour can beat Reform” unravels entirely.
To believe or not believe?
Sarwar has been steadfast in his denial of Offord’s claim, telling Radio Tay News that it was “total nonsense” and a “total lie”. Sarwar said he reacted with “extreme anger” at the claim, which soon became “extreme disappointment” in the SNP’s belief in the claim, saying that John Swinney’s party wanted to “use the poison of Reform to have a go at me”. Martin Whitfield, the Labour candidate for East Lothian Coast and Lammermuir, said: “It is an outrageous allegation which I would have hoped was below our FM and any candidate in this election.”
Offord’s claims were not seen as outrageous or nonsense by everyone, however. Ryan Whellans, SNP activist in the Scottish Borders, said that “Anas Sarwar’s outrage rings hollow when you look at his party’s track record”. He referenced the local councils of Edinburgh, Fife and West Lothian where Labour formed administrations with the voting support of Conservative councillors, and North Lanarkshire where Labour sought the support of the Conservatives and the right-wing British Unionist Party. He stated that: “Whether it’s in council chambers across the country or secret chats on the campaign trail, Labour has proven they will sacrifice their supposed principles for a voting pact every single time.”
The claim is seemingly widespread across the SNP, with its official social media accounts saying it was evidence of Labour seeking a “grubby deal” with Reform, citing Malcolm Offord as its source. Swinney told the BBC that it was up to both leaders to explain themselves.
Labour is branding Offord’s claim as a lie, while Offord himself doubles down. The SNP has taken to believing the claim and is promoting it across its social media outlets. At the end of the day, however, the truth will come out after the Scottish election, should the SNP fall short of a majority. Either Scottish Labour and Reform will work together to stop it or they won’t. But if the SNP wins a majority, then it all becomes a moot point as no amount of opposition dealing will be able to stand in its way.
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