Two former Tories in Aberdeenshire have defected to Reform UK just hours after Nigel Farage wrote to hundreds of councillors urging them to switch party allegiance.
Mark Findlater, a former leader of Aberdeenshire Council, and his colleague Laurie Carnie have become the first to represent the party in Scotland after recently leaving the Tories.
Mr Findlater left the Scottish Tories earlier this year, but did not publicly speak about his reasoning, while Ms Carnie also left the party’s group on the council this month.
It comes as earlier today, Reform welcomed its first Tory defector since Farage’s letter in the form of Jamey McIvor, a county councillor in Essex.
Mr Farage issued a call for Tory councillors to quit and join his party last night, just three months after the party secured five seats in the House of Commons.
Reform UK regional organiser Martyn Greene said this was “just the start” for the party, which saw its best showing in Scotland in the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat at the election earlier this year.
He added that the moves show “the Tory brand is broken not just in England but across the United Kingdom”.
In the bombshell letter to 1,352 county councillors, the MP for Clacton-on-Sea wrote: “The Conservative Party is a busted flush – these 1352 councillors are watching their time in office tick away, whilst they argue between themselves on whether to choose a Leader that’s undergone a damascene political conversion and a someone who won’t leave the ECHR.
“I urge any Conservative Party Councillors who believe in their country and share our values to join Reform UK as we build on the extraordinary inroads we made at the General Election.”
“Scotland has been failed by Labour and the SNP for decades and the Scottish Tories have been utterly dismal in their opposition,” Mr Greene said.
“This is just the start for Reform, we plan to campaign hard in the run-up to the Holyrood election in 2026 and win seats right across Scotland.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Tories said: “We are focused on holding the failing SNP and Labour governments to account.”
