Reform UK has announced that if it wins power at Westminster, Scottish immigration detention centres would be placed in constituencies that elect a Green MSP. The party’s home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, stated on Sunday that a Reform UK government would not build such centres in seats held by its own MPs or in areas where the party controls the local authority. Instead, Yusuf declared that Green voters would “get what they vote for” as part of Reform’s push for mass deportations.
Policy Details for Scotland
The announcement created a dilemma for Reform in Scotland, as polls suggest the party could return MSPs in each of the country’s seven regions after Thursday’s election. Seeking clarity on how the policy would be executed north of the border, Reform councillor Thomas Kerr explained that detention centres would be built in constituencies that elect Green MSPs, while areas that elect a Reform constituency MSP would be exempted.
“Ross Greer and his army of crackpots’ pursuit of open borders, which would allow swathes of foreign criminals to enter Scotland unchecked, is not only economically reckless but a danger to national security,” Kerr said. “But let’s not kid ourselves – John Swinney’s entire future hinges on these extremists, so Scotland needs to know what they are getting. If the Greens are so keen to welcome these people then they can take responsibility and put them up in their own constituencies. The choice is clear: Vote Green, get illegals.”
Reactions from Political Figures
Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer likened the policy to “bullying” of the electorate. “Reform UK are now openly threatening voters,” he said. “Scots will not take kindly to this kind of bullying. Offord and Farage want to turn this country into Donald Trump’s America, a place where those who oppose their hateful politics are threatened and attacked. People across Scotland are ready to reject this vile outfit of ex-Tories, conspiracy theorists and billionaires. This latest threat shows that the best way to do that is by voting Scottish Greens on your regional, peach-coloured ballot paper.”
Greer further criticised Reform’s leadership in Scotland, noting that they are led by a multimillionaire lord who owns six homes, six boats, and five cars. He contrasted this with the Scottish Greens’ record, highlighting free bus travel for young people and scrapped peak rail fares, and promised further measures such as free bus travel for all and an affordable childcare system.
First Minister John Swinney, speaking in Dumfries, condemned the policy. “I simply think this is an illustration of the dangerous nature of Reform’s politics. If there was an illustration of an attempt to divide communities, that policy announcement epitomises it. That is division, divisive politics, in practice and I’ve made it clear, that’s why I’ll have nothing to do with Reform, that’s why there will be no place for Reform in the governance of Scotland, if I become the first minister and I have the majority in the Scottish Parliament, because we cannot go down this route. It is the route to division, to disorder and it divides our communities and I will have none of it.”
