LAST WEEK’S announcement that John B Cox, an independent councillor in Aberdeenshire council, had joined Reform UK Scotland has provoked a mix of reactions. We in the party are very happy to welcome an old friend fully into our fold; disinterested observers note that Reform UK Scotland has gained its 20th councillor; and some fragile souls have had attacks of the vapours over the thought of a former SNP member joining us.
The vapours are entirely unjustified. John’s formal involvement with our party’s life won’t dilute its purpose but will widen and deepen our range of expertise, in this case in the fishing industry, especially in the Northeast. John has a lifetime’s experience and is well respected amongst fishers so we are delighted to have his time and advice available to us.
What many people have completely failed to realise is that Reform UK is not an ersatz Tory party – we are an entirely new political animal. The “faux Tory” view has been happily promulgated by a media that ignored us for three years then wilfully misunderstood us. However, our members comprise many differing political views (and none!), all united in a shared opinion that there has to be a better way to manage our lives than has been provided by our professional politicians.
We’re criticised for accepting “defectors” from other parties. Well, our party is not quite five years old – we’ll reach that milestone on 4th January 2026. Because of this, nearly everyone who joins us has switched allegiance from some other party. Apart, that is, from the huge number of people who support us now but haven’t voted recently because they thought there was no party worth voting for. During last year’s General Election campaign I was approached by people who were literally in tears of gratitude because they finally had a party to support. (Others told me that they wanted to vote Reform but would hold their noses and vote Tory just to prevent an SNP victory.)
Our members and activists are predominantly people who work for a living in the commercial world, either in an organisation or on their own account. We know well how the world should work and are aghast at the way our state’s employees manage our national and regional matters. We have come to the collective opinion that we, the people, can manage our affairs better than the lanyard class can. It can take a lot to make a Briton actually get roused enough to complain but our folk have gone beyond even that and have actually got up on their hind legs and want to do something about it. The fact that our UK membership has just passed 270,000 to make us the largest party in Britain shows just how much of a popular movement we are.
So embracing a former SNP member is not an issue for us, even if it may be for some people. Likewise, any former Tory, Labourite, LibDemmie, or Greenie who genuinely sees the light as we see it is welcome to join us. I am not particularly religious but I can’t help feeling that Luke 15:7 is apposite here.
In the next article I will explain why Reform UK Scotland is a natural home for intelligent but disgruntled SNP voters (and all other independent thinkers).
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Photo of Cllr John Cox courtesy of Reform UK
