Reform UK Scotland has been plunged into fresh turmoil after MSP Amanda Bland announced her resignation from the party to sit as an independent. The move, which comes just months after the party’s electoral breakthrough, significantly alters the political landscape at Holyrood, demoting Reform UK to the third-largest group in the Scottish Parliament.
Bland, who represents the Central Scotland and Lothians West region, made the decision official on Wednesday. Her departure leaves Reform with one fewer seat than the Labour Party, a shift that threatens the party’s influence in the chamber. Most notably, the change is expected to strip Reform of its current privilege of alternating with Labour to lead questions to the First Minister during First Minister’s Questions (FMQs).
The resignation followed a period of internal friction. A source within Reform UK told BBC Scotland News that Bland had been viewed as “very difficult to work with” by party colleagues. Reports indicate that she had been summoned to a high-level meeting on Wednesday to address concerns regarding a high turnover of staff within her parliamentary office.
In a scathing response to the news, a Reform UK spokesperson urged the MSP to step down from her regional seat entirely, suggesting that she was isolating herself from a “team of capable individuals.” The spokesperson stated: “It is incumbent on her to resign as a regional MSP for Central Scotland and Lothians West and allow her constituents to be represented by the next Reform candidate on that list.”
Under current Holyrood rules, list MSPs are not required to resign their seats if they leave their party, as they are elected through a proportional system. However, if Bland were to stand down, she would be automatically replaced by the next candidate on the Reform party list from the last election. As of Wednesday evening, Bland—a former primary school teacher and police officer—had not provided a public comment regarding her departure or the calls for her to resign her seat.
Bland was part of a cohort of 17 Reform candidates who secured seats in the Scottish Parliament this past May, a result that saw the party finish in a tie for second place with Labour, trailing the SNP. The group, led by former Conservative minister Malcolm Offord, has quickly become a disruptive force in the chamber. The party has faced repeated condemnation from political rivals, particularly after staging a walkout during a high-profile independence debate and tabling a controversial motion that proposed a ban on the burka.
The defection marks the first significant splintering of the Reform UK group since its entry into Holyrood. As the party grapples with the fallout of the resignation, it faces the prospect of a diminished role in the business of the Parliament and renewed scrutiny over its internal management.
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