00:00Hello, I'm Alistair Grant, the political editor of The Scotsman, and I'm here at a hotel in Broxburn,
00:04just outside Edinburgh, where Nigel Farage has been holding a Reform UK press conference.
00:08Now, there has long been speculation over a potential defection of a Scottish Conservative MSP
00:14to Nigel Farage's Reform UK.
00:16We've had two MSPs in recent months leaving the Tories.
00:19Jamie Green defected to the Liberal Democrats.
00:22Jeremy Balfour, in recent days, defected to become an Independent.
00:25Both of them raising concerns about what they saw as a populist shift in the Scottish Conservative Party
00:31to ape Reform UK.
00:33But today, we got our first defection of this Parliament from a Scottish Conservative MSP to Reform UK,
00:41and that's Central Scotland MSP, Graeme Simpson.
00:43He's been in MSP since 2016.
00:45He was appearing at the press conference there with Nigel Farage,
00:48very much saying that he saw Reform UK as a fresh start,
00:51and too many people in this country felt like they'd been let down,
00:54and he saw Reform UK as a chance to do something about that.
00:59He was asked about all sorts of issues.
01:01All sorts of issues came up in that press conference with Nigel Farage,
01:04went on for longer than an hour.
01:06He spoke a lot about his immigration plans,
01:08his plans to tackle migration that he held a press conference on on Tuesday.
01:13He spoke a lot about issues to do with net zero.
01:15He was also asked about several issues on domestic policy.
01:20Yesterday, I asked him what Reform UK's policies will be in Scotland,
01:23because we actually don't know that much about at all other than on those broad issues
01:27like net zero, like immigration, what the policy platform Reform UK will actually stand
01:32on in Scotland.
01:33How will they address spiralling NHS waiting lists?
01:35How will they go about improving the Scottish education system, which many people view as
01:39being on the decline, and Nigel Farage effectively saying that that's why he's looking to people
01:44like Graeme Simpson, people who he says have experience and can help formulate that policy
01:49platform.
01:49But I'm sure we'll hear a lot more from Graeme Simpson in the coming days, in the coming
01:53weeks, as we head into that Holyrood election.
01:56Good morning, everybody.
02:01It's my first visit to Scotland since I was recently in Aberdeen, meeting many senior representatives
02:09of the oil and gas industry.
02:11And of course, since that time, there's been yet more crushing and unnecessary news for
02:17the Scottish and indeed British economy.
02:19And later on that day, we were pretty much eve of pole for the Scottish Parliament by-election
02:25in Hamilton, in which, I think it's fair to say, the result we got pretty much stunned
02:30everybody, including, to some extent, myself.
02:34Ross was a great candidate, but we did, I think, in a very short space of time, with relatively
02:40limited resources, achieve a remarkable result.
02:44And we are, as a party, getting ready for the Scottish Parliament elections next year.
02:51We've just had a very big weekend with 200 potential candidates who've come forward, who are going
02:57through interviews, who are going through vetting, and we will be taking those elections
03:02next year very seriously indeed.
03:05And I think our opponents might take us quite seriously as well.
03:09Now, you might have noticed that yesterday I did a little press conference at Oxford Airport,
03:13which seems to have attracted quite a bit of attention, and is now, it seems to be bringing
03:19quite a degree of division within the Labour government itself.
03:23You know, firstly, Jack Straw, who was the Home Secretary at a time when we did face a problem
03:28with illegal immigration.
03:29In those days, it was people basically coming in the backs of lorries.
03:34Jack Straw saying we should effectively disapply, ECHR.
03:38And interestingly this morning, of all people, Jack Straw, who was one of the architects of
03:44the Human Rights Act in 1998, now saying it was never intended to be used in the way
03:51that it currently is by the British judges.
03:54So I do think, I do think what we did yesterday was to spark a much bigger national debate about
04:00how we end illegal immigration, how we control our borders.
04:04I know this has not been a particularly massive topic in Scottish politics.
04:09I'm not here to dwell on that issue today, but I have a sense that maybe it will become
04:15a bigger debate in Scottish politics, given that Glasgow now is the asylum capital of the
04:21United Kingdom, with nearly 4,000 people who came to Britain illegally housed in Glasgow.
04:29That's 50% more than the next highest place in the United Kingdom, which is Birmingham.
04:3550% more.
04:37And I would have thought that if you were a family on the social housing waiting list in
04:42Glasgow, you might be beginning to think this is something that perhaps ought to be discussed.
04:47And, accordingly, we have seen a rise in certain types of crime in Glasgow over the last couple
04:55of years, coinciding with the placement of thousands of young, undocumented males from
05:01cultures in which women aren't even second-class citizens.
05:04So, I think that will be more of a debate in Scotland as time goes on.
05:11But the intention of today's press conference is, and it's part of showing you, how seriously
05:18we are taking the Scottish Parliament elections.
05:21It's for me to introduce Graham Simpson, MSP.
05:25He's been in the Parliament since 2017 for Central Scotland.
05:31He, of course, has been a Conservative.
05:34But I understand, Graham, that may be about to change.
05:39So, please, it's all yours.
05:43Well, thanks very much, Nigel.
05:46Last night, I was asked to send Nigel's team my CV, or a bit of a biog.
05:53What I left out of that was that I'm a member of the cross-party group on beer and pubs.
06:01And I thought you'd like that.
06:03And we often do visit breweries and pubs, mainly in the Edinburgh area.
06:09So, I know you perhaps didn't have a good experience in an Edinburgh pub a few years ago.
06:15But maybe we can change that at some point, Nigel.
06:20Now, it's fair to say that some of you won't be surprised to see me here,
06:29given that the Scottish Tories have been touting my name as a potential defector for months now.
06:37So, today, I'm giving them what they want, but perhaps not for the reasons that they think.
06:43Leaving the party that I first joined when I was 15 is an enormous wrench.
06:51And I've been through a lot of soul-searching in the past few weeks.
06:56I've written to Russell Finlay, resigning from the Scottish Conservatives, but frankly, the letter is not worth sharing,
07:04because besides saying that I'm off, the only other thing, it says, is to wish him all the best for the future.
07:12And I mean that on a personal level.
07:15When Murdoch Fraser first stood for the leadership of the Scottish Conservatives in 2011,
07:22he did so suggesting that we needed a new centre-right party in Scotland.
07:28And I agreed at that time with that analysis.
07:31But the independence referendum came along, and all such talk went away.
07:37The referendum was a gift to the Tories, and with the threat of such upheaval gone,
07:44I think their electoral hopes are diminishing fast.
07:49To be honest, and I think you all know this,
07:52the constitutional battle has got in the way of good government and good opposition here.
08:00We have neither.
08:01But with a new kid on the block, reform,
08:03the kind of centre-right party envisaged all those years ago,
08:08we can at least have one of those.
08:11Now, I've been thinking about my future for some time.
08:15I decided a few months ago that I would not be standing for the Scottish Conservatives again.
08:21And others have taken the same decision.
08:25I told the party that at the end of May,
08:28but with the Hamilton by-election looming,
08:31where Ross did very, very well,
08:34I promised not to say anything.
08:36I've not stuck out a press release or said anything on social media.
08:42I honestly thought the most likely scenario for me
08:45would be to move on to the next stage of my life
08:49and find a job in one of the sectors that really interests me,
08:53such as housing or transport.
08:55And although finding a job may not have been easy,
08:59I think I have enough respect out there
09:02to have got something that would have excited me.
09:05But I've watched reform with interest
09:07and I see the opportunity to help to create something fresh here in Scotland.
09:13And it's clear that the voters agree in increasing numbers.
09:18But just because a party is becoming popular
09:20isn't a reason to join it.
09:21Keeping your job in Parliament isn't a good enough reason either.
09:27I've only reached the decision that I have in the past few weeks,
09:32and I mean over the summer.
09:34And it's not been easy.
09:36It really has not been easy.
09:37I first joined the Conservatives when I was at school,
09:41just before Mrs Thatcher came to power.
09:44I left politics for a career in journalism,
09:48but then rejoined and have been a councillor and an MSP.
09:52So I'm really very fortunate.
09:54I know what a Conservative is,
09:56and I actually wrote about it last year,
09:58just to remind some people.
09:59The election next year here in Scotland
10:03is going to see a very different Parliament
10:07from the one we have now,
10:09which is stale and very often uninspiring.
10:12Too many people feel let down and ignored.
10:16They feel the system is against them,
10:19that the traditional parties don't even care about them.
10:23Save for some fine individual MSPs across parties,
10:27the political class is not serving the people well.
10:32Failure is accepted, and change takes far too long.
10:36And I'll give you a couple of examples personally of that.
10:39Thousands of people living in tenements
10:41often face real difficulties
10:43when it comes to maintaining their buildings.
10:46In the last session of Parliament,
10:49March 2018 to be exact,
10:51a group of MSPs from across the divide
10:53formed a working group
10:55to see how we could address the challenges.
10:58And we came up with some proposals.
11:00But it will be the next Parliament
11:02until we see any legislative change.
11:05So probably at least ten years
11:07since we first started looking at this.
11:11The second example of how slow things can be
11:13has been the progress of my Members' Bill,
11:16which would see a system of recall
11:19introduced into the Scottish Parliament.
11:22I first mooted this
11:23at the end of the last session of Parliament
11:25and started work on it
11:27at the beginning of this session.
11:30It's badly needed to restore some trust,
11:34but we've not even had the stage one debate.
11:38It might get over the line
11:40before Parliament dissolves
11:41at the end of March.
11:43And I hope, I really hope,
11:45that my move today
11:47does not jeopardise that,
11:49as it's far too important
11:50for people to play silly games with.
11:54This isn't the kind of bitter speech
11:56that you might have been expecting, is it?
11:59I haven't criticised the Scottish Conservatives
12:01or Russell Finlay.
12:04For me, politics is about
12:06what you can do for people
12:07and not yourself.
12:09And I've demonstrated that
12:10in my ten years as a councillor
12:12in the Conservative bastion of East Kilbride,
12:15and since being elected
12:16to the Scottish Parliament in 2016.
12:20One very recent example
12:22was my successful campaign
12:24to have the companions of people
12:26with site difficulties
12:27allowed free rail travel.
12:30That didn't get a lot of publicity,
12:32but that's a really positive thing,
12:34and it helps a lot of people.
12:36I've joined Reform
12:37because we have the chance
12:39to create something new,
12:40exciting and lasting
12:42that puts the needs of people
12:44over the system,
12:45that asks what is going wrong
12:47and how we can fix it.
12:50The SNP was first selected to power
12:52in 2007,
12:54so next year will mark
12:5519 years of failure
12:57in health, education and transport.
13:01Somehow we need to remove them
13:02from office,
13:03and Reform can help to do that.
13:06Scotland needs fresh thinking,
13:08new ideas,
13:08and I hope to be at the heart
13:10of helping Reform shape that offer
13:12to the people next year
13:14with policies drawn up in Scotland,
13:18for Scotland,
13:19and designed to fix the mess
13:20that we're in.
13:21And that's why I'm joining now,
13:23and not later.
13:25I've no doubt that initially
13:27my announcement today
13:29will spark anger,
13:31disappointment,
13:32and probably some sheer nastiness.
13:35I don't like that aspect of politics,
13:37and I'm not looking forward to it,
13:39but there are many ex-colleagues
13:41who will also understand.
13:43And I say to those
13:44who have great ideas for Scotland
13:47and who may have felt ignored,
13:49to talk to me.
13:51You will find my door,
13:52wherever I am put in Parliament next week,
13:56open and receptive
13:57to the kind of fresh thinking
13:59that we need in politics.
14:01And over the next few days and weeks,
14:04I'll have more to say
14:05on what we need to do
14:06to fix the mess
14:07that the SNP has made,
14:09and how reform can help to do that.
14:13Very good.
14:15Well, welcome.
14:16Welcome.
14:17Welcome.
14:17Welcome.
14:17Welcome.
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