REFORM UK’s candidate in the upcoming Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election has defended his party’s Facebook video attacking Anas Sarwar, denying it is racist and that the party have misled voters.
However, Ross Lambie said the claim that the Scottish Labour leader will “prioritise” the Pakistani community was “a quote from us” rather than Sarwar.
The controversial advert has been condemned by other political parties, with First Minister John Swinney describing it as “racist” and calling for Meta to take it down.
The video claims the Scottish Labour leader will “prioritise” the Pakistani community in Scotland, as it plays clips of the politician urging more people from South Asian backgrounds to get involved in politics.
Voters go to the polls next week in the Scottish Parliament by-election, which was called following the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie.
Swinney has said the contest is likely to be “very tight” between the SNP, Scottish Labour and Reform UK. Nigel Farage’s party does not currently have any MSPs.
Lambie, who is a councillor in South Lanarkshire, was pressed on his party’s online ad when he appeared on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Tuesday.
He said disaffected voters are turning to his party, adding: “If you look at Parliament, there’s a lot of young faces that don’t seem to know what they’re doing.
“So people look at Nigel (Farage), they like Nigel’s bullish attitude on how to make this country great again.”
He was questioned on his claim of there being an “open door” migration policy in the UK, saying immigration figures are “out of control”.
Asked about the video’s claim that Sarwar will “prioritise” the Pakistani community, he said “that’s a quote from us”.
It was put to Lambie that Sarwar does not use these words in the video clip, with the Reform candidate saying: “We’re not misleading people at all, all we’ve done is share two clips of Anas Sarwar’s own speech.”
Lambie said prioritising the Pakistani community “was what the whole speech was about” and Sarwar was merely “deflecting”.
The Reform councillor denied the video amounts to racism, saying it shows “another example of the two-tier society that the Left are trying to build in this country…
“People should be in positions of power based on merit and their contribution to society. We shouldn’t be trying to foist various minority groups into, you know, into position.”
The LibDem candidate in the election, Aisha Mir, earlier told the programme that the video is “scummy tactics”.
The SNP’s candidate is Katy Loudon, who was campaigning alongside Swinney on Monday.
Asked about the Scottish Government’s funding for local councils, she said: “I’m never going to sit and not argue for more funding for local authorities.”
Loudon also responded to an attack from Labour – whose candidate is Davy Russell – that she had voted against funding for Hamilton’s town centre, saying: “What we’re talking about here is one line in a Labour amendment at South Lanarkshire’s budget.
“I’m very proud, not only of the record of our SNP group at South Lanarkshire council, but what we have chosen to back.”
