Reform UK must become an effective opposition if they want to win Holyrood in 2031

Political Correspondent Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Reform UK made grand promises to shake things up in Holyrood. During the election campaign they proudly declared themselves the 'disruptors'. The public liked this message, and rewarded Nigel Farage's party north of the Border with 17 seats in the parliament. Given the party themselves lifted the bar of expectation so high, I and many others were expecting fireworks from day one from the 'new kids on the block'. Yet so far, that is not what is happening. Any speeches the Reform MSPs have made have struggled to cut through. Other than Malcolm Offord, the party's leader in Scotland, and Thomas Kerr, his deputy, very few have made explicit attempts to have any profile of their own. There does seem to be another issue - Mr Offord's debates with John Swinney at weekly first minister's questions also do not seem to be setting the heather alight. Often, there is not a clear focus to the questions. Other times, it is rehashing an issue Reform has already led on several times without pushing it forward. Get our revamped Steamie newsletter Take this week, for example. At Thursday's FMQs, Mr Offord pushed the First Minister on the local connection rule when it comes to housing. Reform says this has 'created a broken housing system creating perverse incentives to prioritise strangers over locals'. This is a topic we know Reform UK feels comfortable with. It plays well with their supporters, and we know that in certain parts of the country immigration is one of the top priorities for others, and in others it is housing. But aside from generating collective groans from other parties in the debating chambers, the First Minister also accused Mr Offord of sowing the seeds of hate and spreading disinformation. This is not the first time Reform MSPs have been accused of disinformation. As elected officials, there is a certain amount of gravitas their words hold, and making sure they are accurate is pretty important. There is another word of warning to the party though. They have been gathered in Birmingham this weekend for their annual conference, where Mr Offord has touted the party's ambitions to win the next Holyrood election. One of the reasons Reform did so well is because they appealed to disillusioned voters who were fed up with the establishment. However, after being the second biggest party in the country for five years, Reform will not be able to lean on this argument at the next election. Voters will instead turn to their record in opposition. Have they managed to bring forward any game-changing bills? Have they been successful at any high-profile campaigns? Have they successfully held the government to account? All of this is more than possible over the next five years, but the party needs to move on from the election campaign mindset it seems to be stuck in. Reform is more than happy to point out how the SNP is rapidly losing support because of a poor track record in government. The same is true for Reform UK if they do not do enough in opposition. It is time for Reform MSPs to move on and become the effective opposition they were elected to be, and for the general public to learn more about who the MSPs are and what they actually stand for.