Nigel Farage is now an MP after winning his seat in Clacton – but he’s also answered the question I posed in my midweek column.
I wondered if Farage might find succour here in Scotland and he has, in numbers that should seriously worry the main parties.
It may not be to the same extent as England where they won four seats and more than four million votes.
But his Reform party have broken the mould and proved that Scotland isn’t immune to his charms or the immigration concerns he’s raised.
Reform has attracted voters in our area in numbers that should ring alarm bells for those parties who took the arrogant and lazy route of labelling them as racists and fascists, rather than address their message and take seriously the concerns many were expressing.
The party campaigned on various issues but there’s no doubt in my mind the one that resonated most strongly with voters was their strong stance on immigration.
The numbers voting for them here are a body blow to the notion of Scottish exceptionalism.
Reform results in Dundee, Angus and Perthshire
Farage has delivered the kind of punch Mike Tyson used to throw, and seriously wounded the self-congratulatory and misguided belief we’re a kinder, more welcoming, nation.
In Dundee Central with 2,363 votes, Reform were third, beating both the Lib Dems and the Conservatives.
They were fourth in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry with a hefty 3,800 votes, ahead of the Lib Dems.
And in my own constituency, Angus and Perthshire Glens, they polled 3,246 votes.
Those aren’t Count Binface or Screaming Lord Sutch numbers.
They send a very unpalatable message: immigration is a major concern to large numbers of people here and must be addressed if Farage and the politics he represents aren’t to grow.
This is not just an English phenomenon as many Scots, perhaps ignorantly, thought it would be.
Voters here have clearly embraced Farage’s message.
‘We’re not that different’
I said in my midweek column Farage had “mined into a wellspring of concern among many citizens” who were asking “just how broad their shoulders are expected to be”.
How his party performed here would tell us “whether we’re as different from our neighbours over the border as we are often fond of claiming”.
It appears that we’re not that much different at all.
The concerns Farage has brought into the public domain have garnered much more support than many in the mainstream ever dreamed of – and this should shock their cosy complacency to the core.
I was right that Thursday would be a grim day for the SNP, who have been reduced to a rump at Westminster.
John Swinney’s party has paid the price for their intransigence and incompetence and duplicity in being seen to ignore folk on a host of issues.
‘Unpalatable message’
Not that long ago they reigned supreme in Scotland and seemed invincible but now, overnight, they’re a shell of that once dominant party.
They’ve paid a huge price for failing to address the concerns of the electorate.
It’s a reminder, along with the rise of Reform, the pace of change in modern politics can be brutally swift if those in power ignore the genuine concerns of voters.
The message from Farage and co may be deeply unpalatable to the establishment parties.
But if they don’t listen to the views of ordinary folk, and find solutions to issues raised in the community, the likes of Farage and Reform are well placed to play to the gallery and take advantage of the fears that drove so many to vote for them.
And Scotland, as last night clearly shows, is no exception.
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