Reform UK’s candidate in Perth and Kinross-shire has been criticised after a “out of touch” television interview on party policy.
Helen McDade was grilled by the BBC’s Sunday Show on her party’s stance around a number of issues including immigration, net zero and private healthcare.
She is standing in a seat the Tories are desperate to win from the SNP’s Pete Wishart.
He could get a boost if Reform UK, now led by Nigel Farage, pull votes away from the Tories in the target constituency.
Tory candidate Luke Graham, who was joined on the campaign trail by deputy party leader Meghan Gallacher in Perth on Sunday, described the interview as “out of touch”.
‘Too much immigration’
Ms McDade came under pressure from the BBC’s Martin Geissler to explain how the party would make their plans for “net zero immigration” work.
She said while there is “too much immigration”, the party would allow people working in health and social care to enter the country.
Net zero immigration means that the number legally allowed to enter to live and work in the UK each year should equal the number emigrating.
But when asked how she would ensure migration stays down, Ms McDade, who is a former vet, said: “If we need a lot (health and social care staff), we would train up our own.
“And one of the things we would do on that is when nurses and doctors qualify, we would give them a tax break for three years and we would also take off their tuition fees.”
Asked how the hospitality sector would manage to fill jobs, the Reform candidate said people earning under £20,000 would not pay basic income tax.
She said this would be funded by the party’s policy to “abolish net zero” in a bid to save £30 billion, saying “huge amounts” are being given to renewables firms.
But no specifics were provided on how this figure was reached at.
Ms McDade claimed: “There’s a lot of talk about the windfall tax on the oil and gas companies. No one talks about doing it to renewable energy companies which did very well over Covid. They are getting a lot of money in subsidies.”
The Reform candidate said she “didn’t have a figure” for how many jobs would be lost by the party’s plans to cut public spending by 5%.
Admitting it would be “costly”, she said: “I don’t know the particular cost because I’m not the economic expert. Please do invite him on.
“I’m sure he’d be keen to come and answer that question.”
‘Out of touch interview’
Mr Graham said: “This out of touch interview shows Reform aren’t bringing positive ideas to Scotland, just negative arguments from elsewhere in the UK, which is no surprise since Reform have little support here.
“I think it would be hard for any pro-UK voter to support Reform and help the SNP win.
“The fight is very different in Scotland, and in Perth & Kinross-shire it is solely a contest between the SNP and the Scottish Conservatives.”
An SNP spokesman said: “Reform UK is totally out of touch with Scotland’s values and offers no solution to austerity, the damage of Brexit and the cost of living crisis.
“On July 4, a vote for the SNP will stand up for Scotland’s values and put Scotland first.”
Other candidates standing in the seat include Graham Cox (Labour), Amanda Clark (Liberal Democrats) and Sally Hughes (independent).
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