Reform Scotland leader Lord Malcolm Offord was met with laughter in an STV election debate after revealing he owns six houses, six boats and five cars – a disclosure that prompted Green co-leader Ross Greer to deliver one of the most devastating responses in recent Scottish political debate, pointing out that there are three times as many holiday homes and empty properties in Scotland as there are homeless children.
The moment came as Offord – the Conservative peer turned Reform Scotland leader – attempted to paint the Scottish Green Party as hostile to enterprise and personal ambition. Beginning with a story of arriving in London 40 years ago with £2,000 of debt and what he described as nothing but ambition, Offord sought to position himself as an example of the rewards available to those who work hard.
“Today, I own six houses, five cars and six boats,” he declared.
He was then laughed at by the studio audience.
“I don’t say that to boast,” he added.
The question that backfired
Offord appeared to believe his disclosure would strengthen his argument. He turned to Ross Greer, the Scottish Green Party co-leader, and asked directly whether the Greens would want more or fewer people like him in Scotland.
Greer’s response was immediate and precise.
“Fewer people like you. I’m glad you’ve finally admitted how many homes you have, Lord Offord.”
He continued: “I think it’s worth at this point in the debate pointing out that there are three times as many holiday homes and empty properties in this country as there are homeless children. You don’t need six homes, you don’t even need two homes, everybody just needs a home to live in.”
Greer said that to tackle Scotland’s housing crisis, “super rich elite individuals” like Offord “should be giving up some of those homes” so that people without a home can have somewhere to live.
Offord looked down at his podium throughout Greer’s answer. When given the opportunity to respond, he changed the subject.
Who is Lord Malcolm Offord?
Lord Malcolm Offord is a Scottish businessman and Conservative peer who served as a Lords Minister in the Scotland Office under both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak. He was made a life peer in 2020 specifically to serve as a government minister, having unsuccessfully stood for parliament in Edinburgh South in 2019.
He founded and ran Livingbridge, a British private equity firm, before moving into politics. He announced earlier this year that he was leaving the Conservative Party to join Reform UK and lead its Scottish operation ahead of the Holyrood elections.
His stated ambition is to make Reform a serious force in Scottish politics – a country where the party has historically had minimal presence and where the political terrain differs significantly from England.
The housing context
Greer’s response was not merely rhetorical. The housing crisis in Scotland is acute and well documented.
Scotland has more than 46,000 children living in temporary accommodation – the highest number on record. At the same time, there are more than 43,000 long-term empty homes across the country, alongside a significant number of second and holiday homes concentrated in rural and coastal areas.
The Scottish Government has introduced a council tax surcharge on second homes and has given local councils the power to levy additional charges. But critics argue these measures have not come close to addressing the structural imbalance between housing supply and demand, particularly in the areas most affected by holiday home concentration.
Greer’s statistic – that there are three times as many holiday homes and empty properties as there are homeless children – placed Offord’s disclosure in its sharpest possible context. A man with six homes making an argument about the value of personal success, in a debate held weeks before a Holyrood election in a country with record numbers of homeless children, was not a combination designed to survive scrutiny.
The broader political context
The debate moment comes at a significant juncture for Scottish politics. The SNP is expected to retain – and possibly expand – its hold on Holyrood, while the Scottish Greens, Labour and Conservatives are competing for the remaining seats in a country where Reform UK has almost no established presence.
Offord’s pitch – that Reform can bring a pro-business, lower-tax, anti-establishment message to Scotland – faces the fundamental challenge that Scotland’s electorate has historically been considerably more left-leaning than England’s, and that a man with a Lords title, six houses and a private equity background is not the most obvious vehicle for an anti-establishment insurgency.
The laughter in the STV studio – and the widespread sharing of the clip on social media in the hours following the debate – suggest the performance did not land as intended.
Greer, by contrast, delivered the kind of clean, factual response that cuts through in a modern media environment: three times as many empty homes as homeless children. You don’t need six. Everybody just needs one.
Offord changed the subject.
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