Nigel Farage's rally in Falkirk sparks unity march and political criticism

Nigel Farage is due to hold a rally in Falkirk on Saturday as his party, Reform UK, intensifies its campaign for the Scottish Parliament elections.

The event has drawn criticism from political figures and local groups, with Scotland's First Minister John Swinney accusing Mr Farage of attempting to "whip up hate."

Falkirk has been the scene of frequent anti-immigration protests outside the Cladhan Hotel, which is currently being used to house asylum seekers. These demonstrations have often been organised by a group called Save Our Future and Our Kids Futures, citing concerns about alleged crimes linked to asylum seekers staying at the hotel.

An opposing group, Falkirk for All, has announced a "unity march" through the town on Saturday to counter Reform UK's messages.

Mr Swinney criticised comments previously made by Mr Farage about Glasgow schoolchildren, describing them as "racist." Mr Farage had claimed in a social media video that one in three children in Glasgow schools do not speak English as their first language.

Ahead of the rally, Mr Swinney said: "Nigel Farage has no interest in people in Falkirk or anywhere else in Scotland. Farage needs to understand that communities in Scotland are not props to be used in his political games."

He added: "For a multi-millionaire Thatcherite from the heart of the Westminster establishment to come to Falkirk and try and pretend to be on the side of working people is a complete joke. He just wants to come up here and whip up hate for his own purposes - and the SNP is not going to let him get away with it."

Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman, who will join the unity march, said: "Reform represents the very worst of politics.

"Only this week we saw Farage announce record donations from the super rich while he targeted multilingual children and their families. Racist attacks on children must not become normalised in our politics. When Reform’s message spreads it means more pain and anxiety for migrant communities, people of colour and others who are targeted by prejudice and bigotry."

A rally against plans to house hundreds of asylum seekers at Cameron Barracks in Inverness is also expected to be held in the Highland capital later, with a counter-demonstration also expected.

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