Could Reform surge in Scotland?

Could Reform surge in Scotland?

From The Story by The Times

May 5, 2026 · 36 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the shifting political landscape in Scotland ahead of the Holyrood parliamentary elections.

This week Scottish voters will head to the polls for the Holyrood parliamentary elections. To understand what's on people's minds, we visited Motherwell - a town where, for decades, Labour used to dominate. This year Labour appear to be haemorrhaging support across Scotland and may even fall to third place. And an unlikely party is emerging from the fallout. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory Guests: Ross Thomson, editor, Wishaw Press Richard Bolton, community development officer, Forgewood Housing Cooperative Paul Murphy, corporate services office, Forgewood Housing Cooperative Justin Parkes, industrial history curator, North Lanarkshire Council Museums Host: Manveen Rana. Producers: Taryn Siegel We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com Further listening: Is Labour facing a bloodbath in Wales? Photo: Getty Images. This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe  here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Manveen Rana

Guests: Ross Thomson, Richard Bolton, Paul Murphy, Justin Parkes

Topics covered

  • Scottish elections
  • Labour party
  • political support
  • voter sentiment
  • emerging parties

Keywords

  • Scottish voters
  • Holyrood elections
  • Labour support
  • political reform
  • Motherwell

Sponsors

The Times, The Sunday Times

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Labour

Places: Scotland, Motherwell

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