Speaking at An Evening with Nicola Sturgeon in Aberdeen on Monday evening, the former first minister said she never used to think that a party could abolish Holyrood but given the recent rise in Reform, she “no longer believes” that to be the case.
Sturgeon added that the Tories have “been trying to pull it down from within” for the last few years, and she added that if Nigel Farage’s party is given “any kind of strength” the attempt to abolish the Scottish Parliament will only “intensify”.
“I used to say, ‘Don’t be ridiculous, I don’t think any party could try to abolish the Scottish Parliament’,” Sturgeon told the audience, according to The Scotsman.
READ MORE: Lord Peter Mandelson called Jeffrey Epstein ‘best pal’ in 50th birthday message
“I’m afraid I no longer believe that.
“I think the Tories for the last few years in the Scottish Parliament have been trying to pull it down from within, to destroy confidence in it, to pour as much mud on it as possible, and you put Reform in there in any kind of strength, and I think that will intensify.”
In June, the former Reform MP Rupert Lowe said the Scottish Parliament was a “bloated, taxpayer-funded talking shop” as he called for it to be abolished.
The Great Yarmouth MP said that Holyrood was a “waste of time, waste of money. With the English being unfairly treated, again”.
Sturgeon’s comments come after recent polling from last week showed that Reform and Labour are neck-and-neck when it comes to how Scots intend to vote in the 2026 Holyrood elections.
A new survey of Scottish voters published on Thursday also shows that the SNP are out in front by a significant margin in voting intention for both the Scottish and UK Parliaments.
The More in Common survey of 1104 Scots voters put the SNP on 37% of the Holyrood constituency vote, compared to Labour on 17% and Reform on 16%. The Tories and LibDems were tied on 12%, while the Greens polled at 5%.
On the Holyrood regional list vote, the SNP were again out in front on 32%. Reform and Labour both polled at 16%, while the LibDems took 14% and the Tories 12%. The Greens registered 8% on the list.
During the interview on Monday night, Sturgeon also reportedly said Keir Starmer must “grow a backbone” on immigration and criticised Farage’s “brittle ego”.
When asked if the rise of populism would make the argument for independence more difficult because of growing unease about nationalism, the former first minister said “vigilance” was vital.
“The independence movement has to constantly be reminding people of what we stand for,” she said.
She added: “What I worry about right now, it goes way beyond the independence arguments – I am utterly appalled and genuinely deeply, profoundly concerned at even just in the last few weeks or months, how this has accelerated the normalisation in this country of far-right language and rhetoric and attitudes and opinions is terrifying.
“We’ve got to stand up to that and push back against that.”
