Nigel Farage has unveiled Tory MSP Graham Stringer as his latest Conservative defector as Reform UK prepares for next year's Holyrood election.
Mr Simpson, who entered the Scottish Parliament to represent Central Scotland in 2016, is the second MSP to abandon the Conservatives in less than a week.
Lothian MSP Jeremy Balfour confirmed his decision to quit the Tories to become an independent last week, accusing the Tories of “reactionary” politics.
West of Scotland MSP Jamie Greene, who had served in the Shadow Cabinet alongside Mr Graham, also defected to the Liberal Democrats in April 2025.
Mr Simpson is Reform UK’s second-ever MSP, with former Tory Michelle Ballantyne having a brief stint as a turquoise MSP ahead of the 2021 Scottish Parliament Election.
Speaking at a press conference in Edinburgh, Mr Farage said that he wants Reform to be “strong enough” to topple an SNP Government.
With cautious optimism, the Clacton MP added: “Let’s see how the scores on the doors work."
Speaking to GB News about the trio of Scottish Tory departures, Mr Farage also said: “It’s difficult really to know what the Scottish Conservative Party is and that’s why you’ve got people leaving the parliamentary group on both sides.”
Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage (right) and MSP Graham Simpson at a press conference at Macdonald Houstoun House
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He pointed to MSPs exiting both doors - left and right - and accused the party of a “broad church” strategy that offers “no religion” - no point of focus to cement their vision and push Conservative values.
Mr Farage continued: “I think they will go down - in my view - next May to an absolutely derisory vote and Reform are coming up as the opposition to the forces of the left.”
Meanwhile, Mr Simpson said that his role over the next few months would be centred on developing “a policy suite that delivered for Scotland” beyond the two key areas of net zero and immigration.
“One of the tasks that I’ve got,” Mr Simpson explained, “is to develop a policy suite that’s not just those two issues, but actually looks at the powers that the Scottish Parliament has and how to address the challenges that Scotland faces."
Jeremy Balfour and Jamie Greene have both left the Tory Party this year
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Though no policy plans were unveiled at the MacDonald Houston House, the Reform UK leader voiced keen awareness that the Scotland strategy must differ from that which has proved successful south of the border.
As such, Mr Farage will not participate in TV debates on the run-up because he was “not standing for a seat in Holyrood.”
He said immigration was “not the biggest topic in Scotland” but could well be if left unchecked, remarking on the 4,000 asylum seekers and illegal migrants being housed by Glasgow City Council.
Earlier this year, the council was ignored by Yvette Cooper when asking for assistance to prevent fears about collapsing social cohesion in Scotland’s largest city.
Nigel Farage speaking in Edinburgh
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With protests now taking place nearly every weekend outside Scottish migrant hotels, Mr Farage suspects the country’s long-running "refugees welcome" attitude is growing tired for an increasing number of communities.
SNP First Minister John Swinney has not commented on Mr Simpson’s defection, but did hit back at Mr Farage’s comments on immigration.
Mr Swinney said: “I am sick of Westminster politicians blaming migration for their failures.
“Immigrants are our NHS staff, our carers, our neighbours. We are a welcoming nation and I am proud of that.”
Graham Simpson MSP will return to Holyrood on September 1 as the first Reform MSP in five years
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He concluded that Brexit, austerity and rising bills pulled down living standards, "not migration”.
Mr Farage refuted a journalist’s accusations that he was responsible for an alleged rise in far-right banners and Nazi salutes, which have appeared at some protests outside Scottish migrant hotels in recent weeks.
The Reform UK leader instead said he was “the antidote to the far-right”, pointing to the obliteration of the British National Party while he was leading the United Kingdom Independence Party.
A year ago, Reform’s Holyrood chances might have seemed unthinkable, but today the party fills one seat from a Tory defection with the possibility of more to follow.
Mr Simpson MSP will return to Holyrood on September 1 as the first Reform MSP in five years.