It wasn’t long ago that Nigel Farage seemed a hopeless sell in Scotland. In 2013, on his way to campaign in a by-election in Aberdeen, he didn’t get further than Edinburgh’s Royal Mile before he had to be escorted from a pub by police for his own safety. Ukip, which he then led, had a derisory presence north of the border – even when it was making in-roads into working class areas in the North of England.

The destruction of North Sea oil and gas is very big deal for Scotland, especially in Aberdeen where Farage was campaigning yesterday

What has changed to make Reform UK, Farage’s current party, serious contenders for the Hamilton by-election this week? There is a big clue to be found in a report by Robert Gordon University this morning which points out that the much-vaunted ‘green jobs’

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