MSP Amanda Bland has quit Reform UK Scotland to sit as an independent, a move that relegates her former party to the third-largest group at Holyrood with one member fewer than Labour.
Bland, who serves as a list member representing Central Scotland and Lothians West, has not yet made any public statements regarding her departure. In response to her exit, representatives for Reform UK Scotland have publicly urged the MSP to step down from the parliament entirely.
A spokesperson for the party stated that Bland should reflect on her decision to isolate herself from a team of capable individuals, adding that it is incumbent upon her to resign as a regional representative so that her constituents can be served by the next candidate on the Reform list.
Under current rules governing the Scottish Parliament, a regional list MSP who resigns triggers a vacancy that is filled by the next candidate from their respective party's list from the preceding election. Bland, a former primary school teacher and police officer, was originally elected in May as part of a 17-member Reform contingent during the party's electoral breakthrough north of the border.
Following that election, Reform finished in a joint second-place position alongside Labour, trailing only the SNP, which secured 58 seats in the legislature.