Reform says it would cut green policies to fund £2bn income tax cut in Scotland

Malcolm Offord said the tax cut would be paid for by ‘reallocating’ the £9bn spent on environmental protections. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Reform UK would slash what it calls “highly dubious” environmental protection measures to help fund a £2bn cut to income tax in Scotland if it won May’s Holyrood elections, the party has said.

Malcolm Offord, the multimillionaire financier who was announced as leader of Reform UK in Scotland 10 days ago, used his first major speech to announce plans to realign the country’s tax system – where higher earners currently pay significantly more – with the rest of the UK and institute a 1p-in-the-pound cut across the board.