The Reform UK Scotland leader has said Scotland’s income tax banding system is “nuts” as he pledged to review it if the party wins the next Holyrood elections.

Lord Malcolm Offord said the party would review the six-band income tax system north of the border.

He was addressing members on the final day of the Reform UK conference in Birmingham.

He said: “We’ll deal with the income tax.

“So we are now in the most heavily taxed part of the UK. We have six bands – income tax bands – in Scotland, versus three in the UK.

“We’re dragging a lot of people who would normally be in medium wages, like nurses etc, into higher tax bands, which is nuts.

“By being dragged into these higher tax bands and sometimes losing other marginal benefits, you’re ending up paying a much higher marginal tax rate.”

Lord Offord led Reform UK to joint second place at Holyrood in the elections in May.

The party was tied with Labour with both parties returning 17 MSPs.

SNP MSP Alex Kerr said: “Lord Offord was part of a Liz Truss’ government which crashed the economy and now serves under the man who dragged us out of the European market – we will take no lectures from him.

“Reform isn’t interested in supporting working people, they are only focused on helping out their rich pals.

“Today Offord should have been calling on Farage to resign, but he has failed that test and will now be left to defend the indefensible.”