Reform’s Scottish leader has offended Deacon Blue by claiming to love their left wing anthem Dignity. Neil Mackay looks at the politics behind this musical dust up

Maybe Malcolm Offord was copying his American buddies. The MAGA crowd love to ‘own the libs’, you see. That’s an act of performative trolling which twists the knickers of liberals.

Or perhaps Reform’s new Scottish leader is a musical illiterate. It’s difficult to understand why he’d feel all warm and fuzzy over the song Dignity by Deacon Blue given its message is about hating everything he represents.

Offord fan-boying on Deacon Blue’s socialist anthem is like the late Queen asking the Sex Pistols to play at her funeral.

Ricky Ross, who seems a good egg, and the rest of Deacon Blue took exception to Offord wanging on about the big vibes he felt for the band’s most famous hit.

Offord quoted the lyrics during his first major speech. The multimillionaire financier said Dignity was one of his “favourite songs”, and summed up his life story.

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The schmaltz would give you the boak, and the choice of desert island disc is simply wild.

It’s like an Orangeman downloading ‘The Men Behind the Wire’ by the Wolfe Tones, or some Sinn Feiner telling you The Sash is a banger. The man and the musical message just don’t match.

Dignity is about a council road sweeper who dreams about buying a dingy. Former Conservative peer Offord has at least two yachts.

The character in Dignity isn’t dreaming about mass deportations and champagne on deck with the broligarchy, he just wants a wee boat. “He packs his lunch in a........

© Herald Scotland