When I arrived in Scotland as refugee from Ukraine in 2022, I saw the country I expected: tolerant, kind, and quiet. A country defined by stability. However, coming up to the 2026 Holyrood elections, that atmosphere changed, and I felt this especially during my recent trips to Falkirk. The rising cost of living and political crisis have filled the streets with tension and polarisation, with an unsettling rhetoric: “us versus them”.
For most Scots, political polarisation had always appeared to be found more in England. Scotland was seen as a shelter from the populist storms shaking England and the rest of Europe. Nevertheless, the failure of legacy parties to deliver change forced public opinion further to the Left and the Right. Growing Reform UK popularity contrasts with the surge of Greens, thanks to the “Zack Polanski effect,” whose influence is far beyond England and Wales.
During my visit, Falkirk was looking more like a political battlefield than a quiet Scottish industrial town
These camps fundamentally disagree on almost everything, but they are united by one thing: fear. Fear for their future, for their children, for a global peace that feels increasingly fragile. In Falkirk, that fear has manifested itself physically.
Falkirk is a town that has arguably become the epicentre of Scottish polarisation today. The asylum seekers hotel, encircled with far-right crowds demanding them to leave and anti-racist counter protesters. It here that Reform UK chose to hold their Scotland launch rally, where Nigel Farage announced the defection of Lord Offord. Recent ex-Labour defector to Reform UK, councillor Jamie McGuire said he was feeling “extremely optimistic ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary Elections”. He elaborated on the growing Reform UK popularity in Scotland:
“It’s not just because of what we saw in the room today, it’s what we’re actually seeing in the streets”.
Outside the conference, the peaceful counter rally organised by “Falkirk for All” was happening, protesting Farage’s presence in the town. The protesters were standing up against rise of the far right: “We are terrified of the rise of fascism and racism, particularly in Scotland, where we felt for a long time, we were immune from it,” said one of the protestors.
During my visit, Falkirk was looking more like a political battlefield than a quiet Scottish industrial town. Reform’s turquoise tents, flyers and posters are ever-present in the town centre, and there are protests in front of the Cladhan Hotel every week. The anti-immigration messages seem to contradict themselves: the group who called themselves “Voices for Falkirk” with an AI-generated banner reading “Community-led. Peaceful. Accountable” are stood next to people covering their faces with masks and brandishing radical anti-migration posters. In the hotel car park, counter-protesters protect the asylum hotel, safeguarded by police. Both camps gather there relentlessly every Saturday. No exception.
The new wave of protests was ignited by horrible news: one of hotel’s residents, Sadeq Nikzad, raped a 15-year-old girl. The same year, Muhammad Sheikhi, another Cladhan resident committed sexual assault. Both were jailed in 2025.
These harrowing events were exploited by far-right group “Save Our Future and Our Kids Future”, run by Connor Graham, who was later fined for abusing the police officer, leading to the group’s dissolution. This void was filled by other far-right organisations, such as “Unite the Clans”, “Patriotic Alternative” and the “Homeland Party.” All of them are allegedly behind the protests outside the hotel for asylum seekers.
Falkirk is a living example of what political polarisation can do to a Scottish town and those from across the political spectrum must realise the consequences of the divide. Every political force has constructive and destructive elements, but it’s crucial for constructive ones to find a common ground and start cooperating for the future of us all. No entire demographic group should be persecuted for everything going wrong in our country. The propaganda we are bombarded with should shoulder part of the blame.
Nevertheless, polarisation has crossed the Border, bringing tension to every Scottish city.
