by Innes Paton, Fred Byrne & Elle Douglas-Brown.
A posterboy for Reform UK has spoken out against the party’s denial of climate science after his first public appearance.
Ryan Adams, a 22-year-old politics student, appeared on stage in a livestreamed Reform UK rally where he spoke of hiding his political beliefs while studying at University of Aberdeen.
After the rally, Adams called out Reform for climate change denial. He told us, “I think Reform should take on a ‘we believe in climate change’ stance. I believe in climate change, it’s the realest threat.”
Claims of being marked down for right-wing views played up for cameras
At the bizarre rally in the P&J Live in Aberdeen, Ryan Adams shuffled through crowds to loud instrumental rock music and said he wants to “turn the tides after decades of SNP failure” in a live interview with political commentator Charlie Rowley, a defected Tory government advisor and GB News panelist.
The student, who told us he was vetted to run for Reform in the 2027 council elections, shared on stage that at our Scottish Parliament hustings debate on the university’s campus, a classmate was “disgusted” when he showed support for Reform.
Spurred on by Rowley to discuss academic freedom, Adams said, “It felt nice to finally show my political self and not shy away from it as I’ve felt I’ve had to do for these four years… lecturers maybe hadn’t given me good marks because of it.”
Later, he was asked by our reporters to clarify if he believes his political views influenced his grades. Adams backtracked on his on-air statement about being marked down, clarifying that he does not believe he was marked down for his politics, but rather felt the need to present left-wing perspectives to avoid being marked down.
The student said he received a “disappointing” mark back for his dissertation about how climate change exacerbates terrorism.
Acknowledging the reality of climate change, he said that he did not feel able to raise his views with seniors in Reform UK.
“We need to move to renewables, but not at the speed we are,” added Adams.
He also claimed to have left the Conservative Party because its local members were “nasty”.
University of Aberdeen was approached for comment.
Reform has long-denied climate science
Reform UK has consistently refused to accept scientific consensus on the need to mitigate the climate crisis.
Pressed to accept climate science, Reform’s Scottish leader Malcolm Offord said, “Let’s not get caught up too much in the science. Let’s be more pragmatic, not dogmatic, and not be ideological about this.”
When asked if he considers science an ideology, Offord retorted, “It is your science versus my science.”
The Scottish Reform leader was then asked if stopping investment into renewables would let down Aberdeen’s energy workers.
Offord responded, “Investment goes from hydrocarbons into renewables,” before his team stopped our interview and escorted the Scottish Reform leader away.
At the rally, Nigel Farage branded Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, “mad” for believing in net zero “insanity”. He accused Miliband of believing in net-zero “as a substitute for some form of God, or religion.”
The Reform UK leader called out the Scottish Government for not drilling at new sites while Norway develops drilling, and said only 1% of global emissions come from Britain.
Nigel Farage has promoted climate denying commentators such as Jordan Peterson, saying to him during an interview in 2025 that “it is nuts” to claim that carbon dioxide is a pollutant. In 2015, he admitted, “I haven’t got a clue whether climate change is driven by carbon-dioxide emissions.”
Last month, a Reform UK candidate claimed that the planet “doesn’t have a climate crisis.”
The rally was part of Reform UK’s Scottish Parliament election campaign, where they are currently polling in second place, 40+ seats behind the SNP.
The Gaudie encourages readers to register to vote by April 20th. Residents of Scotland, including international students, aged 16 or over can vote on May 7th.
