REFORM are standing a candidate in the upcoming election who declared himself “the prophet of a new age” and wanted to subsidise brothel visits for civil servants, The National can reveal.
The party have stood by him, meaning John Houston will contest the new East Kilbride and Strathaven constituency for Reform at the upcoming General Election.
The National can reveal he has held a number of unconventional political views in the past, having been suspended by Ukip in the 2005 election over his unique policy platform.
He wanted the Government to subsidise four free brothel visits a year for civil servants in recognition of their work, according to the East Kilbride News.
In 2010, Houston also told the paper he was “the prophet of a new age, a new global civilisation”.
He added: “The first major step towards that will be the re-building of the British Empire.
“In a successful civilisation you need a ruling class and I consider myself to be the true leader.
“There will be a mass extinction event in 2242 affecting the human race and that’s when we will see real change.
READ MORE: Scottish Reform Party official in graphic sexual blog post about his genitals
“However, I am not standing in the election to gain power, I am doing it because it is what I have to do. It’s time to have my say.”
On his support for prostitution, Houston said: “We urinate, we defecate, and we seek to copulate. No one would criminalise the first two, so why criminalise something that is a basic human need and is being carried out between two consenting adults?”
A former member of the Scottish Greens, Houston also raised eyebrows by calling for “the resurrection of the British Empire”.
According to The Herald, Houston said that people considered a danger to society should be eliminated and their organs harvested – and that all drugs and prostitution should be legalised.
He told the paper: “The problems for the human race – environmental and others – can only be dealt with on a global scale, and that calls for a radical alliance of the English-speaking nations, which they are uniquely able to do.”
He stood as an independent candidate in the 2003 Scottish Parliament elections, winning 419 votes.
READ MORE: Scottish Reform Party candidate suspended after pro-cannibalism comments
Scottish Labour equality spokesperson Paul O’Kane said: "The frankly bizarre views of this candidate have no place in Scottish politics.
“It is clear that the Reform Party is a dangerous joke."
Liberal Democrat Scottish affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine said: “We knew Nigel Farage's Reform Party were a for-profit organisation, now it turns out they are a for prophet one too.
“We've asked our own resident fortune teller what the future holds for John Houston and he just kept mumbling 'lost deposit'."
Unlike other political parties, Reform are a limited company and former Ukip leader Nigel Farage as listed as a person with "significant control" over the firm.
According to Companies House, Farage is a director and has the ability to appoint or remove directors.
Reform have stood by their candidate, saying: “We have excellent fortune teller [sic] amongst English candidates, it seems only fair and sensible to have a prophet amongst our Scottish candidates.
“The Scotsman needs to develop a sense of humour [sic, despite The National approaching the party].”
It comes after new polling showed Reform drawing support from Tory voters in Scotland.
Reform's support north of the Border is sitting on 7%, equal to the LibDems, according to YouGov.
The pollsters said the decline in Tory support was fuelling the Reform vote.
The news comes after we revealed how Reform organiser Alastair Majury described sexual fantasies in graphic detail on his public blog.
Two Scottish candidates were suspended by the party over far-right social media posts while another was ditched for making pro-cannibal comments online.
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