A charity supporting refugees has branded Nigel Farage’s claim that Glasgow’s school population is "not diversity" as a “racially coded attack”.
Farage, the Reform UK leader, targeted the city in a video when he claimed one in three pupils do not speak English as their first language.
He said: "This is not diversity, as the left always preach, this actually is the cultural smashing of Glasgow.
"It's turning it into a completely different city in every way. My question is, who voted for this? Who told anybody in Scotland this was actually happening?"
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Following the video, Christina Cannon, the council's education convenor, responded on X, stating the comment was "ridiculous".
She said: “This isn’t new. It doesn’t mean the children don’t speak English.
“There is a whole host of reasons why someone won’t have English as their first language.
“‘Children should only speak 1 language’ might be the most ridiculous Reform argument I’ve heard yet.”
The post was viewed 4.5m times on X. It was also reposted by Reform Glasgow councillor, Thomas Kerr.
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Positive Action in Housing, a charity which helps refugees settle in Glasgow highlighted the benefits of speaking more than one language.
Robina Qureshi, CEO of the charity, said: “To every multilingual child out there we say bravo.
“The evidence is clear that growing up with more than one language is linked with cognitive strengths in attention, flexibility and problem solving.
“We need more multilingual children, not less. And don’t take notice of the bigotry and prejudice of grown adults who should know better but clearly do not.”
Ms Qureshi added Farage was using children to stoke fear among communities.
She said: “No child should be used as a political punching bag. Farage’s attack on Glasgow’s multilingual pupils is a coded attack on the children of people of colour and of refugee or immigrant backgrounds. It is harmful and it is dangerous.
“Targeting migrant children, in a climate where racist abuse is already a daily reality for many, is another deliberate dog whistle and a disgrace.
“Farage played this game with Brexit by stoking fear of immigrants and he is doing it again. His racially coded attacks on Glasgow schoolchildren follow a well worn pattern.
“He is not getting away with it this time, it is time for decent people of all colours to unite and push back on this racially coded and dangerous rhetoric.”
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