Reform UK has made repeated claims that Glasgow is “lawless” and “unsafe” and has put safety in the city at the forefront of its election campaign.
Remarks are often followed or preceded by statements about the number of asylum seekers and refugees in Glasgow.
Following rival parties issuing policies highlighting proposals to deal with prison overcrowding, Reform again used Glasgow and claims of violence to promote its agenda.
In a press release today, the party said: “Glasgow has a murder rate now double that of London”.
The claim suggests murder is on the rise and has overtaken London, the UK’s biggest city.
It also suggests that by using London as a benchmark, the capital of the UK has a high rate and for Glasgow to have become even higher, murders are rising faster in Glasgow than in London.
We fact-checked the claim and looked at the true picture of murders in both Glasgow and London.
The official statistics show that homicide in Glasgow has fallen, and not only that, it has seen a sharper decline than Scotland overall.
In 2024/25 there were 13 homicides in Glasgow, a rate of 2.0 per 100,000 population.
Scottish Government crime and justice statistics show “Over the latest five-year period from 2020-21 to 2024-25, there have been 48 homicides in Glasgow, a 66% decrease compared to 142 for the five year period from 2005-06 to 2009-10.
“This compares to a 48% decrease in Scotland as a whole between these periods.”
So, the homicide rate is not rising in Glasgow, it is falling.
Glasgow does have a higher murder rate per head of population than London.
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The rate in Scotland’s largest city is double that of London. Again, however, context is key.
Both cities have seen a significant reduction but the rate in London has dropped further and faster than in Glasgow.
In fact, London’s murder rate, per head of population, is now lower than any other UK city.
Official Metropolitan Police statistics date back to 1997 and the total number of murders in London last year was 97, the second lowest on record.
Reports show London, at 1.07 per 100,000, is now below many comparable global cities, including New York (2.8), Berlin (3.2), Milan (1.6) and Toronto (1.6). It is also significantly lower than rates seen in major US cities such as Los Angeles (5.6), Houston (10.5), Chicago (11.7) and Philadelphia (12.3).
The Reform statement read:" Under the SNP, Scotland has seen a rapid rise in sexual assaults and violent crime with Glasgow's murder rate now doubling that of London.
"Our cities are becoming unsafe and lawless with sexual crime rising by 10% in year ending December 2025.
The claim also mentions a “rapid rise” in sexual assaults and violent crime in Scotland.
Official sources show, sexual crimes are increasing in Glasgow.
Last year the Glasgow Times reported the latest statistics for the year 2024/25.
It showed sexual crimes in total rose by 16% from 1984 to 2293.
Rape and attempted rape hit a 10-year high of 494 cases.
It is a 32% rise over the year but has more than doubled in ten years, from 243 in 2015/16.
Sexual assault also hit a ten-year high, with 800 cases recorded, up 22% in a year.
Verdict: On the murder claims, it can technically be stated that Glasgow has a rate double that of London.
But when seen in the context of declining numbers, both cities have witnessed a considerable drop.
So the suggestion that Glasgow is becoming “lawless” based on the number of murders is not accurate.
Also, Glasgow can also claim to have played a part in London's reduction.
The Met Police adopted a public health approach to knife crime in the city following the Violence Reduction Unit in Glasgow, which previously contributed to a drop in knife crime and youth gang activity in the city.
