EDINBURGH, May 30 (RIA Novosti), Mark Hirst – The Conservative and Labour parties are pandering to “closet racists”, the leader of the Scottish Socialist Party, Colin Fox, has told RIA Novosti.
Fox was commenting after newly elected Ukip MEP, David Coburn – the party’s first elected representative politician in Scotland – told RIA Novosti that he had held “informal discussions” with pro-UK party leaders about formally joining their official anti-Scottish independence campaign known as Better Together.
“Labour and the Conservatives have spent the last five years pandering to Ukip on immigration and welfare rights,” Fox, a former Member of the Scottish Parliament, told RIA Novosti. “Now it looks even more likely they will ape these closet racists following the Euro-election results.”
“It is only a matter of time before the 'Little Englanders' of Ukip are also allowed to jump into bed with Better Together [the official anti-Scottish independence campaign]”.
Earlier Coburn told RIA Novosti that he had been progressing talks with pro-UK party leaders in Scotland with a view to allowing UKIP to join the official campaign, something the main unionist parties have previously rejected on the grounds that Ukip had no Scottish representation.
“I’ve had some informal discussions with the Conservatives and they didn’t say no to that proposal and Murdo Fraser [Member of the Scottish Parliament and Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives] has been pretty friendly about it all. He hasn’t ruled it out,” Coburn told RIA Novosti.
A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives refused to comment on-the-record and said he was not aware of any approach by UKIP.
A spokesman for Labour’s Margaret Curran MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, told RIA Novosti, “Ukip are not part of Better Together. They never have and never will be part of our campaign.”
Scots will decide in a referendum to be held 18 September whether they support independence from the rest of the United Kingdom. They will be asked one question, “Should Scotland become an independent country?”
