Scottish Ukip MEP David Coburn has been shouting off, as his way, about his party’s prospects north of the border in 2015. Mr Coburn is a curious character – and there is a certainly an element of bluster here:
‘We’re looking at the Scottish rust belt. Seats where there were serious industries that were allowed to run down, with no replacement. These are seats that Labour has treated like a feudal system. It’s the Central Belt of Scotland, where people have just been abandoned or given sops to keep them happy.’
Whilst it should not be forgotten that Ukip gained 10 per cent of the Scottish vote in European elections last May, a breakthrough on the scale pitched by Coburn remains ambitious. There is already a voice for the disenfranchised, angry Scottish voters who feel that the old parties have not got their backs anymore: They may be the government of Scotland, but the SNP will blunt the impact of Ukip north of the border.
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