The leader addressing the UKIP Scotland AGM
With the news that UKIP has been “‘wiped out’ north of the Border after its Scots leader is sacked“, is it time that we Scots who are in favour of independence from the EU woke up? Will UKIP ever treat us in Scotland with the respect we deserve?
It is not so much what they did – because yes, we had our problems in UKIP Scotland and needed to change – instead it is the manner in which a solution was imposed by UKIP HQ in England, rather than allowing the Scottish UKIP party and membership to find their own way forward.
What does this say for a future relationship between Scotland and if it should ever happen, a UKIP ruled Westminster? Could I honestly look my neighbours in the eye if I had supported such a party which ignores the consensus building values of democracy and and has so little understanding of the complex relationship between England and Scotland?
The reason democratic elections work is not because the electorate chooses better leaders, but because those leaders which are chosen by a democratic vote have far more legitimacy and support than those that are not. UKIP Scotland’s leadership was far from perfect, but at least they were our leadership!
The infighting in UKIP Scotland that saw no confidence motions in the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, was not helpful, but if UKIP Scotland was to mature & grow, then we needed to be allowed the time, space and above all support to deal with our problems by ourselves.
Instead, UKIP has all but ignored Scotland, allowing problems to fester and then at the very last minute imposed solutions undermining rather than building up the party in Scotland.
I have seen this type of attitude from the very first AGM when I was extremely surprised that there was no publicly recognisable figure from UKIP HQ. Instead Nigel Farage gave a recorded homily looking down on the membership both literally and symbolically. When Farage came to Edinburgh, it was noticeable that the Scottish officials were side-lined leaving UKIP Scottish members to take the flack as Nigel Farage was whisked away. And finally when the leadership problems finally looked like being resolved at an EGM on the 1st December, a “solution” was imposed before the membership could have their say.
Yes, UKIP Scotland was full of infighting. Even working full time as UKIP Scotland Energy Spokesman I was unable to make any progress due to the dysfunctional organisation in Scotland. So, yes! UKIP Scotland needed reform. Yes, the solution imposed on us, whereby the vice chairman is now the London appointed leader was possibly the right way forward. But no! Imposing a “solution” is no solution at all! What we needed was for us in Scotland to work this out for ourselves and thereby gather support behind the new chairman. Instead, London have at a stroke undermined the legitimacy of the new Scottish chairman by imposing him on the membership in Scotland.
There really could not have been a worse outcome to this affair. Far from allowing the various parties to “settle differences” and let us work out a viable solution, this last minute intervention by UKIP HQ has produced the maximum damage for the party in Scotland. They have denied the Scottish membership the right to hear our own committee explain their undoubtedly appalling behaviour for themselves, and instead made them the victims. I believe this will not stop further infighting, because all sides can still claim support unless or until there is a clear verdict by the membership on them.
Scottish Independence Party
So, is it time that we in Scotland who want independence from the EU because of its domineering control, stopped being so hypocritical about the similarly domineering control and lack of interest in Scotland by UKIP England? And if we believed in real independence, then surely that would apply equally to independence from the European Union as it would from the English Union?
So if we truly believe in Independence, shouldn’t we stand up for our principles? Should we in UKIP Scotland stop hanging on the coat tails of the UKIP success in England and instead try to create a self-governing independent Scottish party against the EU?
What lengths the plotters have gone to is extraordinary. You have ensured there is no party for me to vote for in Scotland. Businesses are already moving back over the border and folk like me now considering a move out of Scotland well before the election.
Almost everyone I have spoken to said has said the EGM should have gone ahead. I do not know how I would have voted. What I wanted to do was to hear what the protagonists had to say for themselves, hear what other members had to say about them and then most likely, I would have supported the consensus view of the meeting.
I’m a Scot myself, but although I drop into this site occasionally I don’t think there’s any place on a climate site for politics. The two simply don’t mix, particularly with the toxic politics being practiced by some in Scotland.
See Scottish independence – is it racist?.