Ukip confusion over candidates list
UKIP’S Scottish election campaign was mired in confusion last night as the deadline to name the party’s Holyrood candidates approaches.
Last week, its controversial Scottish MEP David Coburn claimed that prospective MSPs would be selected by party chiefs in England to avoid ‘any accusation of bias’.
But an email from Ukip director Paul Oakden leaked to a newspaper reportedly states that Mr Coburn should ‘devise’ his own list.
To add to the confusion, in a statement to the Scottish Daily Mail a party spokesman said last night: ‘Selection of candidates is an internal party matter.’
Ukip has had a string of problems across Britain with the selection of candidates in the recent past. The deadline for delivering nomination papers for May’s election is 4pm on Friday and Ukip has not yet announced any names – despite some opinion polls suggesting it could win as many as seven seats.
Mr Coburn, who delivered a car-crash performance in last week’s televised leaders’ debate, has been excluded from tonight’s live clash on STV.
The email in Mr Oakden’s name, leaked to a Glasgow paper, reportedly states: ‘I will not be ranking candidates in Scotland, I am not picking the lists for Scottish regions, nor am I allocating candidates to regions.
‘The NEC [national executive committee], who will ultimately decide the final lists, have determined that the Ukip leader in Scotland should devise a list, including candidate rankings for each region of Scotland.’ But Mr Coburn was last week quoted as saying: ‘He [Mr Oakden] does the candidates’ assessments with the team and they rank the candidates. I prefer to have that as I don’t want any accusation of bias.’
A Ukip spokesman said: ‘Ukip Scotland has an increasing number of people wanting to stand. Selection of candidates is an internal party matter and has no bearing on the unique and positive benefits our policies will bring for the people of Scotland.’
The party is due to launch its manifesto on April 7, when UK leader Nigel Farage is expected to make a rare visit to Scotland.
In 2013, he had to be rescued by police after being targeted by students and pro-independence activists on a visit to Edinburgh. The disruption drew criticism both sides of the Border.