UKIP dismissed as ‘irrelevant band of misfits’ over devolution stance

UKIP have been dismissed as an “irrelevant band of misfits” after the party declared it would actively campaign against devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

By CHRIS McCALL Friday, 22nd March 2019, 4:49 pm Updated Friday, 22nd March 2019, 4:58 pm

The party, which has lost several high-profile members due to its increasingly right-wing stance in recent months, has long been sceptical of devolved governments.

But a meeting of UKIP’s national executive committee this week unanimously voted to change the party’s devolution policy, declaring it would oppose it across the country.

Sign up to our daily newsletter The i newsletter cut through the noise Sign up Thanks for signing up! Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting...

While the party has stood candidates at previous Holyrood elections, it has failed to elect a single MSP. It is unclear if it will stand candidates in the future.

People take part in a "Brexit Betrayal" march and rally organised by Ukip in central London in December last year. Picture: PA

Donald Mackay, leader of UKIP in Scotland, said: “We need to go back to being a United Kingdom. For too long Scottish, Welsh and Irish Nationalists have sought to undermine the constitutional integrity of the UK. If we finally leave the EU and re-join the international stage as an independent and sovereign power, it is vital that we strengthen the constitutional bonds that unite the four countries of our United Kingdom”.

Earlier this month, the party claimed its membership in Scotland had risen in the past year despite the party’s only elected representative quitting in a row over its future direction.

MEP David Coburn was one of a number of high-profile members who resigned in protest at the “anti-Isalmic platform” adopted by UK leader Gerard Batten.

Former leader Nigel Farage also quit in December, claiming the party was no longer following his policy of excluding extremists from its ranks.