UKIP Hopeful Of Scotland Success

Ukip MEP David Coburn has said he is confident the party can win seats north of the border in May as he confirmed he will stand in the Falkirk constituency. Mr Coburn, Ukip's only elected member in Scotland, was speaking as the party launched its Scottish general election campaign in Glasgow with 40 candidates across the country. They include Aberdeen nurse Emily Santos, who will take on former first minister Alex Salmond in the Gordon constituency, regional organiser Kevin Newton who will be fighting Scotland's only Tory MP, David Mundell, in Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, and Scottish chairman Arthur Misty Thackeray who will stand in Glasgow East against Margaret Curran MP. Mr Coburn said: We intend to get as many seats as we can, it's difficult to say how many."This is the most unpredictable election in 100 years. People are fed up, people want change, they're fed up of the same old, same old. So I think they're turning to Ukip in droves." They are in the south of England, they are now in the north of England and when you see me getting elected in the European election it looks like Scotland's time to go that way as well."We're going to push that, we expect to get some seats, we hope to get some seats, I'll certainly be disappointed if we don't. And then we will be fighting the Scottish parliamentary election next year and at the present levels we're expected to get eight seats or something like that, but we don't know, it could be more." We intend to take over the Scottish Parliament, we intend to have a Ukip government in Scotland and there's no reason we can't.'' He said he hoped to take the seat currently held by independent MP Eric Joyce, who is standing down. Mr Coburn said:That's for the good people of Falkirk but I think from what they've had in the past, they've had an MP who spends much of his time fighting in pubs and bars and the House of Commons, and I think they deserve better than that." I don't see the SNP, or the Labour party, or indeed the Conservatives, putting up any sort of a fight there. We'll be steaming in there.'' During the election launch, attended by around 40 candidates and supporters, the party said it would put re-industrialisation at the heart of its campaign in Scotland, pledging to set up a commission to look at ways to rejuvenate and expand the coal industry, back fracking and do away with subsidies for wind, solar and nuclear power. Mr Coburn said:We're sitting on tonnes of coal, we've got the possibility of fracking, we've got petrochemical business in Falkirk and Grangemouth. That's something we should be building on.'' On taking on the former first minister, Ms Santos said: I'm looking forward to it, I think it'll be a challenge but I've got a great team around me so we'll just take things as they go and see how we get on.'' Mr Coburn added:She has a good reason to have a go at him and quite frankly she'll do a very good job." She doesn't claim to be political expert but she knows her subject, she's upset about the health service, she's going to really go for him on that."She may very well knock him out, she may stop him getting elected, that's our objective.'' Mr Newton said he hoped to make Mr Mundell the last Tory MP in Scotland'' while Mr Thackeray said he wanted toend Scotland's two-party state''. A planned video link with UK party leader Nigel Farage did not take place due to technical difficulties, the party said.