New Scottish political party leans to right

SCOTLAND’S newest political party was launched yesterday with a joint call for independence and economic progress.

The right-of-centre Scottish Enterprise Party has been partly founded by disgruntled SNP supporters who feel it has moved too far to the left.

Iain Brodie, the interim co-ordinator of the SEP, said it was the party’s intention to field 129 candidates at the 2007 Holyrood elections.

In the short-term, he said he wanted to attract members and produce "robust policies" to encourage debate.

Last night, Mr Brodie refused to disclose how many members the party had or how much financial backing.

"We could do with more of both, but we are determined to put forward a range of policies and build support throughout Scotland," he said.