Farage brands Better Together campaign ‘total mess’

Scottish independence: NIGEL Farage tonight compared David Cameron to the English King who lost the battle of Bannockburn when he criticised the Better Together for making a “total mess” of its campaign.

Nigel Farage compared David Cameron to Edward II. Picture: Ian Georgeson

The Ukip leader made the remark during a visit to Glasgow for a pre-referendum rally.

A crowd of protestors gathered in Glasgow’s St Enoch’s Square to demonstrate against Mr Farage as he addressed a UKip rally in a nearby building.

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Bearing banners saying “No to racism, no to bigotry, no to Ukip” a crowd of around 100 made their objections to Mr Farage’s politics clear.

Arguing against Scottish independence inside the IET Teacher building, the anti-EU politician claimed a Yes vote would see an independent Scotland join a “failing” Euro, that a Yes did not offer proper independence.

At an event that saw him appear alongside other Ukip politicians in front of 120 Ukip supporters, Mr Farage said: “What the Scots are actually being asked to vote on is separation from England and to sign a new treaty to be full members of a European Union. It is simple whether you think the EU is a good thing or a bad thing, the one thing that is absolutely certain is you cannot be an independent country and a member of the European Union.”

Mr Farage was critical of the No campaign, arguing Mr Cameron had “blundered” by not insisting that the question on ballot papers should have been “should Scotland remain part of the United Kingdom?”

That would have enabled those arguing against independence to promote a more positive message. Mr Cameron should have also insisted on a third DevoMax option on the ballot paper.

“I have absolutely no doubt that if that had been on the ballot paper it would have secured a large majority of the votes,” Mr Farage said.

“However, arrogant as Edward II was at Bannockburn, Cameron has walked into this long planned ambush.”

On Labour, Mr Farage said the UK leader Ed Miliband had “totally failed to connect” adding that his speech was a pitch to his voters.

He said “huge numbers” of people in England shared Scottish people’s “contempt” of Westminster career politicians.

“My words today are really pitched at Labour voters whose loathing of Cameron and the Westminster set has become so strong that they’ve moved to the ‘yes’ side,” he said.

Mr Farage claimed that Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams offered a more “consistent” and “clear” Nationalism than Alex Salmond.

The UKip leader said he held “no brief” for Mr Adams or his Sinn Fein party.

“He doesn’t want NOrthern Ireland to be part of the United Kingdom, but neither does he want the island of Ireland to be members of the European Union. That is consistent nationalism and what Alex Salmond is offering isn’t nationalism on a Scottish level it is supra-nationalism on a EU level.”

Earlier UKip’s Scottish MEP David Coburn said his party would be launching a “geurilla” campaign against independence in the remaining days before the vote and admitted he had yet to hold a surgery for his constituents since he was elected in May.

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