Scottish independence: Labour group dubbed ‘a sham’

Anas Sarwar dubbed the group 'an SNP front'. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Labour for Independence (LFI) was launched last year as a platform for party members who back a Yes vote - a position at odds with the leadership.

The group was criticised yesterday after some of its supporters were pictured on an LFI Facebook page standing alongside members of the East Ayrshire Yes Scotland group while the organisations were both campaigning together in Kilmarnock.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Anas Sarwar criticised LFI after it emerged that Douglas Reid, the SNP leader of East Ayrshire Council and other nationalists had stood beside the group’s banner in the Facebook photo.

Mr Sarwar said: “The SNP’s faltering campaign is looking increasingly desperate. For prominent MSPs, council leaders and party officials to masquerade as Labour supporters to give a false impression about their campaign is disrespectful to ordinary Scots who want to make a decision on our future based on the facts.

“Labour for Independence appears to be nothing more than a sham and a SNP front. Given only 20 people attended the group’s conference, it is not significant. What is significant though is the duplicity of the SNP. The SNP cannot be straight with people on pensions, on EU membership and now they can’t even be honest about their own support.”

However, LFI issued a statement last night that said the group was for Labour supporters only, even though it campaigns jointly with Yes Scotland activists.

A campaign spokesman said: “We have been very proud to work alongside the great many volunteers of Yes Scotland who represent all parties and no parties.

“There are many pictures with LFI volunteers campaigning at Yes Scotland events and as such there are many instances in which non-LFI volunteers were pictured around our banner. At no time have we ever claimed these people to be volunteers of LFI.”