UKIP’s only elected politician in Scotland is now treasurer of his local branch because there are so few members north of the border.
At least four office bearers in Fife have quit since the party’s woeful showing at the Holyrood elections, meaning David Coburn MEP has been forced to take on a treasurer's position at a recent AGM.
Members in Scotland have revealed that activists are deserting Coburn’s local branch and questioned whether he can continue as leader in Scotland.
UKIP Fife met in Kirkcaldy last Sunday for the branch AGM and only half a dozen people turned up. David Coburn swelled the numbers to seven, according to a source at the meeting.
“The chairperson stood down and we managed to get someone elected as chairperson, then no one stood for treasurer so Coburn had to take on the roles himself in the absence of anyone else to do it,” said the source, who asked not to be named.
Another party member, who also asked to remain anonymous, said: “My membership is about to expire and I won’t be re-joining. Four stalwart workers who have held the Fife branch together for fifteen years have also resigned positions and walked away.
“Coburn is a chief with no Indians left. I'm not convinced the branch is even properly constituted now. To be honest, it’s dysfunctional.
“If this is a branch AGM with UKIP's only elected politician in Scotland in attendance, then how can he be party leader for Scotland? UKIP in Scotland is barely existing under his leadership and the numbers are falling.”
Coburn was in a bullish mood yesterday, insisting he won’t step down as leader of the party in Scotland and took on the role of treasurer of his local branch because “there has not been enough money raised there and I am not pleased about that”.
A spokesman for UKIP has previously admitted there is a “great fluctuation in numbers” of party members and insiders estimate the figure is “close to 600”.
Coburn dismissed this, saying: “We have 1,000 members and growing.”
UKIP Scotland was riven ahead of last year’s Scottish Parliament elections after it emerged that Coburn selected and ranked candidates.
Several aspiring MSPs quit before the poll, including Robert Malyn who worked for the MEP for eighteen months.
He said: “The English nationalist faction in UKIP, which has influence in London HQ media and policy groups, will use the disastrous electoral results in Scotland to sell the narrative that Scotland is a lost cause.
“This means that London HQ has little or no incentive or willingness to change things in Scotland. It will be easier just to let it either stagnate or die quietly.”
A former branch chairman, who asked not to be named, added: “Following on from a pitiful Holyrood result, they clearly have a toxic brand with a toxic Scottish leader. However, one bonus of leaving the EU is that we’re soon rid of David Coburn.”
Coburn said: “We have a petition signed by every single candidate in Scotland at the last election saying how well I’d run the election and how well I’ve been doing and how they have total faith in me and they wanted those who have caused so much trouble punished and removed from the party.”
After the Holyrood election Coburn described deserters as “a tiny group of dreadful careerists” and vowed that they “will be dealt with”.
He said yesterday: “Two of them have been suspended for bringing the party into disrepute and the rest of them have defenestrated themselves.”
Scotland voted to remain in the European Union by a comfortable margin last week but Coburn said the result north of the border does not undermine his position and insisted he won’t stand down as an MEP until the UK formally leaves the EU.
“I think we did very well,” said Coburn. “We got 60/40, despite operation fear. I am now going to be in there (the European Parliament) fighting to make sure we get the best deal possible and that any daft European legislation doesn’t come through because, until government votes on Article 50, we are still in it.”
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