LEADING Scottish artist Peter Howson says he fears Britain will become more intolerant and "fascist" if UKIP and the Conservatives are in power following the general election.

The painter, who last year backed the campaign for independence, also said there was growing anti-Scottish sentiment in the rest of the UK because the country opposes right wing politics.

Howson has opened a new exhibition of his work in the run-up to the general election at Flowers Gallery in London. The show, called Demokratia, reflects on current political and social issues, including the rise of extreme political factions across the world.

He said: "If UKIP gets power and the Tories get in again Britain will become much more fascist than it has been. We are an incredibly right-wing country - this whole thing about tolerance is a load of bollocks.

"But Scotland will never become like that - and that is where the conflict starts as there already is huge anti-Scottish sentiment.

"Scotland is always going to be left-wing, it is always going to fight against UKIP and the Tories and that is what I love about Scotland."

He added: "At the same time the landowners and landed gentry and business people that really run Scotland to some extent - they are the ones that are in control and they won't give up easily."

Howson said he hoped the SNP would do "fantastically well" in the general election and hold the balance of power in Westminster.

But he added: "I am not even thinking about the election in any way, as I will get disappointed if things don't go the way I want.

"I was so disappointed about the referendum it depressed me, so I can't let that happen."

Howson's Demokratia series of paintings depicts the breakdown of social order in which a violent underclass fights to gain control. Howson describes the characters as being "abandoned" by society and using violence as an antidote to boredom and hardship.

The nightmarish scenes depicted include references to the Syrian pilot who was burned alive by ISIS juxtaposed with an advert for Chanel's Egoiste fragrance - which some reports have suggested is a favourite of ISIS commanders - which Howson said was meant to reflect religious hypocrisy.

He said: "Hypocrisy and humanity hasn't changed at all. But I think it has become more dangerous now because of the internet.

"In medieval times you couldn't obviously watch people being beheaded on TV, but you could go to a public beheading.

"It has become medieval again in a different kind of way - on your mobile phone you can watch real people getting executed - you can watch atrocities on your mobile phone or tablet."

He added: "My biggest rant at the moment is about technology - everything is instantaneous and it has become Orwellian really.

"All the things that are meant to save us work and give us a leisure time are completely opposite and we are actually more enslaved now.

"People must realise we are slaves to these technological devices."

A spokesman for the Scottish conservatives said: "Mr Howson need not worry about UKIP getting in power. Their brand of cheap politics is getting the thumbs down from people all over Scotland and Britain."

Mystery collector buys entire exhibition by the Vettriano of Violence

A COLLECTOR snapped up the entire Demokratia exhibition before the show even opened.

Howson said he was "amazed" by the sell-out of the show - which had individual pieces of work priced between £3,000 and £250,000 - and is now working on more paintings on the same theme to meet demand from other potential buyers.

Howson is one of Scotland's most popular artists - his work has been collected by celebrities such as David Bowie and Madonna and last month his oil painting, The Sublime and Ridiculous, which was produced in 1989, sold for more than £40,000 at auction in Edinburgh.

The painter, who has spoken openly about his past battles with severe depression, drugs and alcohol, said he was now happier than ever with his work.

"I really don't care about what the critics say about it - people seem to love it," he said.

"I almost hate to think of myself as a violent version of Jack Vettriano - the people love his work and the critics hate it.

"And the critics generally don't like my work either, but the people love it. He (Vettriano) is the sex and I am the violence."