UKIP Scotland leader Donald MacKay has shared his views on the possible outcome of the snap general election.
Sputnik: Could the Brexit Party steal votes from both the Conservatives and Labour at the next general election?
Donald MacKay: I’m still sceptical that they will be fielding as many candidates as they indicated that they might be fielding, certainly in Scotland, I would doubt that they would field 59 candidates, so they are keeping their cards very close to their chest.
They’ve got the dilemma that UKIP has, that if you field candidates in constituencies where you could topple a Brexit supporting MP, then that’s not a good thing. But it’s difficult to comment on it because frankly, I don’t think the Brexit Party are being completely clear as to where they are standing and who their candidates are, they are just saying that they have got the numbers, but I’m a bit sceptical about that.
Sputnik: Does Jeremy Corbyn have a chance of doing well at the next general election?
Donald MacKay: He certainly does have a chance. There’s the hard-core Labour vote that will always turn out and it’s a very fluid situation at the moment, so I don’t think anybody can predict what will happen. From a Scottish point of view, he has to win seats back from the SNP, which will not be easy.
If he can reach out to his own supporters, who, for whatever reason, have gone over to the SNP, then he would have a chance of doing well. I don’t think he would win the election, but he certainly shouldn’t be underestimated.
Sputnik: Will the general election help the British Parliament end its political deadlock?
Donald MacKay: I think a general election will resolve it. I think it was long overdue and, in a sense, it gives people a say, if they really want Brexit. This is their chance to make sure that they only vote for people who support it and if they don’t, the same applies.
I would expect that the situation would be better and clearer after the election than it was before. That being said, I can definitely see further extensions of Article 50 taking place, the political and business establishment in the UK will do everything in their power to basically try and stop Brexit, and I’m not even sure if the Boris Johnson deal is Brexit, so the idea of getting a clean, no-nonsense Brexit deal is to me unlikely, because there are too many people, some of whom are pretending to be supporting Brexit, who are actually trying to stop it, and I don’t underestimate these people at all.
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