SUCCESSION star Brian Cox has said he believes the SNP have “backed off” from Scottish independence during his appearance on Laura Kuenssberg’s show.
The Dundee-born actor is a long-term supporter of Scottish independence and was vocal in his criticism of Brexit on the BBC show.
Asked by the host about the political parties' manifestos, the actor (below) said the SNP “could be backing away from the notion of independence” ahead of the party announcing its election pledges.
“I don’t know if Scotland (has) backed off, but I think that it’s something that worries me, because I still… believe in independence,” he added.
Cox further explained his position by saying that he believes an independent Scotland should still be “part of these islands” and co-operate with the rest of the UK.
He added: “I do believe we need a new kind system.
“I don’t believe in the United Kingdom – I believe that we should have a sort of united federation with these islands, that each… country should be independent, but come together to support the whole, instead of things being dictated, as we find in Scotland (things are done) on our behalf, that we have very little say.”
He referred to the referendum in which Scotland voted to stay in Europe while the majority of the UK voted to leave.
Cox also said his “main thing is… still the demon that we don’t talk about, which is Brexit” before citing economic figures.
He added: “It seems to me that we are still suffering from that, and we’ve not done anything about it.
Brian Cox: "There's still the demon that we don't talk about, which is brexit... we're suffering from brexit big time."#bbclaurak #TrevorPhillips pic.twitter.com/vxVfBXunWI
— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) June 16, 2024
“So when we talk about other things, we can’t really talk in terms of where we are because we are suffering from Brexit.”
Cox said if he was a Conservative voter, he would be concerned by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as he claimed the parliamentary candidate for Clacton is “really ruining that party” and said he found him to be "slightly fascist".
He called the other manifestos that were launched last week the “same old, same old”.
Cox added: “My feeling is just we need to get rid of the present Government. That’s the most important thing as far as I’m concerned.
“And I think at the moment it’s a very… I don’t know, I just wish I could be clearer about what’s going on and I’m not.
“And I’m not getting a sense of what’s what and who’s who; I’m getting a sense of who’s against… but I’m not getting enough of where we’re supposed to be going, particularly in relationship to poverty, particularly in relationship to the care of the working class, and I feel the working class (has been) a systematic sidestep for a very, very long time.”
