The Dundee political scene has been rocked by news that the far-right British National Party will field a candidate in the city at the General Election next month.
The news that sub-regional officer Ian Murphy will compete for the Dundee West seat has been met with disdain by Labour’s Jim McGovern and the SNP’s Jim Barrie, with both refusing to share a stage with him during the campaign trail.
Across Scotland, 14 BNP candidates will stand, with the others contesting seats in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Banff and Buchan, Gordon, Livingston and Aberdeenshire.
Mr McGovern called them “a racist party,” claiming they have “no place” in modern politics.
He said, “As soon as I heard that the BNP would be fielding a candidate I took the personal decision that I would not be sharing a platform with them.
“I contacted senior members of the party and I have been given their full support.”
Dundee West SNP MSP Joe FitzPatrick has called on all candidates to publicly agree not to share a platform at hustings.
He said, “The voters of Dundee West will not be taken in by the BNP, but it is important that they do not get the oxygen of publicity to propagate their repellent views.”
Conservative candidate Colin Stewart did not rule himself out of sharing a stage with Mr Murphy.
He said, “It is a democracy so anybody has the right to stand but the beauty of a democracy is that the voters have the right to reject them at the ballot box.”
On behalf of the Lib Dems, Dundee Councillor Fraser McPherson said, “Clearly we see the views of the BNP as unacceptable and diametrically opposed to our own.”
He added, “We do not support a party like the BNP being given the oxygen of publicity.”
Last week a leaflet-drop targeted tens of thousands of homes and the group have erected billboards in a number of Scottish locations.
The party will also have the chance to air its views on television having qualified for an election broadcast.
Neither Mr Murphy nor a BNP representative were available for comment on Monday night.