Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

SNP v Labour row in Fife as MP accused of mocking rival by sharing ‘offensive nonsense’

Dunfermline MP Douglas Chapman promoted a post which claimed Labour votes at the next election will be for 'English colonial rule'.

Dunfermline and West Fife MP Douglas Chapman.
Dunfermline and West Fife MP Douglas Chapman.

A Fife SNP MP has been accused of sharing “offensive nonsense” and mocking a rival by Labour as a war of words broke out between the two parties.

Douglas Chapman, who represents Dunfermline and West Fife, retweeted a post which claimed votes for Labour at the next election will be for “English colonial rule”.

The post – from a pro-independence account on X – insisted Scotland will “still be governed by London” if Sir Keir Starmer’s party oust the Tories.

It featured a picture which attempted to mock Labour candidate Mr Downie using a photoshopped speech bubble to suggest he was arguing in favour of “colonial” rule from England.

Mr Downie claimed his SNP rival Mr Chapman was abandoning “dignity and honesty” by sharing it.

‘Abandoned any sense of dignity and honesty’

But nationalist veteran Mr Chapman, standing down at the next election, refused to back down and branded Dunfermline Labour “the Tory Party with a red rosette”.

Mr Downie, currently a Labour councillor in Fife, said: “This kind of offensive nonsense just shows how desperate the SNP have become.

“A UK Labour Government is going to bring dignity and honesty back to politics across the UK.

Councillor Graeme Downie.

“Clearly Mr Chapman has abandoned any sense of either and that is why he has chosen to stand down rather than face the electorate.

He added: “I hope reasonable people in the SNP, including their candidate for Dunfermline and Dollar, will denounce this kind of campaigning but I’m not holding my breath.”

But Mr Chapman replied: “We’d all like to hear what Labour actually stand for instead of just the usual carping from the sidelines.

“As far as most people in this constituency can tell it seems like the Tory Party with a red rosette which will change nothing.”

The row comes in a key target area Scottish leader Anas Sarwar will be hoping to win back from the SNP when voters next go to the polls.

MP’s exit after ‘plot’ to oust him

Mr Chapman, a former SNP treasurer, announced last June he would quit as an MP at the next Westminster election.

It came after reports of a “plot” to get rid of him by local party members.

Mr Chapman stood firm at the time, claiming attempts to oust him had “backfired badly”.

West Fife Councillor Naz Anis Miah will contest the new Dunfermline and Dollar seat for the SNP at the next election against Mr Downie.

The first choice to fight for the constituency, Rosyth Councillor Brian Goodall, quit just weeks after he was picked.

Conversation