UKIP Deputy Leader Paul Nuttall has offered to eat his own shoes if Scotland votes for independence in September. The North West England MEP made the offer during a party meeting in Widnes, according to the local Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News.
He is reported to have said: “If Scotland becomes independent I will come back to this room and eat my shoes.
“The reason they won’t is it’s been made clear that if you go independent and want to reapply (to the EU) you have to do it under the terms of the Lisbon Treaty and join the Euro.”
He went on to call for English Parliament, saying that the English feel unfairly treated by the current constitutional settlement, something that will only get worse if Scotland is allowed to have “devo-max”, with even more powers transferred to the Edinburgh Parliament.
“I don’t see a threat to the Union coming from Scotland,” he said. “The threat will come from England, because the Scots will have ‘devo max’, they have their own Parliament.”
“We have nothing for the English,” he added.
“There’s no way the English will take an unfair system of devolution. Why on Earth should the Scots have free tuition fees when we’re paying £9,000 a year? How can the Scots not pay prescription fees or for hospital parking? How can the Scots afford to have no tolls?
“The fact is it’s built on English money. We need equality for the English.”
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