Dougray Scott says Labour 'really should' be in favour of Scottish independence

Actor Dougray Scott has long supported Scottish independence. But the political landscape has been especially choppy lately.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon resigned in March, not long before her husband and former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell was arrested in a finance probe.

According to a YouGov poll last month, support for the SNP is at its lowest level since the 2014 independence referendum. Voting intention of those surveyed put them at 38% while 30% said they would vote for Labour. This represents the SNP’s lowest percentage share since 2014 and Labour’s highest in that time too.

Speaking to The Big Issue, Dougray Scott said: “I’m in favour of Scottish independence. The question a lot of people always ask is, how can Scotland pay for itself? That’s not the question to ask. The question is, would it serve the country better to have its own government? We have a particular vision of the world, which is why I think it makes sense to have independence and we have many great stories to tell.”

However he added that he feels increasingly uncertain about Scottish independence becoming a reality. “I’m not massively optimistic about that happening,” he said.

“What’s gonna happen down the line? You know, I hope that we do get an opportunity to realise full independence. Whether or not that’ll happen, I don’t know. I don’t have a crystal ball. But I certainly think it’s important – for too many years we’ve been ruled by someone that we’ve never voted for and that can’t be right from a democratic point of view. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Dougray Scott was born in Fife and grew up in Glenrothes. MP for the neighbouring constituency was Gordon Brown, the most recent Labour prime minister.

“Yeah, I like Gordon Brown,” Dougray Scott said. “He’s a really good guy. You know, and there’s no reason why the Labour party couldn’t support independence as well. They really should. I vote in England and I vote Labour but if I was in Scotland, I’d be like, well, I have to vote SNP because I really believe in Independence. Whereas if the Labour Party were in favour of independence. I would definitely vote for the Labour Party in Scotland.”

Dougray Scott, whose new series Crime has just arrived on ITVX, spoke to The Big Issue about the growing inequalities he sees both home and abroad.

“It just pains me to see the amount of poverty that exists in the UK and that the gap between the rich and the poor are getting greater and greater. Austerity always hurts the poorest people in society and got to change.

“There’s a better world out there. There really is. We just haven’t realised it yet.”

Read more from Dougray Scott, coming soon. And never miss out on Big Issue stories by buying from your local vendor, from the Big Issue Shop or taking out a subscription

Irvine Welsh’s Crime can is available to stream on ITVX now.