Can Scotland learn to love Farage?
There's not much that's green in Larkhall, Scotland. So staunchly Protestant unionist is the ex-mining town in South Lanarkshire that it has scrubbed itself of anything associated with Irish Catholicism. The local Subway franchise has grey panelling on its front, and local pharmacies have opted for blue signage. The 15,000-strong area has one football team: Rangers FC. Go deeper into Larkhall's suburbia and you'll find Union Jacks on flagpoles interspersed with those bearing the Red Hand of Ulster. Kerbstones have been painted in the colours of the British flag while rumours abound of youths trying to set fire to the grass. 'In our schools, the wains aren't taught that traffic lights are red, amber and green,' one resident chuckled proudly. 'It's red, white and blue.' He was not joking. Some unsuspecting emerald lights were subjected to £17,000 worth of damage many years ago, and they remain boxed off by wire mesh to this day.
It is in this town, as well as in neighbouring Stonehouse and Hamilton, that voters will head to the polls on Thursday 5 June to choose their representative in the Scottish Parliament, following the passing of SNP incumbent Christina McKelvie in March.
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