2 days ago
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- The National
'Fed up' Brian Cox hits out at Keir Starmer on BBC Debate Night
The Succession star was speaking as he appeared on the BBC Scotland Debate Night programme on Wednesday evening.
Cox called for more unity of purpose from Scottish politicians and the public more widely.
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'I'm not just talking about parties, I'm talking about the country,' he said. 'I'm talking about this country, which I love, and I'm very proud that I come from this country, but I've seen it time and time again where there's this endless debate: debate this, that, this, that, this.
'I just feel that we need unity, we need unity of purpose, and we haven't got unity of purpose. I'm sorry, but we simply don't.
'We have so much dissension, and we've lost the way really big time, and I feel that we should resume that, we should get it back.'
Cox said he did not know which political party could unite Scotland, but suggested it was 'certainly' not Labour under Starmer.
The actor went on: 'I'm not pleased with Mr Starmer and his attitude towards Scotland, because everything for him is England.
'He talks about England, he talks about English football.'
After applause from the audience, the Dundee-born star added: 'I'm at heart a socialist, so I get, I do really get annoyed when it's not about socialism, it's about something else, and that's what I feel is lacking.
'I'm just, I'm sick of it really, I'm fed up.
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'I come back to this country. I love this country and I see dissension after dissension after dissension, the inability to come together, and it's an appalling situation.'
Asked if pro-independence parties should unite, Cox said: 'Absolutely they should, because it's in everybody's interests.'
Talking about the Labour Government, he added: 'They're not interested in us. I know for a start that Starmer is certainly not interested and doesn't want an independent Scotland.
'He only sees it as a sort of encumbrance to what he is, so I'm not happy about that situation.'
Brian Cox is known for his role as Logan Roy in the smash hit SuccessionElsewhere, Cox, a former Labour supporter, said that the UK Government's attitude to Scotland was 'nebulous'.
'I worry about a lot of things that go on, and I'm particularly worried about the attitude towards Scotland,' he said of the impact of the Spending Review, which Rachel Reeves announced on Wednesday.
Cox went on: 'There certainly should be more detail, but they also should certainly understand what the need of this country is – and that's what gets me.
'It's a bit bland, it's a bit off, you know, just off the cuff, and I really want to see really what they think about Scotland, and I find it a little bit nebulous.'
