One of Ukip’s top candidates in the Holyrood elections has said he wished Nigel Farage had led the Scottish campaign.
Alan Melville, top of the list for the Lothian region, insisted the party would be polling much better if David Coburn had not been at the helm.
Earlier this week, he became the highest-profile party member to call for the removal of Mr Coburn MEP as leader north of the border.
Mr Coburn is standing for the Scottish Parliament in the Highlands and Islands region.
Speaking at the Edinburgh count, Mr Melville said: “I wish we had the English leader.
“If we had had Nigel Farage campaigning as leader in Scotland, our vote share would be around four times what it is now.
“In England we are polling at 20%, in Scotland it’s 3%.”
He denied that was down to a more pro-EU sentiment in Scotland.
He said the worst case scenario in the June referendum was a 40% minimum of Scots voting to leave.
Mr Melville added: “We should be picking up at least 30-40% of that. We should be running at 10-12% and we are not.
“We have got great candidates and great policies, but we are not getting that across to the people.”
The Ukip leadership accused their candidate of attempting to damage the party.
Earlier this week a spokesman said: “Mr Melville has had months to raise any concerns he may have but he has remained silent.
“I think that’s a sign that he is trying his best to damage the party rather than air any genuine concerns, at a time that he should really be telling the public what he can do for them if they elect him.”
