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David Coburn (politician)

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David Coburn
MEP
Coburn at the European Parliament in July 2014
Member of the European Parliament
for Scotland
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 July 2014
Personal details
Born (1959-02-11) 11 February 1959 (age 65)
Glasgow, Scotland
Political partyUK Independence Party
EducationUniversity of Leeds

David Coburn (born 11 February 1959) is a British politician and businessman. He was previously an art dealer and a financial trader. Since 2014, he has been a Member of the European Parliament for the Scotland region for the UK Independence Party.

Early life

Coburn was born on 11 February 1959 in Glasgow, Scotland.[1] He attended High School of Glasgow and studied law at the University of Leeds, although he failed to graduate with a degree.[2]

He worked as an art dealer and City of London trader before owning a freight company.[2]

Political career

Coburn contested the seat of Old Bexley and Sidcup in 2010, winning 1,532 votes which put him in fifth place. He also stood in Bexley and Bromley in the 2012 London Assembly election, finishing fourth. When the results of the European Parliament elections were declared, his permanent address was listed as Kensington in London. However, during the campaign he lived in a rented property in Edinburgh.[3][4]

In the 2014 European Parliament election, he was elected as Member of the European Parliament for Scotland.[5] This made him UKIP's second openly gay MEP.[2][6]

Political views

David Coburn describes himself as a libertarian and he has said he will pursue a hardline "libertarian agenda". He also stated that he wanted businesses to be free of interference from government. Coburn favours the legalisation of recreational drugs, believing that banning drugs causes crime.[2] He has spoken out against Scottish independence during an interview on the BBC's referendum flagship show 'Scotland Decides'. During this interview he also claimed that UKIP were the most 'unracist' political party. Despite being gay himself, he feels that gay marriage should not be allowed as it increases homophobia from religious people, and that civil partnerships suffice.[2]

Controversy

In 2015, Coburn compared Scottish government minister Humza Yousaf to convicted terrorist Abu Hamza, later apologising and calling it a "joke". UKIP leader Nigel Farage called it a "joke in bad taste", but a parliamentary candidate in South Northamptonshire quit the party because of "what I can only describe as an Islamaphobic insult, and that's simply not acceptable". EU President Martin Schulz said that the remarks were "not worthy of any elected member".[7]

According to Tasmina Ahmed Sheikh, Coburn repeatedly muddled her name at hustings during the European election campaign, when she was standing against him as the SNP candidate, in a way she described as "sexist – and possibly racist". UKIP's Scottish chairman Misty Thackeray responded by saying "How humourless and thin-skinned are these people trying to make faux outrage stories about a slip of the tongue over a name?...It wasn't mispronounced throughout the entire Euro campaign. It was mispronounced once; if memory serves me correctly, David called her Jasmina".[8]

References

  1. ^ "David Coburn". MEPs. European Parliament. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e Whittaker, Andrew (27 May 2014). "Coburn: I'd legalise drugs, ban same-sex marriage". The Scotsman.
  3. ^ "Ukip's Coburn London-based despite Scots seat victory". The Herald. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  4. ^ "European election results: David Coburn becomes Ukip's first Scots MEP". STV News. 26 May 2014.
  5. ^ "Ukip wins first seat in Scotland". The Scotsman. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  6. ^ Nick Duffy (26 May 2014). "Openly gay UKIP MEP elected in Scotland". PinkNews.
  7. ^ "UKIP candidate quits party over Scottish MEP's 'Abu Hamza' remark". BBC News. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Did UKIP's David Coburn deliberately muddle name of Asian SNP rival in Euro elections?". The Herald. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.

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