David Martin A FORMER Labour MEP has said the party should back "independence within the UK" for Scotland. David Martin, who was the UK's longest-serving MEP, said the "crunch point" for indyref2 will come in the next three or four years. He argued Labour should offer a "third way". Writing for the LabourList website, he said: "The majority of Scots now want greater control over their lives. "A radical way to achieve this, and come as close as any proposal can to uniting the country, is to offer independence within the UK. "This would be independence without separation." Mr Martin was an MEP from 1984 to 2019, first for the Lothians and later for Scotland.