THE SNP have piled pressure on Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar to explain his “unequivocal” opposition to indyref2 after his party’s First Minister in Wales, Mark Drakeford, said he believed an election win for a party supporting a referendum would be a mandate to hold one.
Drakeford told Radio 4’s Today programme earlier this month that an election-winning party which included a pledge to hold an independence referendum in its manifesto “would’ve won the right to hold such a referendum”.
Furthermore, the UK party’s leader, Keir Starmer, has said that he will need to “assess the situation” following the Holyrood election on May 6 in order to determine whether a second Scottish independence vote should take place.
READ MORE: 'I want them back in': Anas Sarwar addresses suspended Aberdeen Nine
However, Sarwar, who leads the party in Scotland, has stressed that he is “unequivocal in terms of my position on not supporting a referendum on independence”.
He said that his party was running for election on the promise it would try to prevent both independence and a vote on independence, “and that is the mandate which [any Labour MSPs] will serve in the next parliament”.
The SNP have branded Sarwar’s position a “disgrace” and urged him to explain why he seems to disagree with his party’s leader in Wales.
SNP depute leader Keith Brown (below) said: “Anas Sarwar calls Boris Johnson 'a disaster' but continues to deny the democratic wishes of the people of Scotland to avoid the decisions made by Boris Johnson.
“That is a disgrace and confirms what respected pollster John Curtice has said – that a vote for Labour is simply a vote to allow Boris Johnson and his cronies to continue inflicting damaging policies on Scotland, policies we have consistently rejected.”
Professor Curtice said in March that polling was predicting a small majority for the SNP. In order for this to change, he said, the Tories would have to rely on a number of voters switching from Nicola Sturgeon’s party to Labour, given the very small number of voters who said they would consider switching to the Tories from the SNP.
Curtice said: “The dirty secret of this election is going to be, for the UK Government to avoid the embarrassment of the SNP having an overall majority, they are relying on the Labour Party to deliver it.”
Brown went on: “Mark Drakeford gets it. He respects democracy in Wales and is prepared to defend his country’s right to choose. Anas Sarwar clearly does not believe in democracy and he needs to explain why.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer under fire after flying from London to Scotland for campaign visit
“The majority of Labour’s own members think Sarwar’s stance on indyref2 is wrong. His party is in a mess of its own making and their position cannot hold.
“They say the last UK election gave the Tories a mandate for Brexit yet they brazenly claim a pro-independence majority at Holyrood would not be a mandate for indyref2. That’s not just inconsistent – it is downright dishonest.
“That even the STUC has backed the country's right to hold a second independence referendum shows how out of step Scottish Labour is with its ever-dwindling grassroots support. The democratic wishes of the people of Scotland must be respected.
“By siding with Boris Johnson in attempting to block indyref2, Anas Sarwar is sacrificing the futures of the very people his party should be protecting. That is not just misleading, it is downright shameful.”
A recent poll found that 60% of Labour members across the UK think that Scotland should see a second independence vote if Yes parties return a majority in May.
However, the party’s shadow Scotland secretary Ian Murray MP said that his party was “in complete agreement” in its opposition to indyref2 and independence.
Murray said: “Scottish Labour’s position is crystal clear, we do not support independence or a second referendum.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer branded 'out of touch' after 60% of UK Labour members back indyref2
“Lives and livelihoods are still at risk in this pandemic.
“Welsh and Scottish Labour are in complete agreement - the focus of the next five years must be on recovery from the pandemic.
“Both are opposed to independence.
"Scotland deserves better than politicians trying to divide them by playing cheap political games.”
While both Scottish and Welsh Labour support remaining in the Union, the Welsh party is fielding three openly pro-independence candidates in the Senedd elections, also due to be held on May 6.
Sarwar’s party saw one of their candidates, Hollie Cameron, suspended after she expressed support for indyref2 in an interview with The National.
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