NICOLA Sturgeon is being urged to include an explicit reference to European Union membership in the wording of a second referendum on Scottish independence in a bid to increase support for a Yes vote.
The idea is being put forward by former SNP parliamentary candidate Toni Giugliano who wants the “indyref2” question to read: “Should Scotland remain in the European Union as an independent country?”
Giugliano, who stood for the SNP in Edinburgh Western at the Holyrood elections in May, said an opportunity existed for the Yes movement to win over some of the 55 per cent of people who backed a No vote in 2014 but who were among the 62 per cent of Scots who voted to remain in the EU in June while the UK as a whole voted to leave.
“Europe is the mandate for a second independence referendum and it would be ludicrous for us to give up on the opportunity to win over some No voters who strongly favour remaining in Europe,” he told The National.
“I was observing the vote in Edinburgh Western on 23 June. People in Blackhall and Cramond did not vote for me largely in the Holyrood elections. They voted for the Liberal Democrats, but they overwhelmingly backed the remain case in June – by up to 80 per cent in some areas – and I believe some of these voters could be persuaded to back a vote for Scottish independence if this allowed Scotland to remain in the EU.”
He spoke out after a poll by YouGov at the end of last week disappointed Yes supporters as it showed that a majority of Scots – 53 per cent – continued to back staying in the UK, while 47 per cent favoured becoming independent.
“I believe the reason why support for independence is not substantially higher is because we have not addressed the issues that lost us the 2014 referendum. We need to be able to give people clear answers to, for instance, what currency an independent Scotland would use, and put the case that oil is not going to be a determining factor on the country’s economy long-term as we have a massive renewable energy sector,” he said.
“Alongside that we need to be making the case much stronger about the damaging impact on Scotland’s economy of leaving the EU – the loss of payments to farmers, the loss of structural funds, the loss of access to the single market.”
He added that he would seek to have the precise wording of the “indyref2” question raised at the SNP’s ruling National Executive Committee meeting if elected to the group in October.
The First Minister has said a second independence referendum is most likely because Scots voted to stay in the EU, and the whole of the UK voted to leave.
She has said she will look at “all options” to retain Scotland’s links with the EU and has set out five conditions, including protecting Scotland’s economic interests, which must be met in the Brexit negotiations to stop a second independence referendum.
On Saturday some 5,500 people, many carrying EU flags, took to the streets of Glasgow demanding a second independence referendum.
EU nationals, not eligible to vote in June, were among those who took part in the march from the Botanic Gardens in the West End to George Square, in the city centre.
Many of those participating in the demonstration said they wanted a second plebiscite before the UK pulls out of the EU.
Following the EU referendum, the First Minister set up an advisory group on Scotland’s relationship with the EU, led by Professor Anton Muscatelli of Glasgow University, and last week said independence within the EU could offer Scotland the “greatest economic stability” over the long term.
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