VETERAN independence campaigner Jim Sillars has warned that the SNP risks making a “strategic error” if its conference puts off seeking a mandate for a second independence referendum at next year’s Holyrood elections.
The former party deputy leader said he could not understand why the SNP’s standing orders and agenda committee had not included any reference to a referendum on the agenda for its annual conference to be held in Aberdeen in October.
In a letter published in The National tod, he writes: “We have now an abundance of MSPs and MPs and I would have thought the principal political task after looking after their constituents on a day to day basis would be to campaign for independence – to use all the new resources that are available to us to engage in a massive education campaign to persuade a majority of the public that independence is what is required for Scotland.
“That’s my view.’’
Sillars goes on: “To my mind the priority for the independence movement is independence – not to extract one or two morsels to put into the Scotland bill.”
“It is to gain independence as soon as possible, and the only way to do that is by campaigning for it.
“And at the moment there is no independence campaign being conducted by the SNP.”
Sillars argues for a “floating” mandate that would allow the people of Scotland to choose when to have a second referendum, and warned that unless that happened political engagement would be an “empty exercise”.
What started as a “strategic error” this year would become a “strategic blunder” and, with austerity set to bite over the lifetime of this Tory Government, the poorest would pay the heaviest price.
“We’ve got four years to campaign for independence and at the appropriate moment if you have a mandate that’s when you exercise it,” he said.
A spokesperson for the SNP said: “The First Minister has made clear we are not planning another referendum, but equally it is not in the gift of any politician or party to rule it out indefinitely.
“The timing of any future referendum is a matter for the people of Scotland to decide.
“The level of support for a referendum will, in part, be determined by what the Tory government at Westminster does in relation to key issues like the Scotland Bill and the outcome of the EU referendum.
“There is no question that the Tory government’s attitude towards Scotland since the referendum will have many people questioning whether Westminster is capable of representing Scotland’s interests at all.”
MEANWHILE, the SNP annual conference is attracting ‘‘worldwide interest’’, a party source said yesterday.
The source said officials are preparing for their biggest ever event, with upwards of 5,000 delegates expected to attend.
A record number of international visitors are anticipated, thanks to global interest in Scottish politics since the referendum.
The event is scheduled to begin at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre on October 15, finishing two days later.
Party membership figures rose by more than 300 per cent since the referendum, making the party the third largest in UK politics.
The source said: “We are now getting English organisations who have never been to an SNP conference before intending to come and booking space, and the international interest from countries like Catalonia is stronger than ever.”
A party spokesman said: “We’re delighted to welcome those delegates, observers and exhibitors coming for the first time, as well as our regular attendees, to what will be an exciting and inspiring Annual Conference in Aberdeen.”
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