KEZIA Dugdale has retreated from her claim that she could back Scottish independence if the UK leaves the European Union.

The Scottish Labour leader said yesterday she would "always vote No against independence ... in every scenario”, after previously telling the Fabian Society it was “not inconceivable” she could back independence in the event of a Brexit.

Labour will reject another independence referendum in its manifesto, to be published on Wednesday, but Dugdale said she would not commit to whipping her members to campaign against it.

The manifesto will also oppose Trident renewal, but in a television interview yesterday Dugdale would not say whether she now personally backed the policy after previously being in favour of the nuclear weapons system.

Nicola Sturgeon said she would want to hold another referendum if the UK votes to leave the EU against Scotland’s will on June 23.

She will demand the right to hold a referendum whenever Holyrood chooses, insisting legislation will be necessary “if we were to propose a second referendum in the next parliament, or in the parliament after that”.

Addressing the issue, Dugdale told the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland: “I will always vote No against independence ... in every scenario I would vote No again, because I believe the economic case for independence has fallen apart.”

Dugdale has said previously that she would not block her members from campaigning for independence.

Pressed on the issue, she said: “The reality [is] that something like a third of Scottish Labour voters around the country took a different position from what the party was advocating for in the referendum.”

At its autumn conference last year, Scottish Labour voted to oppose the renewal of Trident despite Dugdale’s support for the UK nuclear arsenal at Faslane.

Yesterday she said: “The difference between the SNP, the Tories and Labour is that while they obsess with personality-style elections, what you have in the Labour manifesto is a set of policies and platforms that have been brought together in a healthy, democratic way.”

She backed the named person law but said she “would pause the introduction of this legislation and ask the Children’s Commissioner to try and rebuild the trust and faith in the idea”.

Sturgeon later told BBC Sunday Politics Scotland: “If we are taken out of the EU against our will I will want to give the people of Scotland the opportunity to protect our EU membership by looking again at the question of independence.”

She said: “It is very highly likely that we will have another referendum in those circumstances,” She insisted a Brexit without Scottish consent would lead to

“an overwhelming demand to look again at the question of independence”.

A new Panelbase poll found Brexit would push support for independence up slightly, but Scotland would remain split down the middle at 50:50.

Sturgeon called politicians that have pledged to block another referendum “objectionable” and “an affront to democracy”.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said the SNP would not have a mandate to hold another referendum in the next parliament as “it’s not in their manifesto”.

“The SNP manifesto, in essence, says that Nicola Sturgeon reserves the right to call another independence referendum as soon as she thinks she can win one,” she said. “I, for one, will be standing in her way.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie told Murnaghan: “The SNP seems to be stuck in the past, reliving the argument over independence. Let’s just move on.”

‘Knives out for Dugdale’ if Labour fall behind Tories at Holyrood