SCOTTISH Labour have signalled a major change on their stance on independence after their leader Kezia Dugdale said the party’s politicians should be allowed to campaign in its favour in the event of another referendum.
Dugdale, in a car-crash interview in which she attempted to avoid giving a straight answer, insisted she did not accept that a second vote on the issue was inevitable but would not want to “shut down the debate” if it were to happen in future.
She was responding to former leader Johann Lamont, who said that the party should debate whether to have a free vote in any future independence referendum.
Lamont told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “We know that there were Labour people who supported Yes and we need to understand what that was and have that debate inside the party.
“It is for others to decide whether you then make it a free vote. People clearly exercised their vote in the ballot box anyway. If that’s a debate we should have inside the party, why not?”
During yesterday’s interview, Lamont – who famously said Scottish Labour was treated as a branch office by UK party figures after she stood down as leader following the referendum – said that “on balance” she believed joining forces with the Tories in the Better Together campaign had been the right thing to do, despite Labour’s subsequent disastrous defeat in May’s General Election.
Dugdale told the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland programme that she had a “tremendous amount of respect” for Lamont’s position.
She was asked whether Labour politicians should have a free vote on the issue similar to that allowed in 1979 devolution referendum, in which there were leading figures on each side of the argument.
She said: “I cannot accept that there will automatically or inevitably be another referendum on independence.”
But she added: “I would like to think that people who supported Yes in the referendum and who might have that view again in the future have a home in the Scottish Labour party.
“I want people who voted both Yes and No to see that the Labour Party is the vehicle for progressive change in this country, which is why I am completely comfortable and, in fact, would encourage people who have voted Yes in the past to take a look at our party and see that it is changing.”
Pressed on whether Labour MPs or MSPs should be able to argue for independence, she said: “Yes. Many Labour party members, in fact almost 30 per cent of Labour party supporters, voted Yes. We know that now from all the evidence and I respect that.
“I’m not going to shut down my party’s renewal and debate in my party because people hold a different position round independence. We should have a democratic debate within our party over the big issues of the day, whether that be Trident or anything else.”
Dugdale also told the programme that she was “100 per cent behind” new UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, despite previously saying his election would leave the party “carping from the sidelines”.
She said she did not agree with Corbyn’s position on Trident or on nationalising the energy companies, but was supportive of his plans to renationalise the railways.
The SNP's Linda Fabiani MSP said Dugdale’s comments were “a tacit admission” that allying with the Tories against Scottish independence had been disastrous for the Labour party in Scotland.
“While Labour worked hand-in-glove with the Tories during the referendum and failed to vote against the harshest of Tory cuts, the SNP is standing up for Scotland and leading the opposition to the Tory government at Westminster,” she said.
“With latest polls showing record support for the SNP, it is clear people in Scotland are continuing to put their trust in us as we approach next year’s Scottish Parliament election.”
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said: “Here is another example of Labour waving the white flag when it comes to keeping the UK together.
“The party’s weakness on this key constitutional issue is astounding. This again goes to show anyone serious about honouring the referendum result and preserving Scotland’s place in the UK has to vote Scottish Conservative. We want to speak up for the two million No voters, not ignore them or desert them like the SNP or Labour.”
The National View: Dugdale’s shift on independence is welcome and refreshing
Voters say Jeremy Corbyn's election will not help Labour in Scotland
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