ONE of Scotland’s new SNP MPs has hit back at David Cameron after he said Scots could not have another independence referendum in the course of this Parliament – or possibly for another 30 years.
Ronnie Cowan, who represents Inverclyde, told The National he believed Cameron’s comments would infuriate Scots and stir up greater demand for another poll on the country’s constitutional future.
He said: “It’s not up to him, it’s up to the people of Scotland but I’m glad he said that, as the more he says that the more people in Scotland will want another one.”
However, Cowan, a member of the SNP’s Constitution group at Westminster who also sits on the Commons’ Select Committee on Public Affairs and the Constitution, said independence supporters needed to be wary of having a second referendum “too soon”.
It was important to get watertight policies on what currency an independent Scotland would use, he added, as well as on our continued membership of the EU in the event of independence.
“We can’t have a second referendum too soon,” he said. “There is too much that needs to be done, too much learning to be done, too much reflection on why we lost it in the first place. We have to do a lot of analysis.”
He added: “You can’t just go along with the idea that the next time we will win it. We have to really understand what happened and get some key policies in place.
“What are we really going to do about the currency?
“We have to talk to people in Europe and get them to understand why we will still be part of Europe. The referendum on
Europe is a key platform to allow us to get that message over.”
Cowan admitted the Yes campaign had “allowed itself to get confused on the currency” and that next time round the campaign needed to be “better informed”. “We need people to realise we are not promising a land of milk and honey,” he added.
“We need to be less Braveheart and more focused on creating a modern, vibrant, 21st-century Scotland. A modern European country much more akin to Scandinavia than anywhere else.”
His remarks followed comments made by Cameron on Monday when he was asked for his views on the possibility of a second vote. He said the result of last year’s vote was “decisive” so there was no need for a repeat.
Under current UK law, the SNP would need the permission of the UK Parliament to stage a referendum and for it to be binding.
But there have been suggestions the party will seek a mandate for a second referendum in next year’s elections for the Scottish Parliament, and then demand Cameron respect the will of the Scottish people.
It has also been suggested that the Scottish Government could stage a referendum in defiance of London and demand secession. Catalonian nationalists in Spain had planned such an indicative referendum but backed down. Speaking to reporters the Prime Minister explicitly ruled out another vote during the course of the Parliament.
“I think it is important that a referendum is legal and fair and properly constituted and that’s what we had and it was decisive so I don’t see the need for another one,” he said.
Asked what would happen if Scotland legislated for a referendum on its own, he said: “I took a very clear approach that these things must be legitimate and that’s my view.”
Later, his spokeswoman was also asked to give Cameron’s view, to which she said the PM believed that “the matter has been settled for a generation”.
Yesterday, the SNP issued a robust response to Cameron’s comments. A spokesman for the party said: “The timing of any future referendum is a matter for the people of Scotland to decide — and not for a Tory Prime Minister to dictate.”
On Sunday, former First Minister Alex Salmond told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show a second public vote on independence was “inevitable”.
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