IT'S an all too familiar Unionist war-cry when anyone comes close to questioning them on the broken promises of the 2014 independence referendum.
"You aren't respecting the results of the vote," they say.
Speaking in the House of Commons, SNP MP Mhairi Black made a compelling case for which side is, in fact, the one failing to respect that referendum's outcome – and it's those who won it.
Black's speech came as part of the debate on Theresa May's meaningful vote, and is already racking up views quickly.
Time is running out for the UK Government in Scotland pic.twitter.com/DATGbaTcso
— Mhairi Black MP (@MhairiBlack) January 10, 2019
In one part of the speech, Black explained: "I often hear members accuse the SNP of not respecting the result of the 2014 referendum or the 2016 referendum. They are wrong, Mr Speaker.
"The key difference between us and those who criticise us that we do not fear referendums, we do not fear democracy, we do not fear holding up our vision and hopes for a better Scotland to the electorate to at least consider – and most importantly, we’re not afraid to learn lessons.
"The very presence of my SNP colleagues and I in this very parliament serves as evidence that we do respect the outcome of referendums. Because when Scotland voted no, we said, okay, we didn’t convince you, that’s fine, so long as Scotland wants to stay in this British union, we will respect that.
"But let us fight to make sure that we get everything that we were promised. If anything, Mr Speaker, it seems that it is the winners of both of these referendums that are terrified of being held to account for the promises that they made."
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Black also brought out a HM Government booklet sent out during the referendum.
She said: "Page one, all the advantages of the pound. That’s the same pound that had an 18-month low. Safe savings and pensions. I wonder if WASPI women will agree with that. We had more support for public services. Followed by an austerity agenda.
"We had the one that I mentioned earlier – 'as one of the EU’s big four nations, the UK is more able to protect Scottish interest in areas like agriculture and fisheries'.
"And on the last page, Mr Speaker, it says we are a successful family of nations.
"Call me biased Mr Speaker, but this doesn’t feel very successful right now. If you’re an EU national, or a nurse, or a student, or you’re working on the minimum wage, I doubt this feels successful. If you’re a lorry driver in Dover, I imagine it feels even less successful."
You can read the full transcript by clicking here.
Black concluded: "This hypocritical double-speak will not wash much longer in Scotland. And like most things on the Government’s plate these days, time is running out. And to be honest, who knows how much longer Scotland is going to stick about."
Scotland has been shamefully sidelined in the Brexit process, and we won't forget it.
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