ANGUS MacNeil has said he broke the whip to rebel over a People’s Vote as his party should not be campaigning for a second EU referendum, but fighting for a new independence referendum.

He told The National the SNP should be stepping up the drive to win over people still undecided about independence rather than focusing activity on campaigning for a second EU vote.

Scotland voted to remain in the European Union, all 32 local authority areas voted to remain. The view of the Scottish people is clear. The referendum we should be pursuing is not another EU referendum. It is an independence referendum,” he said. “The motion was only about a public confirmatory vote on the Prime Minister’s deal – remain wasn’t even mentioned.”

He suggested if a People’s Vote took place it could rule out the possibility of a second independence referendum taking place by 2021. “Any new public vote on the EU could take another six to nine months, meanwhile the Scottish Government is three fifths through its time period for its mandate for an independence referendum,” he said.

Asked to comment on the issue that by supporting a second EU referendum, the SNP was trying to persuade remain No voters to back independence, he said: “We pull over no voters by revoking Article 50 and we pull over no voters to independence simply by campaigning for independence. We don’t campaign on another issue like a People’s Vote in the hope that people will then support independence.”

MacNeil and his colleague Pete Wishart, who are the longest-serving SNP MPs, abstained when the option of a public confirmatory vote on the PM’s deal was put to an indicative vote in the Commons on Wednesday night. Both are concerned about the impact it would have on independence. It came four days after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon publicly called for a People’s Vote at the million-strong march and rally in London.

Writing on his blog yesterday Wishart said he “could not in full conscience” support the proposal for a confirmatory vote on Brexit tabled by former Labour minister Margaret Beckett. The idea received the largest number of votes of any of the eight options put to MPs, although it was still defeated 295 to 268.

Wishart said a second vote on Brexit would have similar “serious consequences” for a future independence referendum by setting a precedent. He said it would be an “open invitation” to the UK Government to strike the worst possible exit deal with Scotland in order to stoke resentment and reverse the result.

“In supporting this we might be expected to support a ‘confirmatory’ referendum for any deal we negotiate with the UK to secure our independence,” he wrote. “This would be an open invitation for those opposed to our nation’s independence to try and undermine that result and invite the UK to give us the worst possible ‘deal’ in order to reverse that result.

“There is also the issue that we have not secured any guarantees for Scotland’s position for our unconditional support for this confirmatory vote. There will therefore be those who will insist we respect the result of this confirmatory vote even if Scotland votes to reject the ‘deal’ and the UK votes to accept it.”

Both Wishart and MacNeil, who support remaining in the EU, voted for a motion on Wednesday night to revoke Article 50.

They have previously criticised the idea of a People’s Vote – writing a number of articles setting out their concerns in The National.

Wishart, who was elected in 2001 and is the longest-serving SNP MP, has warned it could play into the hands of Unionists trying to reverse a Yes vote. MacNeil, who was elected in 2005, has also said a People’s Vote is a distraction and the SNP should be focused on achieving independence. The First Minister swung behind the idea of a People’s Vote last autumn.

In an interview with The National last year former minister Alex Neil, who voted Leave, said SNP members had been bounced into the position by the First Minister in an interview ahead of the party’s conference in October.

Toni Giugliano, a former SNP parliamentary candidate in Edinburgh, and a supporter of a People’s Vote, said the strategy the party was pursuing was absolutely right.

“As an anti-Brexit party, then it is absolutely right to be doing everything we can to stop Brexit,” he said.