THE SNP has hit out at Tony Blair for saying indyref2 should not take place "unless there is a really big groundswell of opinion for it".
The one-time Labour leader, whose government created the Scottish Parliament, voiced his fears that a fresh vote on independence could "fundamentally" damage the UK.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has already made clear her desire to hold a ballot within the next two years.
The SNP leader cites Scotland being removed from the EU against the wishes of voters in Scotland as grounds for another referendum, arguing this is a "material change in circumstances" from the 2014 vote.
But Blair told The National's sister paper, The Herald: "I don't think we should have one unless there really is a big groundswell of opinion for it and I don't see that.
"To be brutally frank about it, the last thing we need at this moment is another huge dose of constitutional uncertainty, we really would start to damage ourselves fundamentally as a country."
SNP depute leader Keith Brown said Better Together "has been exposed as the myth it always was".
He added: "In 2014 Tony Blair backed the campaign which told the people of Scotland that the only way to protect their place in Europe was to reject independence.
"Five years on and that has been exposed as the myth it always was, with Scotland set to be dragged out of Europe against our will. Independence is now the opportunity to save Scotland from the damage of a Tory Brexit.
"Support for independence is on the rise – as more and more people back the opportunities of taking our future into our own hands, over the chaos of Westminster rule which continues to ignore Scotland's interests."
Blair spoke out in an interview to mark the 20th anniversary of the first Holyrood elections in 1999.
The Parliament came into being after Scots voted for the devolved assembly in a referendum in September 1997 – four months after he was voted in as PM following a landslide Labour victory.
In the interview he stressed he still wanted Scotland to be part of the UK, saying people should "be in no doubt about that".
But he conceded that Brexit was seen by independence supporters as another reason for Scotland to break away from the rest of the UK "If you're a Nationalist, it gives you an additional argument, which is another very good reason, by the way, for not doing Brexit," Blair argued.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel