TORY leadership candidate Andrea Leadsom has backtracked on a promise to "never say never" to granting Holyrood the powers to hold indyref2 if she became prime minister.
At a lunch event with journalists on Tuesday, Leadsom was asked whether, as prime minister, she would accept a Scottish request for Section 30 powers to hold a second referendum.
The Tory MP answered: "All of these things would be up for negotiation. I do believe in sovereignty.
"I don’t think most people in Scotland would want that to happen but I would never say never."
Asked under what circumstances she would back the vote, Leadsom added: “I do not think there should be another independence referendum in Scotland.
“On the other hand I am a big believer in devolution and so I am not going to stand here and utterly rule it out because I think that is disrespectful, but I would very strongly fight against a second referendum.”
However, less than 24 hours later, Leadsom u-turned, tweeting that "There will be no second referendums on my watch - not on Scottish Independance [sic] and not on EU membership. I respect the result of referendums!"
There will be no second referendums on my watch - not on Scottish Independance and not on EU membership. I respect the result of referendums!
— Andrea Leadsom MP (@andrealeadsom) June 12, 2019
The UK Government's current position is that it would refuse any request for the powers to hold a new vote.
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