FORMER Labour minister Malcolm Chisholm had said he might vote for Yes in indyref2.
He told the Edinburgh Evening News that independence could even be “inevitable” under the Tories.
Chisholm, who served as Jack McConnell’s Health Minister, said: “I think Brexit and the state of the Conservative party have given a great impetus to the move towards independence.
“I would go as far as to say if we have continuing Conservative governments independence will become inevitable.
“I might in future vote for independence but it would totally depend on what the situation was and what the alternatives on offer were in terms of the UK.
“If we had continuing Conservative Government I think Scotland would vote for independence and I think I would as well – but that’s quite a big ‘if’.”
Chisholm, who was elected MSP for Edinburgh North and Leith at the first elections in 1999 and served until 2016, told the paper that devolution had led to "almost inevitable momentum towards more powers."
"The only question is whether it stops at some sort of enhanced devolution or devo max or whether it goes towards independence. Those are the only two futures for Scotland now really.
But, Chisholm added, a lot depended on what happened at Westminster.
“I think independence is likely anyway because of the way people under 50 vote, but I think a Corbyn kind of government that was actually achieving what it set out to achieve would certainly delay that process – whereas if we have a Conservative government elected – whoever is leader – at the next election, I would say independence is pretty inevitable.
“I’m a big supporter of what Labour is trying to do at UK level – though I’ve been critical of the approach to Brexit.
“[Shadow Chancellor] John McDonnell said the first priority of the Treasury would be to put its full weight behind addressing the climate emergency.
“Some people have moved towards support for independence because they think we could do more on the environmental climate change front if we were independent, but if you had a government in London being radical not just on climate changes but in the wider economy people might think there was a continuing role for Westminster – whereas, faced with Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt, who’s not much better, and Brexit and the possibility if a no-deal Brexit, a lot of people are thinking ‘What is the point of staying connected to that?’”
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