LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn was in Glasgow yesterday for the last leg of his three-day whistlestop tour of Scotland – but avoided the thorny issue of Scottish independence until he was put on the spot by reporters.
The possibility of indyref2 has divided the party, with Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell saying recently they would not stand in the way if there was a mandate for another referendum, in direct contradiction to the policy of Scottish Labour and its leader Richard Leonad.
Leonard was at the Alive and Kicking Project centre in Springburn to hear Corbyn support yet another line on independence.
Last week, Corbyn and Leonard announced they had reached agreement that Labour would rule out a second independence referendum during the “formative years” of a UK Labour government. They would not, however, block it forever.
Corbyn told the audience at Springburn yesterday: “An incoming Labour government would not want, or welcome, or support an independence referendum in Scotland.
“Our total priority would be focused on investment in Scotland, tackling poverty in Scotland and bringing better quality jobs and employment to Scotland. And that is what we would absolutely focus on and counsel very strongly against, holding another independence referendum, because I do not believe that is a priority or would deal with the economic or social problems the people of Scotland face.”
READ MORE: If Jeremy Corbyn needs the SNP he’ll ghost Scottish Labour
Scottish Labour leader Leonard unsurprisingly took the opportunity to highlight the threat of what he described as “dangerous nationalism” both north and south of the Border. Leonard said: “We must take on and defeat not only Scottish nationalism but the English nationalism of Boris Johnson as well. Because we are witnessing not only the abandonment of conservatism and Unionism but now the abandonment of parliamentary democracy itself. And we see the rise of a new and dangerous string of nationalism.”
He added: “We need to stop dividing people on nationality and start uniting them on the basis of cuts.”
Corbyn focussed yesterday on Westminster politics and Brexit, laying out his plan to push for a general election once the UK Parliament resumes next week to oust Johnson’s Tory government.
Labour currently sit 12 points behind the Conservatives in the polls, while Corbyn lags well behind Johnson when it comes to who the public think should be Prime Minister. Corbyn said that this week is the last chance to prevent a No-Deal Brexit. He added: ‘‘We will do absolutely everything we can to prevent a No-Deal Brexit and the Prime Minister taking us into the hands of Donald Trump and a trade deal with the USA. That is the real agenda of the Prime Minister.’’ He said there was “a lot of work being done in preparation for next Tuesday’’, when Parliament is scheduled to briefly reconvene after the summer recess.
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