WILLIE Rennie has been accused of hypocrisy after saying his party would block indyref2 even if the SNP and Greens win a majority at the next Holyrood election.
His comments came as the Lib Dems adopted a policy of revoking Article 50, stopping Brexit, and overturning the 2016 EU referendum result if they win a majority of seats at the next General Election.
But if even pro-independence parties were to win a majority of seats in Scotland the Lib Dems would still reject a request for a Section 30 order from Nicola Sturgeon.
In an interview with the Herald on Sunday, Rennie said there should not be another referendum in his lifetime.
He said: “We will still stand very firmly against another independence referendum, and we would vote against it at every single opportunity. We were promised it was a ‘once in a generation’ thing.”
Asked whether, in the event of the SNP and Greens winning a majority, it would be legitimate for the UK Government to reject another referendum, he said: “Yes, and we would argue very strongly for that at Westminster. Big bang constitutional change is chaotic, damages the economy, and divides the country.”
When put to him on the BBC’s Sunday Politics Programme that this wasn’t a very democratic position for a Liberal Democrat, the Fife MSP said: “What's democratic is if people vote for the Liberal Democrats and they vote for us in the understanding that we will oppose another referendum or independence then that’s exactly what they’ll get.
The Lib Dems would, he added, “stop independence dead in its tracks.”
The SNP’s, Keith Brown said it was “beyond hypocritical for Willie Rennie and Jo Swinson to call for a second EU vote then stand against people in Scotland having their say.”
He added: “Is it any wonder that support for Scottish independence is now at record levels? We deserve better than what’s on offer from Westminster, and the unionist parties can’t stand in the way of the people any longer.”
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