THE SNP have branded a Labour candidate’s comments “laughable” after he claimed Scottish independence is not an issue for this General Election.
Speaking in George Square after a remembrance ceremony on Sunday, Paul Sweeney, the shadow minister for Scotland, said the question is one that should be instead put at the forefront of the 2021 Holyrood election.
He admitted no government would be able to deny indyref2 if there is another pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament.
Sweeney, who is standing in the Glasgow North East constituency, said: “We’re saying it’s not an issue for this election. Let’s focus on getting a Labour government into power that can invest in our public services.
“The issue of independence can be discussed at the Scottish Parliament elections.”
SNP candidate David Linden commented on Sweeney’s claims.
He said: “Scotland’s right to choose our own future is at the heart of this election – and voters will find it laughable to be told otherwise.
“We already have a mandate to hold an independence referendum. That mandate, endorsed by the Scottish Parliament, was an explicit pledge to hold a referendum in the exact circumstances we now face – where Brexit is imposed on Scotland against our will.
“It is absolutely correct that no UK Government can stand against that – so, by their own logic, Labour are accepting that an independence referendum must happen next year.
“A vote for the SNP is a vote to escape Brexit and put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands.”
Asked if he would be comfortable serving in a Labour government which had granted the Section 30 order needed to hold another referendum, Sweeney said: “Labour is going to be focused on delivering its domestic programme.
“That will restore faith in our communities, it will deal with the economic and social problems that people have to deal with in their everyday lives, not obsessing about nationalism and national borders.
“The reality is this isn’t an issue for this election. The reality is this is an issue for the Scottish Parliament election in 2021.
“We’ve been clear that if a mandate were to happen, then no government in the UK could stand against that, even the Tories have admitted that’s the case.”
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