FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon has vowed she’ll stick to her indyref2 plan as the Tories accuse her of distracting mandarins from the fight against coronavirus.
The SNP leader said she’d ensure the timing is right and hit out at the Conservatives “disgraceful” decision to “plough ahead” with Brexit as the pandemic rages.
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross and his LibDem counterpart Willie Rennie each called on Sturgeon to abandon her referendum plan despite 17 polls showing a Yes majority.
MSPs have already passed the Referendums (Scotland) Act which governs polling rules, but they must agree another Act on the date and wording for any ballot. In her latest Programme for Government, Sturgeon said she’d publish a draft bill on those details, “taking account of the development of the Covid-19 pandemic”, before the next election in May.
Yesterday Ross called that aim “absurd” and accused Sturgeon of diverting civil servants from the Covid fight, while Rennie said: “If the country is to be locked down, so should the campaign for independence.”
But in a strongly worded salvo, Sturgeon’s spokesperson told The National: “No-one is proposing holding an independence referendum in the middle of the pandemic – unlike the Tories, who have disgracefully ploughed ahead with Brexit amid the Covid crisis.
READ MORE: 'Truly out of touch': Tory MP suggests £170 champagne to tackle lockdown blues
“It is not for the Tories, or the LibDems – who are now a pro-Brexit party – to dictate to the people of Scotland what choices they should have over the nation’s future. That will only be decided by the people themselves in the coming election.
“We have a Programme for Government commitment to publish a bill before the end of this current parliament, to set out the terms of a future referendum clearly and unambiguously. Such a referendum will allow the people of Scotland to choose who is best to lead them out of the current crisis and to oversee the rebuilding of the country after the pandemic.”
Earlier, Ross urged the Scottish Government to drop its referendum aim because “so many other more important topics need parliament and government’s attention”, saying: “There is so little time left in this term and the parliament’s essential work will clearly be limited by the impact of Covid-19 restrictions.
“It would be irresponsible in the extreme to keep diverting precious time and civil servants’ attention away from the most important issues – like the vaccine delivery, education and protecting jobs – and onto another divisive referendum instead. We can’t waste time on the same constitutional arguments of the last 13 years.”
And Rennie accused Sturgeon of “copying” Boris Johnson’s Brexit pursuit, saying: “That is the wrong priority for government. That work and any other work on independence should cease without delay.”
SNP MP Stewart McDonald said that “in a crowded field”, Ross “has some brass neck to have a go at anybody when it comes to focusing on the job in front of them” due to his football work.
The comments came after Sturgeon told Channel 4 News she “put campaigning and planning for an independence referendum on hold” at the outset of the health crisis, saying: “As we start to recover from this, all societies, all countries are asking themselves ‘what do we want to recover to, what changes do we want, what kind of countries do we want to be?’
READ MORE: Labour MSP forced to drop BBC radio attack line after Nicola Sturgeon tweet
“It’s an opportunity to tackle some of the deep-seated issues and problems like inequality and poverty and for Scotland that involves the consideration of who holds the levers, where do the powers lie? And that of course brings to the fore the question of independence, being in charge of our own future – part of that, becoming again part of the European family of nations.”
Sturgeon added: “That’s not a distraction from that process of recovery, that’s part and parcel of making sure we are deciding as a country in Scotland what we recover to.”
Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “I’m not sure we need advice from the football referee and part-time politician Douglas Ross.”
He continued: “He may not have had his eye on the ball, but his party colleagues have consistently prioritised the constitutional vandalism of Brexit ahead of any other issue over the last year, while also setting out to wreck devolution.
“Only the people of Scotland have a right to determine Scotland’s future, and it’s clear that a growing majority of them support independence.
“That’s before the campaign even begins.”
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