SCOTLAND’S independence aspirations have been displayed on the international stage once again.

Former SNP MP Stephen Gethins has told one of Catalonia’s most read news outlets that in Scotland, “the independence ship has sailed”.

Gethins, a former SNP spokesperson on international affairs, now a professor of international relations at the University of St Andrews, was speaking in an interview with the VilaWeb.cat news website about rising support for independence against a background of the Scottish Government winning praise for its handling of the pandemic, and the possibility of a second indyref.

When asked about the intervention by former Labour PM Gordon Brown, who called for a commission to examine how the country is run and power shared, he said it was an old promise.

“It is Gordon Brown himself who in 2014, before the referendum, said that if Scotland voted No, it would guarantee us more power, as much as possible, as close to the federal state as possible,” Gethins said.

“And it didn’t happen. If you say things that don’t happen often enough, there will come a time when [people] will stop believing you.

“But … even if Scotland takes on more powers and competencies (which no matter how much Gordon Brown says, it’s not on the table) this won’t make Scotland return to the EU.

“They have taken away our European citizenship.”

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Gethins stressed that Scotland had tried to remain in the EU, but had instead been tied to a UK that was becoming increasingly isolated in the world.

He said the Scottish Government had made a commitment in 2016 to stay in the EU post-Brexit.

“We called it Greenland in reverse. Greenland is a part of Denmark that left the EU, and Denmark is not,” he said.

“Could we do the opposite in the UK? One part stays, and the other doesn’t. It was very imaginative, and the EU is famous for [being] imaginative.

“It has happened in East Germany, in Cyprus, in Denmark. But it didn’t happen.

“And now I would say that in Scotland the ship has sailed. The debate over independence in the UK is marked by the decision to leave the EU, by Brexit, which in fact undermines the pact, and the promises made in 2014.

“People are seeing the harm Brexit is doing to the economy and the future of young people, and the growing isolation of the United Kingdom, and I think giving more powers to Scotland doesn’t stop it.”

He added: “People no longer see Britain as a safe option as they believed in 2014.”

Gethins told VilaWeb the Scottish Government’s management of the pandemic had shown people it could handle events of this magnitude as well as, or better than, the UK Government.

That had led to Nicola Sturgeon’s approval rating dwarfing that of the Prime Minister.

It also begged the question: “If we can handle a pandemic better than London, why can’t we handle the rest of the issues better?”

On a second referendum, Gethins acknowledged that support for it is increasing, but said Sturgeon was right to explore all options.

He told VilaWeb: “The party has pledged to hold an internationally recognised and legally binding referendum on Scottish independence.

“The SNP has won several elections, and has been chosen with that promise. I think the last three or four years have changed everything. And support for independence is rising ... I think [Sturgeon] is exploring all the legal options she has.

“And the Scottish Government is looking at areas, under the current circumstances, that the British Government has decided to ignore ... you need legitimacy in the eyes of the population, and in the eyes of international partners.

“Nicola Sturgeon has every right to explore all paths.”