ONE of the architects of Plan B for independence has said SNP members should have been given the opportunity to debate on the party’s referendum plans ahead of the election.
Councillor Chris McEleny claimed plans to cancel the spring conference and hold an online rally instead means members won’t get a vote on the plan outlined by Michael Russell in January.
Together with Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil, he had called for the coming election to be used as a mandate for independence.
However the 11-point strategy outlined by the SNP sets out that if it wins the election, the Scottish Government will request again from the UK government a Section 30 order.
Even if this is refused, with a parliamentary majority it will introduce legislation to allow a referendum to take place after the pandemic – meaning it will be up to the UK Government to agree to it or take legal action against it.
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McEleny, who is one of the candidates in the Holyrood West of Scotland Regional List, said he believed it is wrong of the party to cancel their spring conference and deny party members the ability to have their choice on what the SNP’s independence strategy should be. He said: “It was welcome that after years of saying the party needed a Plan B for when Boris Johnson said no to a Section 30 order that Mike Russell published a plan of sorts.
“However, his 11-point plan has never been debated by party members nor has it been approved as party policy.
“The party should have welcomed a debate in which we could have debated the merits of turning May’s election into an opportunity to secure a mandate to enter straight into independence negotiations versus the less radical 11 point plan of Mike Russell.”
McEleny, who said several attempts to debate the independence Plan B had been blocked by the party leadership, questioned the reasons for cancelling the Spring conference and said he found it “deeply regrettable”.
More than 1000 members took part in a National Assembly event held by the SNP in January to discuss strategy and the way forward on independence.
Speaking after that event, Keith Brown, the party’s deputy leader and campaign director, said: “We had positive contributions from a wide range of members and constructive debate on the future of the SNP and independence.”
The SNP did not respond to a request from the Sunday National for a response to McEleny’s comments.
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