FORMER SNP MP Kenny MacAskill has suggested Home Rule for Scotland could provide a “constitutional impasse” in a “divided” country.
The Alba representative said while he remains committed to sovereignty for Scotland, “something needs to be done to break the logjam” of constitutional politics.
Writing in the Scotsman, the former SNP justice secretary acknowledged the concept is not without its “difficulties”, citing his desire for the country to have power over defence and foreign policy, the removal of nuclear weapons and membership of EFTA or the EU.
READ MORE: Alba: Neale Hanvey and Kenny MacAskill replaced on Westminster committees
However, he added: “That said we’re at a constitutional impasse in Scotland where not only is the nation deeply divided, as polls continually show, but Scottish politics is stultifying as a result of it.
“Indyref2 remains the main debate yet has been rejected by Westminster and deferred indefinitely by Holyrood.”
The SNP and Green manifestoes both pledged to holding a referendum in the next parliament, though some independence activists want the vote to be prioritised.
READ MORE: Scottish election came 'too soon for Alba', Kenny MacAskill says
MacAskill’s party, Alba, had called for negotiations with Westminster to begin immediately after the May election in their manifesto.
“Something needs to be done to break the logjam and move the country on, as the weekly cycle of ‘we demand it’ and ‘you’re not getting it’ is doing no-one any good,” the MP wrote. He called for people to “think outside the box” during the time of coronavirus.
“It’s clear that there’s dissatisfaction in Scotland with the status quo and disinterest in the UK with the issues facing Scotland,” MacAskill added. “Let Scotland get on with addressing those social and economic problems, as Jimmy Maxton once passionately demanded a century ago. It would show willing from Westminster in taking cognisance of Scottish democracy.”
The MP’s comments sparked a row on social media, with some independence supporters criticising the position. MacAskill has long suggested that his former party were not pushing self-determination hard enough.
“People who left the SNP for a party that *supposedly* would offer a greater push for independence are now themselves turning away from independence,” wrote WG Saraband. “You just can't make this stuff up.”
“So much for #Alba party supporting independence. Gordon Brown would even be proud of this position,” wrote SNP MP Chris Law.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon denies £600,000 has 'gone missing' from SNP accounts
Others felt the possibility was reasonable to debate. “He makes a good point though, and Home Rule is probably more realistic in the medium term,” wrote one supporter.
“Read the article please, it is a guy giving an opinion on what happens when, we ask they refuse,” added another. “No ‘We have the moral high ground’ against a government that could neither spell Moral or High Ground. Just a suggestion of a compromise, of the way it should have been two equals.”
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