SCOTLAND would have the right to a second independence referendum if the SNP win an outright majority at a Holyrood election, a senior Scottish Tory has said.
Stephen Kerr, the party’s chief whip, made the comments at the Scottish Conservative’s conference, which is taking place in Aberdeen this weekend.
The Holyrood parliament is elected on a proportional representation system, which is designed to reflect the reality of the votes cast in the number of MSPs returned.
Westminster however uses a First Past the Post system, which is designed to create majorities in Parliament, often ones which are not representative of the vote at large.
The current Tory government in Westminster won an election which saw Boris Johnson (below) win a majority of around 80 seats, despite only getting 43.6% of the vote.
In 2021, the SNP won 64 seats at Holyrood (one short of a majority) with a higher share of the constituency vote (47.7%).
Asked why the bar should be different south and north of the Border, Kerr told the Scotsman: “There isn’t necessarily a different bar but it has to be realised that issues relating to the constitution are reserved and therefore it isn’t a straightforward matter.
"Our position remains that the SNP tested their manifesto commitment for a second independence referendum and they didn’t win a majority.
"All of the subsequent polling has shown, as highlighted by today’s poll in The Scotsman, that there is no appetite for this. It’s just not the will of the Scottish people.”
The poll to which Kerr was referring suggested that, if a Holyrood election were held tomorrow, the pro-independence majority would grow even larger, although both the SNP and the Tories would lose seats.
Kerr went on: “The SNP would need to get a majority in the Scottish Parliament as far as I am concerned.
"That would need to become the basis on which any future discussion we have, but I think Alister Jack has been quite clear in many respects about this issue as well.”
The chief whip also addressed his party leader Douglas Ross’s decision to U-turn on calls for Boris Johnson to step down.
Kerr said Ross’s decision had been a personal one, and also that the Scottish Tory group at Holyrood was told “not as quickly as I would have liked them to be told”.
Kerr declined to say if he believed Johnson was fit for office, saying: "We’ll come back to all of that stuff, we’ve got to get through this global crisis [in Ukraine].”
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