RATHER than asking the Scottish people for their position on independence the Unionist side should wait until everyone is “fed up” with the debate, Murdo Fraser has suggested.
The Tory MSP made the comment during a brief appearance on GB News on Tuesday afternoon.
Fraser had been brought on to discuss the polling which suggested that removing Boris Johnson as Prime Minister could actually boost support for independence.
A YouGov poll conducted for the pro-Union group These Islands implied that installing either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss in No 10 – the two current frontrunners – would actually lead more Scots to support independence.
READ MORE: 'No' side benefits from increased 'don't knows' in new independence poll
Asked about the results, Fraser said they should be taken with “a pinch of salt”.
“I can well remember pre-Brexit there were lots of polls saying if Brexit happened, there will be a surge in support for independence. There were lots of polls that said if Boris Johnson became prime minister, there'll be a surge in support for independence.
“Now we’ve been told that if Boris Johnson leaves as Prime Minister, there’ll be a surge in support for independence. So I think perhaps we should take all this with a pinch of salt.”
He was then challenged on whether the question of independence “is going to remain at the forefront of Scottish politics until, frankly, there is another referendum”.
“Until there's no referendum or until people just get fed up with hearing about it,” Fraser replied.
He drew a comparison to Quebec, in Canada, saying: “After they had the referendum in 1995 people just got so fed up about the constitutional question that they turned off the then separatist party in Quebec.
“I think we may well see something similar in Scotland.”
Fraser failed to mention that the 1995 Quebec referendum was the second independence vote that the Canadian province had held.
The Tory MSP was then questioned on his stance on the Prime Minister, considering his recent calls for Johnson (below) to step down for the role.
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross was branded “spineless” after he U-turned and retracted a letter of no confidence he had submitted in Johnson’s leadership.
Fraser was asked if this position was permanent or if the Scottish Tories would once again call for Johnson’s head once the crisis in Ukraine had subsided.
He told GB News: “Douglas Ross has withdrawn his letter calling on the Prime Minister to resign and asking for a leadership challenge. I think that's the right stance to take at the present time.
“We are in a very serious international situation. I think changing our leadership right at the moment would not make any sense.”
He did not have the opportunity to speak any further as GB News cut off the interview in order to broadcast Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech to the UN Security Council.
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