ALBA is set to hold a special conference in Edinburgh on the “way ahead” for a Scottish independence referendum.
After the Supreme Court ruling that the Scottish Parliament did not have the legislative competence to pass a Referendum Bill, as the constitution is reserved to Westminster, plans for indyref2 to be held in October this year were cancelled.
The pro-independence party will host the one-day conference on the same day that the SNP’s National Executive Council (NEC) will meet to discuss the wording of a motion on independence for the party’s special conference in March.
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Alba has said that the Scottish Government should dissolve Holyrood on the October date if Westminster does not agree to allow Scotland to hold a referendum this year.
It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak refused to set out Scotland’s democratic route to indyref2, and has repeatedly, as have previous Tory PMs, said they would not give permission for a ballot to go ahead.
Commenting ahead of the conference, party leader Alex Salmond said: “Four successive Prime Minsters over a period of six years have spurned four democratic mandates from Scotland at Westminster and Scottish elections for an independence referendum.
“In doing so they have overturned the traditional understanding and acceptance of the United Kingdom as a consented Union between four nations and fatally undermined the UK’s credentials as a liberal democracy.
“Scotland’s current political leadership should be asking serious questions of themselves as to why they have not been able as yet to overcome a British establishment so devoid of domestic authority and international support.
“In 2012 as first minister, I faced down prime minister David Cameron. A decade later why is it a problem overcoming a reduced figure such as Rishi Sunak?
“Today members from across the independence movement will gather to chart the path forward for Scotland.”
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