SCOTLAND’S only Labour councillor known to support independence has said the Yes case needs to improve if it is to win next time.
Mary Lockhart, who won a by-election in Fife last summer, said better arguments need to be put forward to address people’s concerns about potential job losses, the economy and fears over pensions.
In her first interview with The National, she argued a stronger economic case for independence needs to be made to win over worried voters.
“The idea of the job losses that there would be at Rosyth dock yard, for instance, and the position on pensions was insecure last time,” she said.
“We need to have different policies on these ... the case needs to be better than it was last time.”
Lockhart said she continued to support independence “as a long-term goal” and backed efforts being made by her party’s Scottish deputy leader Alex Rowley to hold discussion meetings across the country for both Labour and non-Labour supporters to talk about the future of the constitution.
Since Rowley launched his initiative, Scottish Labour have put forward proposals to transform the UK into a federal system, handing increased powers to Holyrood, the Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies, and the English regions.
However, despite this move, Lockhart said she was unsure how successful Rowley’s initiative would be with the wider party.
“I’m glad Alex Rowley is trying to having the conversations he is trying to have but they are not conversations which are being widely welcomed,” she said.
“They seem to be well attended but it’s not my impression they are happening at the echelons of the party that are particularly active at grassroots level. They are happening within a wider Labour-supporting interested population who probably already are predisposed to look at constitutional change.”
Lockhart added that while she continued to support independence since becoming a Labour councillor, she was unsure whether a referendum was the best way to achieve it. She also said she was becoming increasingly concerned about cuts to local services which she had witnessed in her new role in local government.
“I ultimately support Scottish independence but I’m not sure a referendum is the best way to get it nor am I sure there aren’t stages we can go through that would make Scottish independence ultimately more likely, more robust and more consensual. That is the discussion that needs to happen,” she said.
“A big part of my support for independence is because I support decentralisation and I find the current Scottish Government too keen on the centralisation of things that affect people in my ward.
“The ward I represent has massive issues to contend with in terms of poverty, deprivation and housing and things like local government cuts now mean considerably more to me than they did two years ago.”
Lockhart was elected as councillor for The Loch ward with 1,318 votes, beating her nearest rival, the SNP’s Lea McLelland, who received 1,079.
A spokesman for Scottish Labour said: “Mary Lockhart is right to say we don’t need any more referendums. We are divided enough. She is also right to highlight how Kezia Dugdale has outlined a way forward with a people’s constitutional convention to redistribute wealth and power across the whole of the UK.”
A SNP spokesman said: “People from diverse political backgrounds are increasingly looking at the question of independence again — and as Theresa May drags us towards a hard Brexit this will only continue.”
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