The foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has said Theresa May will “of course” refuse permission for the Scottish government to hold another independence referendum. Hunt addressed an audience at Glasgow University during a visit to Scotland on 7 March. But that’s not all. During Prime Minister’s Questions on 6 March, May also claimed the SNP had no mandate for a second vote.
But the BBC‘s Glenn Campbell took to Twitter to highlight what the SNP had put in its 2016 Holyrood and its 2017 Westminster manifestos:
At #PMQs, @theresa_may told @KirstySNP she had “no mandate” to pursue independence. Here’s what @theSNP put in their 2016 Holyrood and 2017 Westminster manifestos… pic.twitter.com/4buzNmPz77
— Glenn Campbell (@GlennBBC) March 6, 2019
It would, therefore, appear that the SNP has every right to pursue independence. After all, it won both the 2016 and 2017 elections in Scotland.
Don’t block Indyref 2
It’s expected that Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon will make an announcement over the timing of another independence referendum in a “matter of weeks”. But if May is to ‘block’ another Indyref, she’ll be going against the advice of Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson. As reported in the Telegraph in July 2016, Davidson said another vote should not be refused by a UK prime minister. The Scottish Tory leader said, “I have never said it should be denied, I didn’t say it the last time either”. Davidson needs to have a serious word with May.
Labour is at it too
It’s not just the Tories blocking Indyref 2; Labour is at it too. Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard appeared to suggest a UK Labour government would not agree to Indyref 2. In a so-called “car crash interview” on BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland, Leonard also claimed there is “no appetite” for another vote on independence. But support for Scottish independence sits at 47% with the ‘don’t knows’ removed. Interestingly, support for Labour in Scotland has fallen to 22%. To put that in context, that is 15% lower than the SNP and 5% less than the Tories. So one thing is crystal clear – there is no appetite for a Labour government in Scotland.
Running scared
Both May and Leonard are running scared. Amongst the chaos of Brexit, which Scotland didn’t vote for, and the outright contempt shown to the devolved parliament by Westminster, Scotland deserves to have the choice that Indyref 2 offers.
The SNP has a cast iron mandate. And in March 2017, the Scottish parliament voted in support of holding Indyref 2. It’s time to let the people of Scotland have a say on their own future – not a blue or red party controlled from Westminster.
Featured image via: The Sun/YouTube and Scottish Parliament TV
