THE SNP’s Westminster leader has said a new independence referendum “has to happen" next year as he appealed to rebels not to disrupt this weekend’s party conference over the issue.
Ian Blackford, who gives the main speech in Aberdeen on Sunday, told the Politico website the party was ready for Indyref2 despite doubts among senior members.
However he said the exact date had to remain a mystery.
Nicola Sturgeon has said she wants another vote in the second half of next year, but has not secured the required powers from Westminster to make it happen.
Nor has she explained if she has a Plan B if the UK Government simply refuses.
READ MORE: 'Declaration of Independence' issued ahead of SNP conference
Mr Blackford said: “It has to happen within 2020. What we don’t want to do at the moment is put a specific date on that.”
However, the lack of detail, and the expectation that the UK Government will continue to block a vote has prompted some in the party to demand an alternative route.
Western Isles MP Angus Brendan MacNeil and National Executive Committee member Chris McEleny have proposed their own Plan B - taking an SNP win in a Westminster or Scottish election as a mandate to start negotiating independence.
According to The National, the pair may try to use a technical device at the start of the conference on Sunday to oppose the agenda unless their idea is debated.
The First Minister repeated her opposition to the idea this week, saying there was no “shortcut” to independence via a Catalan-style wildcat referendum or other mechanism.
She said her party had to “demonstrate majority support for independence in a process that is legal and legitimate”, both in UK law and in the eyes of the EU and the world.
She said: “The SNP could, and has, won a majority of seats in a Westminster [election] on a minority of votes.
“If I wanted to try and argue we wanted to become independent on that basis, nobody in Europe would listen to me in terms of the legitimacy of that.”
Mr Blackford added: “My simple message would be that we have the mechanism which is there for us to get a referendum. So what I would say to everyone is let’s get behind the program that we have got and let’s make sure that we have that referendum.”
READ MORE: Majority now want Scottish independence, says 'phenomenal' new poll
Suggesting the SNP’s price for supporting a Labour government would be Indyref2, he added: “I would say to every possible candidate for PM they have to respect the mandate that we already have, and the Scottish people will be sending SNP MPs back to Westminster to make sure that mandate is delivered upon.
“That for us under any circumstances is non-negotiable.”
Mr Blackford's insistence on a vote next year could also be a sign of nerves that the SNP and Greens may lose their combined pro-independence majority at the 2021 Holyrood election, making Indyref2 impossible.
Pamela Nash, chief executive of the anti-independence group Scotland in Union, said: “The very last thing that Scotland needs is a divisive and unwanted second independence referendum next year.
READ MORE: In full: The signatories of the 2019 'Declaration of independence'
“The Brexit turmoil is causing deep divisions and economic uncertainty, and a referendum on leaving the UK would cause catastrophic upheaval.
“Nationalist politicians need to start listening to the people of Scotland. Barely a quarter back another referendum before 2021, and support for remaining in the UK has risen to 59 per cent. Scotland said no to separation in 2014 and we meant it.
“The best future for Scotland is as part of the UK, growing our economy, ending constitutional division, and investing in public services for the most vulnerable in society.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel