THE leader of Scottish Labour has insisted there will not be any deals or pacts with the SNP in Westminster after the election.
Richard Leonard categorically ruled out any deal with the Nationalists if Jeremy Corbyn fails to secure a majority.
It came after Nicola Sturgeon opened the door to a DUP-style “confidence and supply” arrangement with Labour in exchange for an independence referendum.
Mr Leonard said a minority Labour administration would put its agenda before the Commons, and if the SNP then voted that down “they would have to answer to the people of Scotland”.
READ MORE: Ex-Labour MP quits parliament - and tells voters to back Tories 'to keep Corbyn out'
He said: “There will be no deals with the SNP. There is no pact with the SNP, there will be no deals with the SNP, there will be no coalition with the SNP.
“We’ve said that we are standing in this election to form a majority Labour Government.
“If we are a minority Labour Government, we would draft a Queen’s Speech and it would then be up to the SNP whether they voted for that progressive, transformative Queen’s Speech or not.
“And if they did not vote for it, they would have to answer to the people of Scotland why they did not vote for it.”
A Scottish Labour spokesman said this was also the position of the UK party, and pointed to comments made by shadow chancellor John McDonnell earlier this week.
Mr McDonnell also insisted there would be no “pacts or coalitions with the SNP”.
There has been widespread speculation the SNP would agree to prop up a minority Labour administration in exchange for a second independence referendum.
Ms Sturgeon has rejected the idea of any formal coalition with Mr Corbyn if he fails to secure a majority on December 12.
However, she has not ruled out a looser, “confidence and supply” arrangement in return for another independence vote.
Following the 2017 election, the DUP agreed to prop up Theresa May’s Government under such a deal, with the Northern Irish party supporting the Conservative administration on key issues.
READ MORE: Neil Mackay: A new vision for Scottish independence: how we can change our broken politics
Mr Leonard addressed the issue as he launched Scottish Labour’s general election campaign in Maryhill in Glasgow.
He insisted a radical and redistributive Labour government would “eclipse the SNP’s case for the establishment of a separate Scottish state”.
And he said he did not believe the SNP has a mandate for another independence referendum.
He added: “The election of a Labour government in December will mean that by the middle of next year, the people will have a choice in a Brexit referendum.
“The premise currently of the SNP’s call for a second independence referendum is Brexit.
“In six months’ time, seven months’ time, we could have a Remain vote in a Brexit poll of the people, which will take away that argument completely.”
Over the weekend, shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said Labour would not stand in the way of another independence vote.
She told Sky News on Sunday: “After the next Scottish Government elections, if the Scottish Government determine they want to pursue another referendum and they go through the legislative process within their own Government to push that forward, than as a government we wouldn’t stand in their way.”
However, Mr Leonard said the SNP did not currently have a mandate and added: “Neither do I think after the 2021 elections will the SNP have a mandate in the future. Our policy is that we are opposed to independence, we are opposed to a second referendum.”
He said Scotland “has the power to decide if Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn is in Downing Street by the end of the year”.
And he argued the election is about who governs the country, adding: “It is not a proxy vote on constitutional arrangements, and any attempt to reduce it to that is to turn our backs on the real needs of all of those millions of working people whose standard of living has been squeezed for ten long years.”
Mr Leonard said a UK Labour government would fund the building of 120,000 homes at council and social rents in Scotland.
However, as this issue is devolved, such a policy would rely on the Scottish Government agreeing to deliver it.
Addressing Scottish Labour activists, Mr Leonard said: “To anyone who says this policy is not deliverable, I say this.
“You are letting the SNP off the hook.
“Today I am challenging Nicola Sturgeon to commit to delivering this programme if a UK Labour government is elected on December 12 or face the wrath of the people of Scotland.”
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