ONE of Labour’s most high-profile MSPs has insisted the party should “positively support” a second independence referendum if there is a majority for it at the next Holyrood election.
Neil Findlay said Scottish Labour should argue for a third option on the ballot paper based on home rule or “devo max” and said it had so far been “lazy, curmudgeonly and out of touch” on the issue, with its head in the sand.
In a new pamphlet, he writes: “Labour must play an active and positive role; we cannot be sour, passive bystanders.”
Scottish Labour has been mired in controversy over its stance on a referendum since last summer, when shadow chancellor John McDonnell said a Labour Government would not block a second independence poll.
This contradicted Scottish leader Richard Leonard, who had repeatedly insisted his party would refuse to grant a Section 30 order to give Holyrood the power to hold another vote.
Following the SNP’s strong performance in December’s general election, senior Scottish Labour figures have called on the party to rethink its opposition to a referendum.
Mr Findlay – a close ally of Mr Leonard and UK leader Jeremy Corbyn – previously warned his party faces "oblivion" unless it comes up with a credible alternative to independence.
He also said: "We cannot deny the people of Scotland a second referendum where the majority is calling for it."
Now the Lothian MSP, who is standing down at the 2021 election and is the party's former Brexit spokesman, has penned a new pamphlet calling on Labour to “take its head out of the sand”.
He insisted the party “cannot ignore or wish away constitutional realities a second longer”.
He wrote: “The issues of democracy, accountability, independence, devolution and regional and national identity are whether we like it or not, the issues that dominate the Scottish and increasingly, the UK political landscape.”
In a scathing assessment of Labour’s current position, he added: “We need a positive, coherent, practical package of reforms that we can put to the people now – at present we are not even on the pitch, never mind in the game.
“On this issue Labour has been lazy, curmudgeonly and out of touch.”
Mr Findlay said he had long argued for a third option in any future constitutional ballot – “an option that is not the status quo, nor independence”.
He said: “That option should be based on the maximum practical and beneficial devolution of powers to the most appropriate level – subsidiarity as it used to be called.”
He insisted this is not a “cop out, a half-way house or a compromise, it is the most logical, practical and beneficial proposal for Scotland’s long term economic, social and political stability and well-being”.
He added: “In addition to this we should accept that once we know the outcome of Brexit and if there is a Scottish parliamentary majority for a referendum then there should be one.
“Indeed, if Labour has a credible, coherent plan to put to the people then we should positively support that referendum and participate in it arguing for this devo max or home rule plan (these are not titles I like but will work with for now) to be on the ballot paper as a third option.”
Mr Findlay argued any new constitutional arrangement resulting from a referendum “must be put back to the people of Scotland so they have the final say on accepting or rejecting that change”.
He said: “This is a positive and optimistic path for Labour to follow. It sees us as participants bringing something new and workable to table.
“Let’s end the stalemate and move on constructively with a real offer to the Scottish people.”
Elsewhere, the MSP argued for reform of local government in England and the wider UK “to give the nations and regions of the UK the powers needed with a major programme of democratic reform — no ifs, no buts”.
He said drug policy is an example of an area where powers should be fully devolved.
Meanwhile, the UK should have control over wider immigration policy, with “flexibility to meet national and regional needs” as required.
The SNP welcomed Mr Findlay’s comments.
The party’s Tommy Sheppard MP said: "A growing number of senior Labour figures are clearly fed up of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Tories, and recognise the need for a referendum on Scotland's future.
"Sensible people within Labour now realise that their current position is not only undemocratic and unsustainable, it's entirely counterproductive.
"While Labour may take a different position on independence, it's clear that blocking Scotland’s right to choose is completely untenable.”
A Scottish Labour spokesman said: “Richard Leonard has set out a progressive vision of a Home Rule Scotland in a federal UK including the transfer of powers from Westminster and Brussels to Holyrood, the abolition of the House of Lords and the creation of a Senate of Regions and Nations.
"This document is not an expression of Scottish Labour policy, but Scottish Labour always welcomes the views of our members and their contributions to the debate.”
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