SNP's Angus Robertson opposed Tory claims of no mandate for a second independence referendum saying "if people vote for something, that’s what should happen."
Mr Robertson rejected the argument advanced by the Conservatives that if the SNP did not obtain a majority in the Scottish Parliament they would not hold a mandate for a second independence referendum.
The newly elected MSP for Edinburgh Central was quizzed about the possibility of holding the referendum if the party did not secure at least 65 seats.
He told the BBC: “The key thing in a democracy is ‘is there a majority in the parliament for something?’
“Normally when a political party wins an election the parties that lose, they concede and they wish you the best of luck in government and they insist that you deliver on your manifesto commitment.”
He added: “I look forward to delivering our manifesto commitments, it’s what the people voted for and if there’s a majority in favour of independence, that also counts, that’s the way democracy works.
READ MORE: Scottish election LIVE as SNP majority on knife-edge on second day of counting
“I think democracy is quite important and it would be really good if all parties helped to the standards of normal democratic decision-making and if the people have sent a majority into Scotland’s parliament saying that as we emerge from covid that there should be an independence referendum.
“That’s exactly what should happen and in a democracy, if people vote for something, that’s what should happen.”
Mr Roberston said the party will be putting forward legislation to trigger a Scottish referendum on independence and he would expect support from democrats everywhere, independently of political affiliation.
He also encouraged the media to hold politicians to “the high standards of respecting democracy”.
READ MORE: Scottish election results: Live updating maps and charts as results begin
In response to the Conservatives pushing back on Scottish independence, he said: “We are actually talking about the notion that a UK PM that goes around the world talking about being a beacon of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, is going to block democracy in a constituent nation of the United Kingdom, really?
“Is that what we have to expect from the UK PM? It would extraordinary and totally unacceptable if he did that, the consequences of which of course are fundamentally negative for the United Kingdom.”
Mr Robertson won the seat which had been held by former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson yesterday.
He overturned a Conservative majority of 610 in the seat, winning 16,276 votes, giving him a 4,732 majority over the Tories' Scott Douglas.
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