ANGUS Robertson has insisted there will be a referendum on independence next year.
The Constitution Secretary made the commitment after he was asked if he would redeploy the £20 million set aside in the Scottish Government’s Resource Spending Review for the vote if the timetable slipped.
Nicola Sturgeon has said she wants a vote by the end of 2023, Covid permitting, with Scotland then becoming independent in 2026.
READ MORE: Tom Gordon: Sturgeon is stuck over Indyref2 yet keeps on digging
Boris Johnson has so far refused to grant Holyrood the power it needs to make any plebiscite legally watertight.
Ms Sturgeon has said she will pass a Referendum Bill at Holyrood regardless.
However, there is still no date for the government's Bill on a second independence referendum despite the First Minister saying in January it was just “weeks” away.
Any legislation would then almost certainly be challenged at the UK Supreme Court, either by the UK Government or a private individual.
In an evidence session with the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, Mr Robertson and finance secretary, Kate Forbes, were asked outright if they thought the vote would happen before the end of 2023.
Donald Cameron, the Conservative spokesperson on Constitutional Affairs asked the ministers about what he described as the “vexed question of spending on the independence referendum”.
He said: “I don't think this is the correct time or forum to talk about the rights and wrongs of that, and I don't expect we'll agree on this, but can I ask you, just as a matter of fact, do you think a referendum will happen by the end of 2023?”
Ms Forbes told the Tory MSP: “That is the intention, and certainly that is what we're working towards.”
Mr Robertson took issue with Mr Cameron’s use of the word vexed.
“I'm not sure it is a vexed question. We can differ, of course, as we do, honourably, on how we would vote in such a referendum, but I would hope as democrats, all of us believe in having democratic votes.
“And when governments are returned in elections, on a platform for votes to be held, that we all as democrats should agree that that's what should happen.
“Yes, there's a cost that is associated with referenda. There's costs that are associated with Scottish Parliament elections, with UK Parliament elections.
“Is somebody reasonably suggesting that having Scottish parliamentary elections is a vexed question? I hope not. Are UK parliamentary elections are vexed question? Of course it's not.
“These are democratic votes and as a democrat I respect the results of the Scottish Parliament elections last year that elected a majority of parliamentarians to this parliament.
“The people voted for this, that there should be a vote and a vote there should be and the government has set out its timetable.
“I mean, I would suggest gently to Mr Cameron that it would be helpful if his UK government colleagues were not just as amenable but also as respectful of democratic election outcomes in Scotland as former Prime Minister David Cameron was.
“That would be helpful, because it's not a vexed question. That decision has been made a referendum has been asked for by the electorate, and that's what should happen.”
Mr Cameron said there were questions around the timetable.
“We know that we await a referendum bill, we know that has to be consulted upon, legislation takes time and there is the potential for litigation.
“And it is possible that either the timetable will slip or a referendum won't happen and if that transpires, will you redeploy the funding of £20 million within the culture portfolio given the very significant challenges severe challenges that that that portfolio faces?”
Mr Robertson said there was another option, which is that “Prime Minister Boris Johnson acts in exactly the same way as his predecessor David Cameron acts.”
He added: “Scottish politics is, as this Mr. Cameron on this committee knows, is full of UK government saying no, no, no, yes. And I would invite him to work with me to persuade the UK Government to live up to their democratic undertakings.”
Mr Cameron persisted: “Will you redeploy the funding?”
“We're going to have a referendum,” the minister insisted.
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