ANAS Sarwar has said he would prefer the UK was still in the European Union, but that it would be "inconsistent" for him to back a new vote on rejoining the bloc while opposing indyref2.
The comments came as he appealed to independence supporters to back his party at the next election.
Speaking to BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, the MSP said his party had made steep progress in the polls but were “far from complacent”
“Two years out, we need to make an appeal directly to people who may have supported independence in the past, who may have supported the SNP in the past, by saying directly to people that I don't think there's a majority in favour of independence, I don't think there's a majority that want a referendum next year, but neither is the majority for the status quo.
“There is a majority for change, and the change on offer in 2024, that next general election, will be Labour.”
He said Labour would require slightly more than one in ten of all SNP voters to switch to make “significant gains” in the next Westminster and Holyrood elections.
“I say directly to people that perhaps supported Labour before, perhaps support the SNP now, perhaps support independence before, maybe even still support independence, I'm being direct and honest with them, I don't support independence. I don't support a referendum.
“We may disagree on the final destination for Scotland, but what we can all agree on is that this is a rotten, immoral, economically illiterate Tory government.”
On Saturday at the SNP's conference in Aberdeen, the SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford attacked Labour over their position on Brexit.
Sir Keir Starmer has said the party will no longer seek to rejoin the EU.
In his speech to delegates, Mr Blackford described Labour as a “Brexit-backing democracy-denying Tory-enabling party”.
Mr Blackford said: “When it comes to Brexit, I'm afraid I can only think of one sentence more ridiculous than the Tories’ ‘get Brexit done’ and that's Labour's new slogan ‘make Brexit work’.
“Never before have so few words made so little sense."
Asked about Labour's position on Brexit, Mr Sarwar said: “I think it would be inconsistent for me to say, let's not go back to the old arguments and have a second independence referendum, but let's instead go back to the old arguments and have a second Brexit referendum.”
He added: “I would prefer the UK was still in the European Union. But the reality is, the choice at the next election is going to be a UK Tory government that is deliberately picking fights with the European Union in order to cover for their own failures and fight their culture wars, or a UK Labour government that is proactively going to work with the European Union in the national interest to help opportunities, help our economy and help create jobs in this country.
“That is a very different thing.”
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