Indyref casts shadow over leader debate
APOSSIBLE second independence referendum dominated the first of the televised leaders debates ahead of the Scottish Parliament election.
Leaders from the five main parties represented at Holyrood took questions from a virtual audience and set out their stall for why people should vote for them.
Questions focused on dealing with the Covid pandemic and building a recovery on health, education and the economy.
The prospect of an independence referendum was never far away from the answers, with Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP and Lorna Slater of the Greens in favour, and Conservative Douglas Ross, Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar and LibDem Willie Rennie opposed.
Sturgeon came under pressure over the SNP’s plan for a referendum in the first half of the next parliament.
She was accused of putting the constitution before Covid recovery.
In stating his ideas for building back, Ross said that jobs and re-skilling should be the most important priority – not a “divisive referendum”.
The Tory leader turned every question into an argument over a referendum. Sturgeon repeated that her focus was on the pandemic and recovery.
She said: “We will continue to suppress Covid to get the economy going again. As we come out of the crisis, what kind of country are we trying to build?”
The SNP leader said if we leave decisions in the hands of Boris Johnson, “the wrong decisions will be taken”.
Sarwar made his case that people wanted to focus on getting cancer treatment and diagnosis back on track.
He said he recognised Covid has put pressure on services, but that “cancer remains Scotland’s biggest killer”.
He added that support is needed to get economy back to pre-Covid levels, rather than “arguments about a referendum and leave or remain”.
Greens co-leader Slater called for the climate crisis to be the “number one priority”, with emissions needing to be “driven down as far as possible”.
LibDem leader Rennie said: “We need to put divisions behind us. After the dreadful year we have endured, I want to spend every single day of the next parliament putting recovery first.
“That means cutting mental health waiting times, helping young people bounce back in education, creating jobs and taking action on the climate. It’s not the moment for another referendum.”
On climate change, Ross turned to the constitution again.
He said that UK Government plans for jobs in renewables and a transitioning economy were at risk with plans for a second independence referendum.
Sarwar said: “Let’s not have a parliament that’s against things.
“We can’t just have a group of Tories who only want to shout about division and not have any plans.”