Candidate for Nicola’s No 2 wants a second referendum
A TOP SNP official running to become Nicola Sturgeon’s deputy demanded a second independence referendum within 18 months as splits within the party intensified yesterday.
Chris McEleny urged the First Minister to call another vote before the end of 2019. His intervention means the issue of another poll will dominate the deputy leadership campaign which runs until the party conference in June.
Mr McEleny said he believes the terms of Brexit will be clear by autumn 2018 and will leave Miss Sturgeon with little choice other than to hold a second referendum before the UK leaves the EU.
This comes as Nationalists were accused of ‘turning in on themselves’ by former deputy leader Jim Sillars, with MPs and senior party members arguing on when a rerun of the 2014 vote should be held.
Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart received online abuse from SNP supporters when he advised against rushing into another vote, while Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil also voiced support for a referendum in the next 18 months.
Mr McEleny entered the escalating row by saying another vote on independence should happen by the end of next year.
He is running to be SNP deputy leader following Angus Robertson’s resignation after he lost his seat at the General Election last year. The other contenders are Economy Secretary Keith Brown and party activist Julie Hepburn.
Both have urged the party to prepare for another referendum, but have failed to say when it should be held.
Yesterday, Mr McEleny said that by this autumn the terms of Brexit will be clear. He believes they will be a ‘shambles’ and add to other issues such as austerity, which he thinks would be better managed in an independent Scotland.
He said: ‘I believe Scotland cannot afford to wait any longer to see if things can get better. We’ve been getting sold that message for decades.
‘Simply put, decisions made in Scotland by the people of Scotland are better decisions for Scotland.
‘That is why we should be independent and that is why I believe we should have a referendum on our independence within the next 18 months.’
Miss Sturgeon has said she will revisit the issue of another independence referendum in the autumn.
In recent days, splits within the SNP and the wider independence movement have intensified, with senior MPs debating over the date of any vote and Mr Sillars being forced to call for calm over the issue.
Scottish Conservative chief whip Maurice Golden said: ‘It seems the Nationalist movement can’t hold a line on this crucial subject for even 24 hours.
‘Voters will have been relieved to hear Pete Wishart and Jim Sillars speak an iota of sense on this issue.
‘But that’s now all been forgotten thanks to these interventions – and serves as a reminder that the SNP always has been, and always will be, about one thing only.’