MacAskill attack over Indyref demand

A FORMER Nationalist minister has attacked Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to push for a second independence referendum and expressed concerns about growing splits within the party.

Kenny MacAskill condemned the First Minister’s decision last year to demand a rerun of the 201 vote.

He also said there are growing divisions within the party, which have replaced the previous ‘iron self-discipline’.

The former justice secretary said Miss Sturgeon’s referendum demand was ‘premature, and many would argue foolhardy’.

Writing in The Herald, Mr MacAskill said: ‘The pronouncement of Indyref2 in March 2017 was an error, unusual from someone normally analytic in assessment, and viewing Brexit as a historic opportunity rather than a huge difficulty.

‘It ignored the divide that existed within the party, with a third of members having supported it.

‘It forgot the challenges from the previous vote that concerns over a hard border had been avoided by EU membership, as the issue on Ireland now shows.

‘Finally, it ignored the fact that what had cost victory before, namely currency and the economy, had neither been addressed and were indeed worsened by Brexit. The party then lurched into the 2017 elections and the loss of MPs.’

The issue of a second independence referendum has dominated the early stages of the race to replace Angus Robertson as the party’s deputy leader.

Party official Julie Hepburn called for the party to launch a campaign ‘right now’, while fellow candidate Chris McEleny, the SNP’s leader in Inverclyde, demanded a vote within 18 months.

Economy Secretary Keith Brown, favourite to win the race, has dodged questions on a second poll, but has said the party must start to prepare if it is to win.

Mr MacAskill said that debate within the deputy leadership race about the timing of a vote is ‘a sign of growing frustration for many and a fraying of the otherwise iron self-discipline that once ruled’.

Scottish Conservative chief whip Maurice Golden said: ‘Kenny MacAskill’s comments once again expose the deep divisions within the SNP over a second referendum.

‘The party is split from top to bottom and Nicola Sturgeon has only herself to blame.’

An SNP spokesman said: ‘Support for independence remains at historically high levels, and is only likely to grow further the more the Tories arrogantly try to lay down the law.’