Starmer refuses to rule out support for a second indy vote
Labour may back referendum for deal with SNP
LABOUR leader Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out backing a second referendum on Scottish independence.
He said a re-run of the 2014 ballot was ‘not needed’ in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic but did not discount one happening in the future.
Despite 55 per cent of Scots voting to stay in the UK six years ago, the SNP has campaigned for a second poll since the 2016 decision to leave the EU.
It is also believed that following the next UK general election, expected in 2024, Labour could need SNP support if it wants to form a government.
This deal may rest on Labour promising the SNP another referendum. Sir Keir told the BBC: ‘We will be going into that election in May making it very clear that another divisive referendum on independence in Scotland is not what is needed.
What is needed is an intense focus on rebuilding the economy, on making sure public services are rebuilt as well and dealing with the pandemic.’
However, pressed on what may happen following the next general election, he said: ‘We don’t know. In politics, people tell you with great certainty what is going to happen next year and the year after, but it doesn’t always turn out that way.
‘I am setting out the argument we will make into May. I am not doing a hypothetical of what will happen after that.’
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove said: ‘Sir Keir Starmer has a problem accepting referendum results.
‘He tried to block Brexit, and now he wants to work with Nicola Sturgeon to renege on the Scottish referendum result and break up the UK.’
Scottish Conservative party leader Douglas Ross added: ‘We are eight months from the Scottish parliament election and already Labour are throwing in the towel and agreeing to the SNP’s demands.
‘Yet again, Labour are proving they’re too much of a mess to stand up to the nationalists. They’ll give in at the first chance they get.’
On Sunday, Sir Keir stood by his previous comments made in January that the SNP would have a mandate for a second Scottish independence referendum if they win a majority at next year’s Holyrood elections.
He told Sky News: ‘These issues are questions for Scotland, I do stand by that.’
Appearing on the BBC’s
Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Sir Keir refused to be drawn into a discussion on whether he would support a second independence vote.
The presenter asked Sir Keir: ‘If Scotland votes for the SNP and for a referendum and the
First Minister says “right we’re going to hold a referendum, we want a referendum” Labour will stand shoulder to shoulder with Boris Johnson and say “absolutely not, we at Westminster say you can’t have it”?’
Sir Keir responded: ‘I’m not being hypothetical about what the future may hold.’
Labour, once a dominant political force in Scotland, currently only has 23 MSPs at Holyrood and just one Scottish MP.
The party is also riven with internal battles, including over its Scottish leader Richard Leonard, who recently survived a coup attempt.
Sir Keir took over as Labour leader in April after Jeremy Corbyn’s far-Left manifesto was roundly rejected by the public, resulting in the party’s worst election defeat since 1935.
Recent UK opinion polls have suggested support for the party under his stewardship is now close to that for Mr Johnson’s Conservatives.
‘Wants to work with Nicola Sturgeon’ ‘Throwing in the towel’