The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
No change likely in independence plan
SNP MP Tommy Sheppard wants Nicola Sturgeon to outline her position on another ballot as pressure from own party increases
Deputy First Minister John Swinney has hinted the Scottish Government will stick to its independence referendum timetable after an SNP MP called for the issue to be “parked” until the end of Brexit negotiations.
Edinburgh East representative Tommy Sheppard added to the pressure on Nicola Sturgeon from within her own party to outline her position on another ballot.
In the wake of that intervention, Scottish Secretary David Mundell said he does not see “any circumstances” in which there will be a return to the constitutional question before the Holyrood election in 2021.
Mr Sheppard told the Sunday Herald newspaper: “Amidst the current chaos in Westminster it seems certain that a hard Brexit is now off the table, and the possibility of bespoke solutions for nations and regions is growing.
“It follows, therefore, that it is now an option to wait until the Brexit negotiations conclude before forming a view on whether the extent of change justifies a second independence referendum as a result.
“This would mean that whilst a second referendum remains an option, the timetable gets parked.”
Mr Sheppard’s views differ to the party leadership’s because he wants the issue off the table until negotiations have finished whereas Ms Sturgeon has said that is the period when she wants to hold another vote, meaning campaigning would start earlier.
The First Minister admitted independence was a factor after her party lost 21 of its 56 Westminster seats in the general election, and she vowed to “reflect on the result”.
Perthshire North MSP Mr Swinney told BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland: “Obviously we will take time to reflect on the outcome of the election.
“But our proposal always was that an independence referendum would only be appropriate when we had the outcome of the Brexit negotiations and people in Scotland could make a different choice about their future.”
Asked when he thought the end of the process would be, Mr Swinney added: “Well the Prime Minister has told us it’s two years away from the triggering of Article 50.
“That’s been the clear commitment given by the United Kingdom Government and we set our proposals on the basis of that commitment.”
Mr Mundell said he could not see the Brexit process having “played out” by 2021, when Scotland will elect MSPs to the Scottish Parliament.
He added: “I don’t think I could be clearer. I don’t see any circumstances in which there is going to be another independence referendum before the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.
“But it is for Nicola Sturgeon to take the issue off the table.
“She is the person who put the issue on the table three hours after the Brexit result was declared, she is the person who had the grand event at Bute House declaring that she was going to have another referendum, she is the person who had the vanity photograph taken of herself signing a letter to the Prime Minister demanding a referendum.
“It is quite simple. She takes it off the table, we stop speaking about it, everybody gets on with what is the really important job now for Scotland, that’s getting the best possible deal for Scotland in the rest of the UK in the Brexit negotiations.”
The latest interventions come after former justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said the SNP should “abandon” its current push for a further independence referendum as “neither the mood is there for it, nor the support in existence to win it”.