Scotland could seek a ‘different kind of future’

The very future of Britain is at stake unless it stays in the European Union and adopts a federal style of government within the UK, Henry McLeish has warned.

Mr McLeish told The Courier the way Prime Minister Theresa May had treated the aspirations of Scotland and the other home nations regarding Brexit was “contemptuous”.

He insists that if Westminster does not “grapple” with these issues urgently, he could not rule out Scotland deciding it wants a “different kind of future” because the “dynamic had changed” since the independence referendum of 2014.

He said: “There’s no doubt Scotland could be an independent country. But my argument is that we (Britain) stay in the European Union and help reform the European Union as it moves forward. Secondly, I believe in federalism, which, to me, is the only alternative to Scottish independence, giving the home nations significant, real power.”

Mr McLeish said he keeps a “very open mind” about the future of Scotland and is “spectacularly optimistic” about the future of the UK.

However, he added: “If we are out of the EU and we can’t see a federalist UK, then I think the dynamic will change dramatically for many Scots, including myself. My plea is to Westminster, to the Labour Party, to recognise that being in the EU is important and if we are not in the EU, it does put pressure on Scots to look at a new way forward.”