Time to ‘move on’ from indy debate – SNP man

Referendum still the biggest stoker of passions at hustings event in St Andrews

An SNP candidate has said it is time to “move on” from the independence debate.

Rod Campbell, the Nationalist incumbent for north-east Fife, told a St Andrews University hustings that Scotland should stop “continuing to fight the battles of a campaign that is in the past”.

Mr Campbell also questioned the wisdom of giving large amounts of funding to employers who do not pay the Living Wage after he was pressed on the SNP Government’s multi-million-pound handouts to online retailer Amazon.

Last night’s event, which was hosted by The Courier, pitted Mr Campbell, who won the seat with 37% of the vote in 2011, against Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrats leader.

Also on the panel was Huw Bell (Scottish Conservatives) and Rosalind Garton (Scottish Labour Party).

Passions were inflamed when a member of the public drew sighs and boos from some sections of the audience for describing Alex Salmond’s oil revenue forecast in his white paper as “Scotland’s greatest work of fiction”.

Mr Campbell said: “We are not independent. We need to move on and we should not be continuing to fight the battles of a campaign that is in the past. My leader has said, as she has made absolutely clear, the SNP remains an independence party.

“She believes another independence referendum will take place at some time but only when there is a clear and sustained majority [of support for independence].”

Mr Rennie was made to justify his anti-independence credentials by Mr Bell, who claimed the Lib Dem leader had gone soft on independence.

Mr Rennie said he spent all his political life arguing against the breakup of the UK, but said the political focus must be elsewhere.

“I have heard from a mother and daughter who have not spoken for two years. There is no doubt this has created divisions in some parts of society. Rather than forever harping back to independence, like your party (Conservatives), we need to talk about the big issues facing Scotland.”

Ms Garton said if so much of the oil and gas funds had not been taken out of national hands “we might not be in the position we are now” with Scotland’s £15bn deficit. She added: “I’m going to be very flippant and I think I would nationalise the oil and gas industry.”

Mr Bell said that would take us back to the 1970s and added: “I think we were very lucky that Scotland resoundingly said No and I’d like to ask the SNP to respect the result of what was called a once-in-generation referendum.”

The Scottish Liberal Democrats leader went for Mr Campbell over the £5m worth of grants handed by the SNP Government to Amazon, which Mr Rennie has blasted for avoiding tax and not paying the Living Wage.

Mr Campbell said: “I take Willie’s point about the wisdom about large amounts of public finding going into organisations that don’t provide decent working conditions. I think that’s something we need to look at in the future.”

Asked by Mr Rennie why his party paid them £5m, Mr Campbell replied: “Well you can’t undo what we have done.”

Pictures: Kris Miller. Courier political editor Kieran Andrews addresses the audience with the panel, from left, Rosalind Garton, Willie Rennie, Rod Campbell and Huw Bell at St Andrews last night.

Willie Rennie listens as Rosalind Garton makes her point.