No second Scottish vote for a generation, vows Davidson
SCOTTISH Tory leader Ruth Davidson has slapped down Nicola Sturgeon by vowing to block a second independence referendum until nearly 2050.
Her pledge comes after SNP leader Sturgeon demanded a second referendum before Britain leaves the EU – scheduled for 2019.
Ms Davidson said there should be no second vote for 35 years – echoing an earlier commitment by former SNP leader Alex Salmond that the 2014 referendum was a ‘once in a generation’ event. Her vow, in an interview with the MoS, goes further than Theresa May, who has refused to be drawn on a timetable for a second referendum.
Ms Davidson said Scots were fed up with the SNP’s ‘relentless drumbeat’ for independence, saying she was determined to force Ms Sturgeon to carry out her promise to ‘respect’ the result of the ‘once in a generation’ 2014 vote. Asked how long a generation was, Ms Davidson replied: ‘Alex Salmond said between 1979 and the 2014 referendum, that was a generation. That works for me.’
Her proposal for a 35year break – with no further independence vote until at least 2049 – will infuriate Scottish Nationalists desperate for another vote. Ms Sturgeon has argued for a vote by 2019 – just four years after the last one.
But Ms Davidson claimed Tory gains in local elections showed support for a second referendum is dwindling and that Ms Sturgeon’s bid to use Brexit to demand another vote has backfired. Scottish Tories, who currently have only one MP, claim they could win up to 15 seats in the General Election next month.
Opinion polls show a majority of Scots still back the UK and only a third want another vote within Ms Sturgeon’s timetable.