SNP to ask for power to call Indyref over Brexit
The SNP will launch a move in the House of Commons this week to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence if Brexit goes ahead.
Ian Blackford, the SNP’S Westminster leader, said Scots must be able to choose “their own destiny” if Brexit takes place after Scotland voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum.
MPS will have a meaningful vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal tomorrow but it appears to be heading for defeat, with a coalition of hardline Brexiteers and pro-remain
MPS poised to vote it down. The SNP will seek to ensure Scotland’s constitutional situation is reflected when the vote takes place.
“We will be putting down an amendment this week,” Mr Blackford told the BBC’S Politics Scotland yesterday.
“It will be reflecting on what happened in the Scottish Parliament and in the Welsh Assembly this week simultaneously. There was a motion that came in front of both parliaments that recognised that Theresa May’s deal and nodeal are not good for Scotland.
“What we’re going to do is put down an amendment asking for the Government to recognise that Scotland voted to remain. We’re also putting down, as part of that amendment, a recognition that if the UK does leave the European Union, the people of Scotland should be able to determine their own destiny.
“And in particular they should have the power to have
an independence referendum if we so choose and we’re making reference in that to the Claim of Right in the debate we had in Parliament in July 2018 when Parliament accepted the motion that sovereignty rests with the Scottish people.
“We will do what we can to work with other parties to stop Brexit, but we need to recognise if that does happen, the people of Scotland have got to determine their own future.”
He added that SNP support for a “people’s vote” will not be conditional on the guarantee of authorisation being granted for a second independence referendum. “What we will do is work with others to make sure that we can get a people’s vote,” he added.
“If it is the case that Scotland is dragged out of the EU against its will, then, of course, we have to protect the interests of the people of Scotland.”
Control over the UK constitution lies with Westminster and Mrs May has ruled out providing a Section 30 order which would give the Scottish Government the authority to stage a second referendum on independence.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week ruled out a “wildcat” vote on leaving the UK, resulting in a constitutional stand-off.
The amendment is likely to be rejected by the Commons but will give the SNP the opportunity to place Scotland’s constitution stand-off at the heart of the Brexit debate.
Ms Sturgeon is to set out her plans for a second independence referendum in the coming weeks. However, she has indicated this would depend on some clarity on Brexit and this remains unlikely.
A UK government spokesman accused the SNP of seeking to exploit the turmoil over Brexit to pursue independence. “Scotland had an independence referendum in 2014 and voted decisively to remain in the UK,” he said.
“The Scottish Government needs to stop using Brexit as an excuse to pursue their unwanted independence agenda. Rather than constantly seeking division and constitutional upheaval, the Scottish Government needs to work with the UK government to avoid a damaging no deal.
“That is what people and business in Scotland expect.”
Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, added: “This proves that the SNP is simply using Brexit as a political tool for its latest attempt to break up the United Kingdom.
“The Nationalists are only interested in dividing the country and holding an unwanted second independence referendum.”
Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie claimed the SNP had “learned nothing” from Brexit. “Constitutional upheaval brings chaos and economic damage,” he added.
“We shouldn’t compound the damage of leaving the EU by splitting from the UK, which is responsible for four times more trade with Scotland.”
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned Tory MPS they risk losing Brexit altogether if they fail to back Mrs May’s deal. He said: “If you want to stop Brexit you only need to do
three things: kill this deal, get an extension and then have a second referendum.
“Within three weeks people could have two of those three things and quite possibly the third one could be on the way through the Labour Party. We’re in very perilous waters.”
If the government loses tomorrow there will be further votes on Wednesday on whether the UK should leave with no-deal and on Thursday on whether they should seek an extension to the withdrawal process.