Sturgeon to appeal across political divide on Indyref2
●First Minister compares cross-party consensus to devolution push in 1990s
Nicola Sturgeon has claimed there is growing support for a second referendum on independence following a general election result the sn pleader described as a “watershed moment” for Scotland.
Speaking ahead of a planned statement to the Scottish Parliament today, the First Minister said Scots had “rejected a Tory government, said no to Brexit and endorsed the proposition that they should be given a say on their own future”.
In a direct pitch to Labour members in Scotland who are now considering backing an Indyref2, Ms
Sturgeon compared the result of last Thursday’s poll to the 1992 general election which saw the Conservatives returned with a surprise majority – despite a second successive landslide for Neil Kinnock’s party north of the Border.
The First Minister is expected to issue a formal demand before the end of the year to the UK government for a Section 30 order, which would give Holyrood the legal power to organise an Indyref2.
Senior Conservatives have repeatedly said they will flatly reject any such request, with Boris Johnson last weekend calling the SNP leader to
make “clear how he remained opposed to a second independence referendum”.
The SNP has been emboldened in its demands for a second plebiscite on the constitution after it increased its share of the vote to 45 per cent – winning a greater proportion of the votes there than the Tories did across the UK – and claiming 48 out of 59 seats in Scotland in the process – including Neale Hanvey, who won Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath while suspended by the party and is technically an independent.
The First Minister said: “This election result is a watershed moment for Scotland.
“People were faced with a clear and distinct choice, and they made their verdict clear – they have rejected a Tory government, said no to Brexit and endorsed the proposition that they should be given a say on their own future.
“That position is increasingly winning support from across the political spectrum, including from senior and prominent members of the Scottish Labour party, who may not yet back independence but who recognise the fundamental democratic principle which is now at stake.
“In 1992, when we were also facing the prospect of a fourth Tory government with no mandate in Scotland, there was a coming together of parties, communities and civic Scotland. That resulted in the establishment of this Parliament, which has achieved much.
“But this new wave of Brexiteer Tories with a mission to reshape Scotland and the UK in their right-wing image presents a new danger – one that few would have predicted at the dawn of devolution.
“So I hope in the coming days and weeks we will see a similar coming together around the idea of Scotland’s right to choose.”
The SNP leader added: “The SNP’S mandate for an independence referendum is stronger than any mandate Boris Johnson claims for his Brexit deal. He asserts a mandate to take the whole of the UK, including Scotland, out of the EU, on a lower share of seats and votes then the SNP won in Scotland. We are facing a Conservative government which Scotland did not vote for and which presents a real danger to our country.
“The Scottish Parliament has a duty to protect the values that people in Scotland voted for. I believe we can only fully do that with independence, and that is why later this week, I will take the next steps to secure Scotland’s right to choose.”
Ms Sturgeon’s reference to the 1992 result is calculated to reach older Labour supporters who will recall an election that Neil Kinnock’s party was widely expected to win – only to see John Major’s Conservatives returned with a majority.
Labour won 49 of 72 possible seats, with many of its MPS actively supporting an ongoing campaign for the creation of a Scottish parliament.
It was far removed from the catastrophic defeat for Jeremy Corbyn’s party at last week’s election, where it was reduced to a single MP in Scotland.
Writing in The Scotsman today, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said the result had “sent a strong message to Labour and it would be a grave mistake not to listen”.
He continued: “It is my view that instead of expecting the people of Scotland to come home to Labour, Scottish Labour must instead come home to them. On the doorstep, it was clear that many voters liked and supported our manifesto, in line with what opinion polling consistently suggested, but frankly doubted whether we could be trusted to implement it.”
He added: “It is clear that 20 years on from devolution, the British state is too centralised and there are real imbalances of power in the economy too. In our manifesto, we promised to set up a Constitutional Convention to decentralise power.
“Learning the lessons from the Scottish Constitutional Convention, we now should establish a Constitution Convention in opposition. This could develop a blueprint which will be ready to legislate for and implement in government. And we should be prepared to work on this with other parties and organisations if and where this is possible.”
Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: “Scotland already has the right to choose and we chose to remain in the UK.
“The majority of people of Scotland also chose pro-uk parties at last week’s general election. And barely a quarter of Scots would choose to hold a divisive second independence referendum next year, according to polls.
“Scotland deserves better than a government obsessed with creating division between families and friends.”
“People were faced withaclearanddistinct choice, and they made their verdict clear – they have rejected a Tory government”
NICOLA STURGEON
Democracy means accepting the voters’ choice. Last Thursday the people spoke and we must listen. I joined the Labour Party in Stirling back in 1982, which meant that the first general election I campaigned in, and indeed, voted in, was in the newly created Stirling constituency in 1983. It was a harsh experience, not so much for me as a young student, but for the people who had lost their jobs in the local factories which had been closed because of government macroeconomic policy, who were looking for work and looking for new hope. Harsh too, although we did not yet know just how harsh, for the people of the eastern villages: those mining communities to the eastern side of Stirling, who a year later were to be engaged in a brutal struggle with the government to defend their jobs, their pits and their community.
Neil Kinnock’s words shortly before that 1983 election still ring true all these years later: “I warn you not to be ordinary, I warn you not to be young, I warn you not to fall ill, I warn you not to get old.” It is an impassioned plea which could have been made on the eve of poll last week.
Any rational calculus of the 2019 General Election must reckon with the fact that Labour’s manifesto, if implemented, would have improved the lives of millions, from guaranteeing a decent wage and extending employment rights, to ending Universal Credit. With its Green Industrial Revolution, Labour was the first party in British political history to produce a serious and workable plan to tackle the defining issue of our time: climate change.
And there was a clear promise of renewed investment in our economy, people and public services. By way of contrast, with the very real chance of a hard Brexit and no chance whatsoever now of the people being given a final say on Johnson’s tawdry deal, the next five years offer the prospect of more child poverty, more homelessness and rough-sleeping and a bleaker future for all.
Nevertheless, voters in Scotland and south of the Border have sent a strong message to Labour and it would be a grave mistake not to listen. With defeat must come humility.
Which is why it is my view that instead of expecting the people of Scotland to come home to Labour, Scottish Labour must instead come home to them. On the doorstep, it was clear that many voters liked and supported our manifesto, which is in line with what opinion polling has consistently suggested, but frankly doubted whether we could be trusted to implement it. In addition to this, there was the false message swirling around, promoted by our opponents that, in spite of the repeated insistence of Jeremy Corbyn, John Mcdonnell and me that there would be no pacts, deals or coalitions with other parties including the SNP, many swing voters – particularly in parts of Glasgow and Lanarkshire where we won seats, and came closest to winning seats in 2017 – decided they could have a Corbyn government and its policies at Westminster by voting for the SNP.
So what now? We will conduct a swift review and one that is evidence-based and backed up by the best available data – from the British Election Survey to the feedback of candidates and activists on the ground. But, more importantly, we will undertake an outward-looking engagement with people and communities who share many of Labour’s values and who want to see real change, but who no longer look to the Labour Party to realise that change. No one should doubt my determination to learn and, more importantly, implement lessons from this grave defeat, however uncomfortable this may be for some in my party.
It is clear that, 20 years on from devolution, the British state is too centralised and there are real imbalances of power in the economy too. In our manifesto, we promised to set up a Constitutional Convention to decentralise power.
Learning the lessons from the Scottish Constitutional Convention, we now should establish a Constitutional Convention in Opposition. This could develop a blueprint which will be ready to legislate for and implement in government. And we should be prepared to work on this with other parties and organisations if and where this is possible.
With the UK’S now imminent departure from the European Union, we need an urgent plan for the devolution and decentralisation of repatriated powers. Exiting the EU should not bolster the centralised state at a UK level. It must mean new powers at a Scottish and local level and be backed with new demands for active regional policy and investment.
Let me be absolutely clear on one point: Labour will continue to campaign against the Tories’ harmful policies. The quote misattributed to Aneurin Bevan that “the NHS will last as long as there’s folk with faith left to fight for it” is none the less true for that. Donald Trump and Boris Johnson will face opposition on an unparalleled scale, which we in the Labour movement will lead, if they try to carve up the NHS.
By the time of the Scottish Parliament elections in 2021, the SNP will have been in power for 14 years. Their record on the NHS, on public health, on education, on the economy, on the funding of local services is coming under increased scrutiny. People can see growing evidence of underresourced and poorly managed services, letting down pupils, patients, staff and working people. That’s why Labour needs to listen and act. We need to win again, not just for our own sake, but for the sake of all of those people in all of those communities who need a government that is on their side.
Richard Leonard is Scottish Labour leader and an MSP for Central Scotland
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