Nationalists ‘won’t vow to keep Queen as head of state’ if they win Indyref
AN SNP Minister yesterday admitted that his party would hold a vote on the monarchy if it wins independence.
Speaking on Radio Four’s Any Questions, Europe Minister Ben Macpherson raised the possibility of Scotland becoming a republic in the future.
He said his party would commit to keeping the Queen in any future White Paper on independence – but that this position might not last.
Mr Macpherson claimed it would be ‘for the democracy of Scotland to consider’, adding: ‘Things change’.
Initially, he was discussing Prince Andrew stepping back from public life last week, following the row over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
But Mr Macpherson was then asked about the SNP’s wider position on the monarchy. He replied: ‘The position of the SNP, and when we had our referendum on independence in 2014, was to keep the monarchy in Scotland.
‘That is the position and of course that is what we would take forward into another independence referendum.’
But he added: ‘If Scotland voted for independence, then in due course [the monarchy] would be something for the democracy in Scotland to consider going forward.’
He was asked if a major change, such as Prince Charles ascending to the throne, might prompt a change in Scotland’s relationship with the monarchy.
He replied: ‘I wouldn’t want to think about that in the here and now, because we don’t know how that’s going to be.
‘What’s important I think for the monarchy, as with all institutions, is that things change.
‘It’s important the monarchy looks at itself and plays its role as well as possible.’
His comments will delight republicans in the SNP who have long argued that an independent Scotland should not keep the
British monarchy. Alex Salmond was a staunch monarchist and insisted ahead of the 2014 referendum that the Queen should remain as the head of state.
The former First Minister identified that the Queen remains hugely popular in Scotland, and any plan to end her reign north of the Border would be unpopular with potential voters. However, other Nationalists are desperate for a change of position, especially after the Queen urged voters to think ‘very carefully’ in the days before the referendum on independence.
The Queen has residences at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, and Balmoral, and spends long periods in Scotland every year.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron let slip that, when he called the Queen to inform her of the result of the vote on Scottish independence, she ‘purred’ down the phone at the news that more than two million voters had rejected separation.
Last night, Scottish Conservatives attacked the SNP’s threat to the role of the monarchy.
The Tories’ finance spokesman Murdo Fraser said: ‘The SNP’s failure to support the monarchy is just another way for them to attack UK institutions and our cultural ties.
‘Clearly the SNP is simply lining up their next referendum, the result of which they will no doubt also refuse to accept.’
‘Important that the monarchy looks at itself’