Scotland ‘could have a vote on independence without a referendum’
SCOTLAND WOULD not necessarily have to have a second independence referendum to leave the United Kingdom, a senior SNP MP has said.
Instead of having another vote on independence, Joanna Cherry suggested the party’s overarching goal could be achieved through a “democratic event”.
The pro UK campaign group Scotland in Union branded the comments “dangerous and illjudged”, and called on SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon to “urgently clarify” the situation.
Ms Cherry raised the possibility as the SNP annual conference got under way in Glasgow yesterday, also indicating her party could demand a second vote on independence as the price of supporting Labour if Jeremy Corbyn ousted Theresa May from Downing Street but failed to win an overall majority.
In such a situation Ms Cherry, the SNP’s home affairs spokeswoman at Westminster, stressed her party would demand a “high price” from Jeremy Corbyn.
A deal to prop up a minority Labour administration could include the removal of Trident nuclear missiles from Scotland, and the granting of a Section 30 for a second ballot on leaving the UK.
But she also said another “democratic event”, such as a general election, could be used as a route to independence.
Speaking at a fringe event, Ms Cherry told party activists: “Our aim is to make Scotland an independent country, but I would remind you that Scotland voted against that in 2014.”
She continued: “There has to be a democratic event, and I choose those words wisely, it doesn’t have to necessarily be a referendum, it could be something else, like a general election. But there has to be a democratic event.”