Indyref 2? Voters do not give two hoots admits MP
ONE of the SNP’s most senior politicians has admitted that most people do not care about her party’s push for independence.
Kirsty Blackman, deputy leader of the SNP group at Westminster, said constitutional issues are ‘not the biggest concern’ for many Scots and most people did not give ‘two hoots’ about it.
Opposition parties said the comments were a ‘rare but welcome bit of self-awareness’ and that it was ‘wel- come to hear a Nationalist MP wanting to discuss matters other than the constitution’.
In an interview with a newspaper, Miss Blackman said: ‘I don’t think most folk in their daily lives give two hoots about whether Scotland is a member of the Union.
‘The constitutional issues are not the biggest concern for an awful lot of people and, in fact, I very rarely talk about Scottish independence in the chamber because I talk about things that matter to the people of Aberdeen.’
Nicola Sturgeon admitted last year that her decision to
push for a second independence referendum was ‘undoubtedly’ a factor in her party losing 1 seats last June.
Following Miss Blackman’s comments about independence in the Guardian newspaper, a Scottish Conservative spokesman said: ‘This is a rare but welcome bit of self-awareness from an SNP politician. She is absolutely right to say that independence is of little interest to the vast majority of Scots who just want a government that gets on with the day job.
‘It’s to be hoped that this is a sign of things to come from the SNP in 018.’
Labour MSP James Kelly said: ‘It’s welcome to hear an SNP MP wanting to discuss matters other than the constitution. Perhaps she could have a word with her colleagues in Holyrood, who have spent a decade in government neglecting public services while obsessed with breaking up the United Kingdom.’
An SNP spokesman said: ‘As Kirsty Blackman rightly pointed out, people across the country face very real day-to-day concerns thanks to Tory mismanagement of the economy - with wages stagnant and bills rising. Scotland will be better off having the real powers to tackle these issues – but in the meantime SNP MPs will continue to hold the UK government to account on their abject failures.’