New leader to stick with Yousaf strategy on independence
JOHN Swinney has confirmed the SNP remain wedded to Humza Yousaf’s independence strategy for the next election. Speaking to The National after his acceptance speech in Glasgow, the new party leader said he backed the “mechanism” agreed at last year’s special conference.
This involves the SNP winning the majority of Scottish seats at the General Election, then taking that as a mandate and going to the UK Government to begin negotiations on fresh action.
Yousaf faced criticism during his time as leader for apparently forgetting parts of the plan. The latter half of the strategy has a number of options, including beginning negotiations for independence or making arrangements for indyref2.
It was branded a “total mess” by veteran SNP MP Pete Wishart late last year. But Swinney has said he stands four-square behind the plan.
Asked whether he would take the strategy into the General Election, Swinney told The National: “The party’s agreed a mechanism which will be utilised to take forward the delivery of independence.”
The motion which set out the strategy agreed at the SNP’s special conference last year says that if the party win the majority of Scottish seats at the next General Election, the Scottish Government would be “empowered to begin immediate negotiations with the UK Government to give democratic effect to Scotland becoming an independent country”.
The Scottish Government will also take it as a mandate to ask Westminster for more powers, and for a constitutional convention to be set up including MPs, MSPs and “representatives of civic Scotland”.
Like his predecessor, Swinney has spoken of the importance of winning voters around to independence.
He said: “I want to make sure I can win the arguments so that we’ve got a really convincing and strong proposition to put to people. And that to me is essential, and if we can win converts to the substance of the arguments for independence then the process arguments are a great deal easier to pursue. My argument is that we have to advance the arguments for independence to get people to put the priority into voting for independence which is by voting for the SNP.”
Swinney also said the SNP must work “very, very hard” to win back independence supporters.
And the new leader said he believed there needed to be “greater levels of support for independence” before it could become a reality, while noting that Yes support was higher than it was in 2014.
His comments contrasted with those of Yousaf, who in his resignation speech last week described independence as “frustratingly close”.
He suggested voters were turning their backs on the SNP, with polling predicting they would perform worse than at the last General Election, because the party “lacked cohesion”.
Swinney said: “I think that’s come across to members of the public and they’re worried about where we are as a party.”
But he said he wanted to win voters back, adding: “I want to and I need to earn those votes back. If there’s some disaffection between people who support independence, who previously voted for the SNP, I will be working very, very hard to win those people back.”
And he said as a renowned “persuader” he had the skills to do so. Swinney said: “I believe in engaged persuasion and dialogue in Scotland and that’s why I think I’ve got the strengths and the capabilities to do it. But there’s also something else. At this moment the SNP needs to be brought back together.”