KEZIA EDICT OVER INDYREF 2

SCOTTISH Labour leader Kezia Dugdale will order her MSPs to reject any new bid for a second independence referendum.

Her advisers last night issued a strongly-worded statement clarifying the party’s firm opposition after deputy leader Alex Rowley said last week that he ‘wouldn’t oppose’ plans for a second vote.

Miss Dugdale will tell her 22 MSPs they must stick to the commitment the party made in its manifesto for May’s Scottish parliament election.

It now looks almost inevitable that Nicola Sturgeon will ask MSPs to vote on whether or not to hold another referendum. She told officials to begin drawing up legislation for one in the wake of Brexit.

Scottish Labour is embroiled in an internal war over whether it should oppose moves for independence, with some believing separation should be considered if it allowed Scotland to remain in the EU.

They also attribute the party’s alliance with the Tories in the pro-Union Better Together campaign as a key reason why its voters have fled to the SNP.

However, Miss Dugdale will issue a ‘three-line whip’ to her Holyrood group if the SNP calls a vote on another referendum.

A Labour spokesman said: ‘We committed in our manifesto to vote against a second independence referendum in the lifetime of this parliament. We won’t be changing that policy any time soon.’

If Mr Rowley – or other Labour MSPs – rebel they could face disciplinary action. That could include having the whip withdrawn, meaning they would have to sit as independent MSPs and Mr Rowley would lose his role as deputy leader.

A source close to Miss Dugdale said: ‘The party’s view is that it would be a whipped vote and Alex and all other MSPs would be expected to oppose it.’

Miss Sturgeon has had little success in finding a way of keeping Scotland in the EU without leaving the UK.

A spokesman for Miss Sturgeon said: ‘As the First Minister has said, there is no point in people snapping their fingers at us. We are in a situation that is not of our own making. The last thing we can do is provide off-the-peg easy answers to this.’