Sturgeon stalls over her dream

As SNP leader hands out cash for costly policies, she urges faithful NOT to focus on date for Indyref 2

NICOLA Sturgeon was last night accused of ‘stalling’ over a second independence referendum – after urging supporters not to focus on the date.

The SNP leader made the quest for independence a central plank of her keynote speech to the party conference in Aberdeen yesterday, saying it was ‘well within our grasp’.

But while many Yes voters had hoped the First Minister would use the speech to fire the starting gun on a second poll on breaking up Britain, she pointedly refused to say when it might be held.

Instead, she said it was the party’s responsibility ‘not just to focus on the when of independence, but to use our energy and passion to persuade those who still ask why’.

Her speech came as new polls show a majority of Scots still do not believe there should be a second referendum.

Yesterday critics said the SNP leader was stalling on the date for another referendum because she knew she had failed to gather enough support.

In her speech Miss Sturgeon attacked the UK Government, which she accused of being ‘paralysed on Brexit’.

She called Jacob Rees-Mogg, tipped by many as the next Tory leader, ‘the Member of Parliament for the 19th Century, waiting in the wings to drag us back 200 years’.

She labelled Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson ‘an embarrassing liability’ and hit out at Ruth Davidson’s ‘hypocrisy’ over the devolution of new powers to Holyrood, following the UK leaving the European Union.

Her speech – which praised her own Government for having the courage to raise taxes – also unveiled a number of costly policy measures. As well as bringing forward a pay rise for NHS staff, she confirmed increased spending on welfare, plus more cash for childcare and students.

Afterwards, a spokesman for the First Minister said she was still committed to deciding on whether to call for another independence referendum in the autumn, once ‘the fog of Brexit has cleared’.

When Miss Sturgeon tried to call another independence referendum last year, the party suffered a backlash and lost half a million votes in a snap General Election called only months later.

New polling, published today, found only 38 per cent of Scots would back her calling another vote as soon as the autumn, with 51 per cent opposed.

It is further evidence of Theresa May’s claim last week that Miss Sturgeon is ‘out of touch’ with the Scottish people on independence.

Despite this, she told the conference: ‘Confidence in the independence case is growing. The purpose of independence is to build a better country, a stronger economy and a fairer society. The Growth Commission offers a blueprint of how we can do that.

‘Independence is about the freedom to make our own choices.’

But the YouGov poll, commissioned by the Scotland in Union campaign group, also found 62 per cent of Scots’ opinions were unchanged by the Growth Commission report.

Written by former Nationalist MSP Andrew Wilson, it was supposed to fix the broken economic case for independence. But only 13 per cent said they were now more likely to vote Yes, with 6 per cent more likely to vote No.

That report will be the platform for a Scotland-wide roadshow, with the SNP spending the summer trying to convince Scots of the merits of independence. Miss Sturgeon told conference: ‘Our task is to persuade them that this better future is an independent one.’

But opponents said the SNP should stop preaching to the Scottish people and start listening instead. Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: ‘It is clear most Scots would rather they dropped their referendum obsession and got on with the day job of running the country.

‘The Growth Commission was supposed to kick-start the latest independence drive but it appears it has made very little impact.

‘Nicola Sturgeon may be preaching to the converted at her conference but she looks out of touch with the majority of Scots, who are fed up with her referendum threats. It is time the First Minister accepted the will of the Scottish people and put country before party.

‘She should take independence off the table and get on with growing Scotland’s economy with the extensive powers she has.’

Scottish Tory chief whip Maurice Golden said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon is losing support from all corners.

‘SNP diehards are furious at her independence blueprint and now Scots in general are more sceptical about separation than they have been in years.

‘Now the First Minister appears to be stalling on when a referendum should be held, because she knows it’s not popular.

‘She should take the hint and take her demands for another referendum off the table.’

Scottish Labour economy spokesman Jackie Baillie said: ‘The SNP’s Cuts Commission was supposed to kickstart a new national debate on independence, but this poll shows the report has been a disaster.

‘The public don’t want another divisive referendum, they want Nicola Sturgeon to fix our ailing health service and close the attainment gap in our children’s schools.’

‘She is losing support from all corners’ ‘Out of touch with the majority of Scots’