Sturgeon: I’ll push ahead for vote on independence
NICOLA Sturgeon yesterday vowed to plough on with her bid to break up Britain, despite local election results suggesting Scotland remains in favour of the Union.
Thursday’s poll saw more councillors from pro-Union parties elected than from pro-independence parties.
But the First Minister has insisted she will still push ahead with plans for another referendum.
At last week’s vote, the SNP secured 453 councillors in Scotland and the Greens 35 – a total of 488 for the pro-independence parties. However, pro-Union parties – Labour, the Tories and Lib Dems – secured a total of 583 council seats.
Yesterday, Ms Sturgeon denied she had put the referendum at the heart of her party’s campaign.
Speaking in Dundee, she said: ‘I didn’t go into the election saying it’s all about independence and I won’t pretend now it was.
‘Douglas Ross and the Tories said it was an opportunity to send me a message on independence – but they might reflect that it hasn’t quite worked out the way he wanted it to.
‘The argument for independence, and the debate for independence and a referendum, continues as it would have done, regardless of the outcome of this election.’
But David Mundell, Tory MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, and former Secretary of State for Scotland, said the results proved that Scotland has no appetite for separatism.
He added: ‘This is not an endorsement for independence. It has zero support from the voters.’
Scottish Labour deputy leader, Jackie Baillie, said: ‘There is no doubt that people were not voting for independence in this election.
‘The pro-Union vote is up, at more than 50 per cent, and the proindependence vote is sitting at around 40 per cent.
‘People on the doorstep were more interested in what we are doing about the cost of living crisis. They have bills to pay, they’ve got food to put on the table, they’ve got heating to worry about.
‘They are struggling with that, they are not thinking in terms of independence.’
In Dundee, the SNP took overall control of the city council after winning 15 of 29 seats.
Among the successful candidates was Nadia El-Nakla – the wife of Health Secretary Humza Yousaf – who was elected as a councillor for Dundee’s West End ward.
Mr Yousaf made an appearance yesterday with the couple’s daughter to congratulate his wife on her new role.
During her visit, Ms Sturgeon greeted councillors, SNP activists and members of the public outside the V&A Museum at Dundee’s waterfront. As well as taking selfies with passers-by, she posed for pictures while riding a bicycle and donned a pair of yellow sunglasses.
Ms Sturgeon said: ‘I’m thrilled, but any election victory is a big responsibility as well.
‘Therefore, I’m looking forward to seeing council administrations getting on with my government in Holyrood to help people as much as they can with the cost of living because that was the key issue at the heart of this election.
‘I hope Boris Johnson is sitting in Downing Street listening very carefully to the message of this election as well, because he needs to do much, much more.’
Miss Sturgeon added that the actions of the Prime Minister over Partygate had an impact on the Conservative vote and that Scottish leader Douglas Ross’s attitude towards it had affected the trust of voters.
She said: ‘Clearly Douglas Ross was not responsible for Boris Johnson’s behaviour but his flip-flopping on that issue has destroyed his credibility.
‘It clearly had a big effect on the Tory vote and it was a big issue in the election.’
She added: ‘But the SNP victory comes from the really hard work of earning and re-earning the trust of the people of Scotland.
‘That’s what we have got to continue to do as we come out of this election.’
‘People more interested in the cost of living crisis’