SCOTLAND’S “independence day” is coming soon, Ian Blackford said amid a hot-tempered debate in the Commons last night.
The SNP had put forward a motion calling on the MPs to back the principles of the Claim of Right for Scotland – acknowledging the sovereign right of the Scottish people to choose the form of government that best suits them – which was passed unanimously.
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SNP Westminster leader Blackford accused Scotland Secretary David Mundell of being “the Government’s man in Scotland”. He told a furious Mundell: “We were told that if we stayed in the UK, we were to lead the UK. Any pretence of this has been thrown away by the Secretary of State for Scotland.”
Speaker John Bercow reprimanded Blackford for telling Mundell to “sit down” as he refused to give way.
The Tories repeatedly criticised the SNP MP for his conduct. Blackford said he would not take lessons from them, having previously had “suicide” suggested by one of their MPs, and revealed he had been told to “fuck off” in the Chamber the previous night.
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The motion put forward acknowledged the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of government “best suited to their needs”, coming amid the ongoing power grab. An amendment by MPs including LibDem Alistair Carmichael and Labour’s Ian Murray noting the result of the 2014 referendum was not selected by the Speaker.
Blackford said: “The Claim of Right is not simply a historical document, it is a fundamental principle that underpins the democracy and constitutional framework of Scotland.
“The 1989 claim functions as a declaration of intent on the sovereignty of the Scottish people. It sets the constitutional convention which 10 years later saw people vote for the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament.”
The SNP did not put their name to the document because of it would not have "countenanced independence". As heckling continued from the Tory benches during the debate, Blackford said: “The way the Conservative Party are treating Scotland, our independence day is coming and it’s coming soon.”
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Labour and the Tories criticised the SNP for using one of their three annual opposition day debates on the topic. Mundell argued the move was “power-grab scaremongering”.
He said: “We could have been discussing the future of Scotland. We could have talked about city deals, our industrial strategy … instead we have this debate, which says nothing about the future of Scotland, but everything about the SNP and their obsession with independence.
“It’s less than two years since Parliament debated the Claim of Right at the behest of the SNP.”
Mundell added: “We’ve followed and will follow the Sewell Convention – it’s a cast-iron commitment not difficult to make, because unlike the SNP, we believe in devolution. The SNP have sought to weaponise Brexit for independence.”
However, the Tories gave their support to the motion. Quoting Theresa May, Mundell said “now is not the time” for a second referendum. Shadow Scotland secretary Lesley Laird echoed Mundell’s criticisms. She said: “The people of Scotland are stuck between two competing nationalists governments, and it results in this debate like the one tonight.”
She claimed that “the Vow” of more powers for Scotland had been fully delivered.
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