SNP MP Gavin Newlands has hit out at Ruth Davidson over claims that indyref2 should only happen if the SNP win an “outright majority” at the next Holyrood election.
In a letter to the UK Government, Newlands asks whether the Scottish Tory leader made the same demands regarding a parliamentary majority to the Conservative Party – which is propped up by the DUP.
The SNP MP argues that, according to Davidson’s logic, the Tory government has “no democratic mandate to govern” without an outright majority in the Commons.
The Scottish Tory leader suggested on Wednesday that the SNP’s majority at Holyrood, secured with the help of pro-independence Green MSPs, was not sufficient for an indyref2 mandate.
READ MORE: Ruth Davidson in ‘hypocrisy’ row over indyref2 party mandate
In a letter addressed to Constitutional Minister Chloe Smith, Newlands queries whether Davidson has made similar demands of the UK Government.
He writes: “Despite an exhaustive search through the news archives and your Scottish representatives’ website, my office can find no record of your representative for Scotland making any public pronouncements about the mandate the UK Government apparently now lacks. This, I am sure you agree, is extremely puzzling.
“As your representative in Scotland seemingly believes that the current UK Government has no democratic mandate to govern or introduce legislation, this would represent a constitutional innovation and one which would present some difficulties for your party over the coming weeks and months.
Ruth Davidson insists that the current, Scot Gov't mandate to legislate for #Indyref2 before 2021 is not enough as it's provided by 2 parties.
— Gavin Newlands MP (@GavNewlandsSNP) June 14, 2019
I wrote to the UK Gov't to ask whether she has made the same demands of the Tory Gov't in relation to DUP & #Brexit.
Ah hae ma doots. pic.twitter.com/9cXBQsIXRd
“I would be grateful if you could clarify the constitutional position via-a-vis the position of parties within Parliament who seek to enjoy Government office but who have not secured an overall majority of seats within the Commons at the relevant UK parliamentary election, as with her comments your representative in Scotland has made the situation most unclear.”
Asked about the SNP’s mandate for a second independence referendum on Wednesday, Davidson told the BBC: “If she [Sturgeon] puts it in a manifesto that she’s going to hold another referendum and she wins a majority outright, then she can negotiate with the UK Government in the same way as happened last time.
“But she doesn’t get to just, in the middle of a Parliament where she’s lost her majority, get to stick her hand up and say I’m going to re-run this referendum again and again until I get the result I want.”
The comments seemed to contradict remarks the Scottish Tory leader made in 2011, when she said that if the “Greens and the SNP, and the SSP or any of the other parties who have expressed an interest in independence” can “make a coalition, can make a majority, can get the votes in the Parliament, then they’ll vote through a referendum”.
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