THE prospect of a second referendum on Scottish independence dominated the final election campaign debate between the party leaders.
Nicola Sturgeon said that a referendum would be “rooted in democracy” and that no politician would have the “right to stand in the way of the democratic wishes of the Scottish people.”
Tory leader Ruth Davidson called on Sturgeon to remember her responsibilities as First Minister and heal the “wound” of the 2014 referendum.
It was a heated debate between the five mainstream party leaders, with clashes over delayed UK Government contracts to build Royal Navy frigates at the Clyde shipyards, the NHS and Edinburgh’s PFI schools scandal.
The politicians were gathered in front of an audience in South Queensferry’s Hopetoun House for the BBC debate. And it was the second question from full time student Brodie McLaren which provoked the angriest debate of the night.
If a majority of Scots are in favour of Scottish independence, he said, “who are politicians to deny this?”
Answering first, Labour’s Kezia Dugdale said relying on opinion polls alone would not be enough. “If we trusted the pollsters Ed Miliband would be Prime Minister,” she said.
There would have to be a mandate: “In 2011, Nicola’s manifesto, on page one, in 15 words made a very clear commitment to having a referendum in that parliament. This time around in your manifesto it’s page 24, and you take 210 words to say mebbes if, mebbes aye, mebbes no, I’m not sure, trust me or ask the pollsters.
It’s not good enough.”
Sturgeon said if the majority of Scots were not convinced of the need for a second referendum then there would never be one, but if there was demand then it would be wrong for anyone to block the vote.
“That is the position I’m putting forward, and I think the question for other politicians on this platform is what is it they think gives them the right to stand in the way of a majority? Scotland will only become independent if a majority backs that. That is democracy and none of us should fear the democratic wishes of the people of this country.”
She continued: “I believe in something. I have convictions I have principles. I will continue to try and persuade people. But whether
I succeed or not will be down to the strength of the arguments I put forward and ultimately down to the wishes of the Scottish people. We are all democrats.”
Willie Rennie said arguments about independence had meant that other services had neglected. He was applauded and cheered by an audience that seemed more No than Yes when he accused Sturgeon of being anti-democratic.
The referendum was, he said: “One of the biggest democratic experiences of my lifetime, [the SNP] celebrated it constantly, but now as soon as it’s over and they don’t get the result they want, they want to do it all over again. Did they not get the message? We want to stay in the UK. Respect the result. I would even go as far as saying you’re anti-democratic.”
Green co-convenor Patrick Harvie said respecting the referendum result needed to go both ways.
Harvie said independence would be the “best opportunity to take our economy and society in a new fairer and better direction.”
“We should respect the result of the referendum,” Harvie said, “but respecting the result also means respecting the fact that a substantial number of us, a substantial number of Scottish voters did vote for independence.
“And respecting the result doesn’t mean we have to crawl away and shut up about this anymore. The opportunity to debate this is still there.”
The people of Scotland were “quite capable” of having this debate in a mature way, he said.
Tory leader Davidson said Sturgeon had responsibilities to “all of Scotland, just the SNP.”
“Her responsibilities means she shouldn’t be keeping this wound open. It’s not good for our country it’s not good for our economy. It’s not good for encouraging job and growth and all the things we want to see,”
It was the first time the five had been in the same room since the STV debate at the end of March and it was a much more fiery affair. Each of them had their moments.
Davidson stumbled over shipyard contracts on the Clyde, unable to say there would be no delay to the building of the frigates. “The shipyards were expecting to start cutting steel now,” Sturgeon said. “They now believe they won’t start cutting steel to December 2017. There has now been a delay of a year and a half and it is an absolute betrayal.”
Davidson said had Sturgeon had her way and dragged Scotland out the UK, there would be no shipbuilding contracts from the government.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here