LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn has faced criticism for posting an "incomplete and ripped of context" quote about Nicola Sturgeon.
Last night during his 48-hour Scotland visit, Corbyn posted: "Nicola Sturgeon has just said this about me: 'I won’t help him in power, to get into power, to stay in power.' Just like in 1979, @theSNP are willing to usher in another heartless Conservative government."
Nicola Sturgeon has just said this about me:
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) November 13, 2019
“I won’t help him in power, to get into power, to stay in power.”
Just like in 1979, @theSNP are willing to usher in another heartless Conservative government.
pic.twitter.com/yXlTeXp7tq
There has been talk that some kind of agreement could be formed between Labour the SNP following the December 12 General Election, though both parties have ruled out formal coalitions. It is likely that the matter of a second Scottish independence referendum would be a key feature of any agreement.
But after Corbyn was yesterday unclear on when he thought indyref2 should take place if he became prime minister, the First Minister was critical and said that timescale should be decided by Scots.
READ MORE: More confusion over Jeremy Corbyn's position on independence
Channel 4 correspondent Ciaran Jenkins took to Twitter to point out that the quotes Corbyn used had come from Sturgeon's comments but been taken out of their original context.
He posted: "This quote retweeted over 2,000 times is incomplete and ripped of context to the extent its meaning has changed."
This quote retweeted over 2,000 times is incomplete and ripped of context to the extent its meaning has changed. https://t.co/MSm3gZoIUk
— Ciaran Jenkins (@C4Ciaran) November 13, 2019
He went on: "@NicolaSturgeon actually said: ‘I won't help him in power, to get into power, to stay in power if he doesn't accept the principle that whether there is a referendum in Scotland and what the timescale of that referendum should be should be determined by the people of Scotland.’
"Jeremy Corbyn has made it appear @NicolaSturgeon would not support him in power when her actual position is that she would support him in a specific circumstance that he has for some reason omitted."
In the "1979" comment, the Labour leader had been referring to the vote of no-confidence of that year, in which the SNP's 11 MPs voted against the Labour government and backed the motion to force a General Election.
Desperate stuff from Labour - I was in primary school in 1979. I’ll never support Tories in power. But Labour would have big questions to answer if they gave up a chance at UK government in order to block Scotland’s right to choose our own future. https://t.co/lyUkEz1eJH
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) November 13, 2019
Sturgeon also took aim at the tweet herself over its reference to the vote.
She replied: "Desperate stuff from Labour - I was in primary school in 1979. I’ll never support Tories in power. But Labour would have big questions to answer if they gave up a chance at UK government in order to block Scotland’s right to choose our own future."
Corbyn's two-day Scotland visit comes to end tonight. So far he has visited a number of target seats for his party.
Earlier today, at an event in Dundee, he was heckled over his opposition to a second independence referendum.
Corbyn was interrupted by a member of the audience who asked what he planned to do about the "will of the Scottish people".
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