UNIONIST parties have launched a fierce attack on the SNP for announcing a new dedicated independence taskforce to lay the groundwork for a new Yes campaign.
Keith Brown, the party's depute leader and campaign director, unveiled the initiative today saying the group would bring together strategic direction and expertise which is the “final piece in the jigsaw” to help deliver independence.
A “high-profile” campaigner to head the taskforce is expected to be announced in the next few days, which Brown said will “fire up” the wider Yes movement.
The objective of the group will be to lay the foundations of the indyref2 campaign before the Scottish Parliament elections due to take place in May, the SNP said.
READ MORE: SNP to launch independence taskforce to fire up Yes campaign
But the Tories and the LibDems are furious about the development.
“The SNP are ramping up their push for indyref2 this year while the rest of Scotland is worried about their jobs and when they’ll get the Covid vaccine," said Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross.
“They are stuck in the Holyrood bubble with no clue about the priorities of people across Scotland."
He said: "Escalating their plans for indyref2 is rash and incredibly self-indulgent when the country is struggling through another lockdown.
“Their shameless push for another referendum this year would wreck our recovery from the pandemic. We need to focus on building up Scotland, not breaking up our country.”
Tory MP John Lamont added: "My inbox is filling up with messages from concerned constituents about the slow pace of the vaccine delivery in Scotland, They are asking why the SNP Government is focussing on independence. They are right – the priority should be vaccines, not referendums."
Scottish LibDem leader Willie Rennie said: "The First Minister promised that the SNP wouldn't start a referendum in the middle of a pandemic, but off they go. They can't help themselves.
"Thousands of people are ill with Covid. Business and workers are desperately worried about their immediate future.
“Despite the promises of the First Minister in the Scottish Parliament, nationalists will always put their own interests first. Liberal Democrats will put recovery first.”
Some 18 polls in a row have recorded majority support for independence.
The latest poll, published last week, also reported that the First Minister's handling of the pandemic has Labour and Tory voters saying they more likely to vote for the SNP.
According to the latest poll, more than half of Scots – 52% – believe a fresh vote on leaving the UK should take place within five years or before.
READ MORE: More than half of Scots want indyref2 within the next five years, poll shows
The announcement of the taskforce comes ahead of members gathering next week for a key National Assembly to discuss the way forward to a second referendum.
Brown said: “Our Independence Taskforce at SNP headquarters will be welcomed by party members and grassroots Yes activists across the country. I really believe that when I make the appointment it will also fire up the wider Yes movement.”
The head of the taskforce will work with existing SNP headquarters staff and strategists across the party, with more staff to be added if the party achieves successful results in Holyrood in May.
Brown told the Sunday National today: "The Independence Taskforce will bring strategic direction and expertise which I believe is the final piece in the jigsaw that will help deliver independence.” Welcoming the announcement, SNP activist and independence campaigner Julie Hepburn said: “This is great news from Keith, which will be welcomed across the party.
“I’m really excited to hear more about who will head up our new Independence Taskforce and I understand that could be in the coming days.” During the 2014 referendum, pro-independence parties including the SNP, the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Socialist Party worked together under the umbrella organisation Yes Scotland.
It attracted support from high-profile names such as Sir Sean Connery and Brian Cox, produced a Yes Declaration, which was backed by one million signatures from across Scotland, and grew into a huge grassroots movement.
WATCH: Sean Connery makes the case for independence to a young Boris Johnson
A virtual National Assembly on the topic of “The Route to Independence – tactics and strategy for campaigning” will take place next Sunday.
There have been tensions within the party over the way forward for a second referendum if Boris Johnson continues to refuse to agree to a Section 30 order.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney last week said a fresh referendum is a “critical response” to Covid.
He added: “It would give us an opportunity to decide on our constitutional future and to determine the nature of our economy and the way we deal with and support our citizens.”
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