GORDON Brown’s case to save the Union has been dubbed hopeless after he claimed the Scottish Government would not have a mandate for indyref2 even if the SNP win a majority in May’s election.
The former prime minister, who has been working with Michael Gove on strategies so save the Union, insisted that a landslide win would still not be sufficient for a second plebiscite.
SNP MP Mhairi Black fired back, stating Unionists will not have a “single democratic leg to stand on” if Scots elect a pro-independence majority.
READ MORE: Better Together band 'being tuned up' as Brown and Gove team up to 'save Union'
Speaking to the BBC earlier, Brown was asked if an SNP victory would represent a mandate for an independence vote.
“No, no, I don’t think so,” he replied, adding: “People in Scotland are worried about the virus, they’re worried about jobs, they’re worried about the future of young people, this is their priority at the moment.
“Anything that diverts from that at the moment, holding a referendum this year, in the midst of a virus when you can’t even have public meetings or door-to-door canvassing, would seem quite unfair to the democratic process.”
READ MORE: Tories 'will be taking millions of Scots to court' if they challenge indyref2
In response, Black told The National that it wasn’t up to Brown or any Westminster politician to decide Scotland’s future.
She said: “No amount of constitutional tinkering from Labour would protect Scotland from Brexit or the Tory power grab – only independence can do that, and the fact Gordon Brown is cosying up to the likes of Michael Gove, the leader of the Tories’ anti-independence campaign, shows Scotland has nothing to gain from his proposals.
"Gordon Brown is saying the same things he said nearly seven years ago, knowing full well he has no authority to ever implement it. Scotland's future is for the people of Scotland to decide – not Westminster politicians – and 20 consecutive polls show that the majority support independence.
“The fact of the matter is that the UK we were promised in 2014 hasn't materialised. Scotland has been dragged out of the EU against its will thanks to Labour and the Tories. They know full well that if there is a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament in May, Westminster does not have a single democratic leg to stand on.”
Brown’s comments to the BBC came after it emerged Boris Johnson’s five-step plan to save the Union had been shared with the former Labour prime minister.
READ MORE: PM refuses to say if he would take Scots to court on indyref2
Gove, in charge of a special Downing Street Union committee, compared the strategy with Brown’s plans to stop Scottish independence.
In a column published in Monday’s Telegraph, Brown warned that the UK is in crisis.
“The status quo is not working and the world’s most successful experiment in multinational living is under greater threat than at any time in 300 years,” he wrote.
The Scot added: “And it is indeed Scotland where dissatisfaction is so deep that it threatens the end of the United Kingdom”
His proposed solution is based on promoting “everyday benefits” of the Union, such as the armed forces.
“Yes, we can appeal to history, tradition, culture and the longevity of our institutions, but it is through a focus on the everyday benefits of cooperation and reciprocity, represented by, for example, the National Health Service and our Armed Forces, and the sentiments that inspire them, solidarity and empathy, that we demonstrate the real glue that today brings four distinctive nations and many diverse regions together,” Brown wrote.
READ MORE: Douglas Ross calls for indyref2 boycott if it's held without UK consent
Black, however, was unconvinced by the former prime minister’s plan.
She added: "The people of Scotland have shown time and again they want to be a welcoming, open and fairer country and remain part of the EU, while the UK government seeks to make the UK an isolationist state and refuses to take steps to close the inequalities gap.
"Westminster's repeated failings have shown that the best way to protect our interests and our economy, and achieve our ambition of being a fairer and more progressive society, is by becoming an independent country inside the EU."
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