THE SNP have accused the Conservatives and Labour of double standards for failing to acknowledge a mandate for a second independence referendum while previously calling for the will of Parliament to be recognised.
Depute SNP leader Keith Brown hit out after his party’s landslide election victory on May 6 saw 64 of the party’s candidates elected and a parliamentary majority in favour of a new referendum with the Scottish Greens’ eight MSPs.
However, the pro-Union parties have insisted there is not a new mandate for indyref2.
A dossier compiled by the SNP shows occasions before the election when both Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for Parliament’s will to be respected.
Both were in connection with two votes in the Parliament calling on John Swinney to release legal advice given to the Scottish Government during its unsuccessful challenge to Alex Salmond’s judicial review over sexual harassment complaints made against him by two civil servants.
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The Deputy First Minister published the advice after the Scottish Greens made clear that if he did not, they would back a motion of no confidence in him that had been lodged by the Tories.
On March 1 Ross tweeted that the Scottish Government should respect the will of Parliament by publishing legal advice in the Alex Salmond judicial review case.
“Women were let down and over £500,000 was lost. We need to know what went wrong. John Swinney today has to respect the will of two Scottish Parliament votes and publish the legal advice. If he won’t, I urge all opposition parties to unite and back our no confidence motion,” Ross tweeted.
Women were let down and over £500,000 was lost. We need to know what went wrong. @JohnSwinney today has to respect the will of two Scottish Parliament votes and publish the legal advice.
— Douglas Ross MP (@Douglas4Moray) March 1, 2021
If he won't, I urge all opposition parties to unite and back our no confidence motion.
Tory MSP Murdo Fraser also tweeted on the same day: “What a shameless opportunistic bunch this SNP government are. They ignore two votes in Parliament demanding legal advice is published and it’s only when the Deputy FM sees that the writing is on the wall that they cave it. Disgraceful contempt of Parliament.”
Sarwar also tweeted on March 1: “It shouldn’t have taken the fact that [Swinney] was going to lose his job for him to do the right thing and release the legal advice. Parliament is bigger than any party.”
It shouldn’t have taken the fact he was going to lose his job for him to do the right thing and release the legal advice. Parliament is bigger than any party. https://t.co/snm0hKTOhF
— Anas Sarwar (@AnasSarwar) March 1, 2021
Brown said Ross and Sarwar were now “standing in the way” of Scottish voters backing a second independence referendum.
“The people of Scotland have spoken, emphatically delivering an SNP landslide and electing a 15-seat majority of independence supporting MSPs along the way. For months before the election the Tories, Labour and the LibDems demanded the will of Parliament be respected but it seems they only want that when it suits them,” he said.
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“The will of Parliament is committed firmly to holding a post-pandemic referendum – once the Covid crisis is over – but people like Anas Sarwar and Douglas Ross are actively standing in the way of that by denying the people of Scotland a choice over their future.”
He added: “If the opposition took the will of Parliament seriously, they would respect the outcome of the election, rather than continuing their Trump-like denial of democracy. It is not for politicians like Anas Sarwar, Murdo Fraser or Douglas Ross to decide the future of Scotland, it is for the people of Scotland. They have spoken and have sent a loud and clear message that they want their future to be put in their hands and it’s long past time the other parties respected that democratic mandate.”
In her victory speech Sturgeon said a referendum is the “will of the people”.
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