THE Scottish Greens co-leaders have described a de facto referendum as a “last ditch” attempt to secure independence.
This follows the UK Supreme Court ruling which said the Scottish Parliament could not legislate for an independence referendum without Westminster’s consent.
Nicola Sturgeon has previously said she wants to use the next UK General Election as a “de facto” referendum where the SNP will make it clear they are campaigning on the sole issue of independence.
The party is set to hold a special conference to agree what would be in their manifesto for that election.
READ MORE: Scottish Greens: 2022 showed value of speaking truth to power
In an interview with The Scotsman, Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater said that a victory for pro-independence parties would mean the UK Government would need to negotiate the terms for an independent Scotland or it would show “the UK is no longer a democracy”.
Harvie told the newspaper: “If we are left with a de-facto referendum as the only option, that is in place of the referendum that we ought to have, that we deserve to have, that we have a right to have.
“It’s not about triggering another one, it’s about answering the question.”
He continued: “The will of the people of Scotland needs to be asserted democratically. If an election is the only way of doing that, then that’s the last ditch.
“If that’s the only option they leave us and we take through that process and they ignore the result, then the UK is no longer a democracy.”
In December, the Sunday National revealed that white papers on Scottish independence would still be published.
This came after John Swinney announced the £20 million allocated for a referendum will instead be used to support vulnerable people against soaring bills.
Elsewhere, Slater accused unionist parties of “cowardice” and said that “they have to provide a framework for us”.
She told The Scotsman: “They don’t want to talk about the Union. They know we have a better story to tell and so they do the only thing they can, which is block the referendum.
“They should have the courage of their convictions. If they think the Union is so great, they should come up and debate with us on it.”
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel