SNP MP: De facto independence referendum plan 'deficient'

Stewart McDonald, the party’s former defence spokesman at Westminster, said this generation of the SNP members can finally secure independence that “so many before us had worked hard for”.

He called for a new national Yes campaign to get underway by summer to gather support for a demand for the power to hold a referendum which will be put “front and centre” of the next General Election campaign.

“We do not want to be the generation that blew it because of our own impatience,” he said.

READ MORE: SNP MP: De facto referendum is the only route to Scottish independence

A draft resolution published by the SNP NEC, which will be discussed at a special conference next month, has outlined options to fight the next General Election as a de facto referendum or instead contest the Scottish Parliament election in 2026 on that basis.

But in a paper ahead of the meeting, published exclusively by The National, McDonald argued there is a need to “go beyond the parameters” of the NEC resolutions and table amendments to put the cause “on a path that is materially making progress to independence”.

This can be achieved, he suggested, by putting a commitment to secure a legitimate referendum through a Section 30 order at the front and centre of the manifesto for the upcoming Westminster election.

However, he said there would have to be a “noticeable difference” in the prominence given to the issue compared to previous election – and it would have to be supplemented with an independence campaign in “full swing”.

He wrote: “A de facto referendum, as this paper outlines, is a deficient mechanism for the party to opt for and creates the potential for all sorts of problems for the cause.

“Although this paper touches on some of these dangers, chief amongst them is that a de facto referendum will not deliver independence and could set our movement back significantly.

“Despite the false allure of a de facto referendum at a Holyrood election – with a more inclusive voter franchise and an election campaign focused on Scotland – the problems with de facto as a mechanism remain the same: it will not deliver independence.”

One reason for this, he said, is that there are “no grounds” for believing the UK Government will open negotiations for independence if the bar for achieving success is met.

This would then lead to “unreasonable expectations and demands”, such as calls for a unilateral declaration of independence, which would diminish the country’s standing internationally, he added.

McDonald said the discussion of a de facto referendum demonstrated the movement was seeking to solve the “wrong” but “understandable” problem of “our own impatience”.

He argued this energy should instead be channelled towards building support for independence, so that a mandate won in the General Election would be “steeled to such an unprecedented level that no Prime Minister can misinterpret, delay, or ignore it".

“Around half of the Scottish electorate now support independence and we must seek to grow and sustain this support through a new national campaign for independence,” he said.

“This campaign, fully resourced to run as a national body, should encourage and empower a more decentralised ground campaign in communities across Scotland and should be set up by this summer.”

He added: “The Scottish Government should also begin a process of engagement with the public and civil society about constitutional change – some have suggested a constitutional convention – and ensure that Scotland’s many political traditions are able to take part.”

McDonald concluded: “We must fight the next election on a campaign which puts the demand for the power to hold a legal referendum front and centre.

“To achieve that, we must establish a new national campaign to drive support for independence above the 50% it currently enjoys, while refusing to derogate from our commitment to democracy and the rule of law. Scotland deserves no less."

READ MORE: John Swinney won't commit to de facto independence referendum plan

His approach to has been backed by former SNP minister Alex Neil, who has written a foreword for the paper in which he says the starting point must be to substantially increase support for independence.

The ex-Airdrie and Shotts MSP said: “Until we garner the support of the overwhelming majority of the Scottish people for independence and make the lion of Scottish public opinion roar, Westminster will continue to sit on its hands and ignore us.

“Stewart is correct when he points out that a de facto referendum is likely to be an own goal. The chances of obtaining 50% of the vote in a UK General Election are slim indeed.

“Even if we were to repeat the 2015 result when we won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats at Westminster, we would still only get 49.7% of the vote. The de facto referendum will have been lost. Why hang that noose round our independence necks?”