EX SNP minister calls for alternative approach on independence
In a sign that Scottish nationalists are getting restless in the face of immutable opposition from London, a former Scottish National Party (SNP) minister has called for the Scottish Parliament to seize the initiative on independence.
According to Press TV, SNP Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP), Alex Neil, has called for the Scottish Parliament (also known as Holyrood) to hold a “consultative vote” on independence.
Neil, who was most recently Scottish minister for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners’ Rights, was careful to add that the whole process should be “legal”.
Caveat notwithstanding, Neil’s proposal is a departure from SNP leader, Nicola’s Sturgeon’s rigidly orthodox approach to independence.
Sturgeon has strenuously argued that a referendum without Westminster approval will fail to attract international recognition.
But Sturgeon’s approach has hit a dead end, as demonstrated by the UK government’s refusal to issue a Section 30 order to formally approve a referendum.
A Section 30 order is the required constitutional mechanism to place an independence referendum – and its outcome – on a legal footing.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and high ranking ministers in the freshly invigorated hard right Tory government, have repeatedly said they will not agree to a new Scottish independence referendum.
Speaking on the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland, Neil, who has had multiple senior ministerial positions (including as health secretary) in the Scottish government since 2009, argued that a “consultative vote” would “force the hand of the government at Westminster”.
However, Neil was unconvincing with the details, especially when quizzed about the outcome of the October 2017 Catalonia independence referendum which was ruled illegal by the Spanish government.
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