WESTMINSTER won’t be able to ignore demands for a second independence referendum if the SNP wins a majority again in Holyrood, the party’s depute leader has insisted.
Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, told The National that an election victory for the party, coupled with a constitutional convention calling for Scotland’s right to decide, would put pressure on the UK Government that it wouldn’t be able to “hide” from.
We exclusively revealed how John Swinney has proposed a three-point independence strategy that will be put to members at the SNP conference in Aberdeen in October.
And, part of the First Minister’s plan will include a constitutional convention to be established ahead of the election to “marshal support” for independence.
Brown, who cosigned the motion with Swinney, told The National that he believes the strategy will make it impossible for Westminster to ignore demands for a second referendum.
Swinney has set out that building support for independence, upping the pressure on [[Westminster]] to allow Scotland to assert its right to choose through a democratic referendum, and urging the public to vote SNP at the election, to deliver a majority of MSPs, would form the three prongs of his strategy.
The [[SNP]] won a historic majority in 2011 under Alex Salmond, which led to the independence referendum in 2014.
Asked about concerns that if the SNP did win a majority that Westminster would still refuse a Section 30 order, Brown said he “genuinely” didn’t think that would happen.
“I know some people do, and I understand the cynicism because of the way that Westminster's behaved,” he explained.
“I'm talking about the international opinion which supports the principle of self-determination.”
He insisted that a majority combined with a civic push would provide an “unquestionable” mandate.
“I think those two things together will mean that Westminster won't have the ability, they've nowhere to hide in relation to this,” he said.
“That's what I believe.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has repeatedly said he would not allow an independence referendum to go ahead, but Brown queried how he would stand up to overwhelming public support.
He added: “I think Starmer is becoming weaker and weaker by the month, and you're seeing very strong movements around the rest of the UK, particularly in Wales, for countries looking for more self determination.
“I don't think Westminster can stand in the way of that tide, in my view.
“But they're the ones I have to answer for any continued intransigence, not those that want to exercise Scotland's rights.”
The leadership motion calls for the “immediate” establishment of a constitutional convention, which Brown said would begin ahead of the Holyrood 2026 election – but not before [[SNP]] members signed off on it.
It comes as over 40 SNP branches backed a challenge to Swinney and Brown’s strategy ahead of the conference. The rebel motion would support a pro-independence majority, including other parties in the total.
Swinney and Brown’s strategy does not include counting votes given to other pro-independence parties, but the depute leader insisted that this would not give the “practical effect” that supporters of that strategy would want to see.
“You could have any number of parties that stand that say they support independence,” he said.
“You could have independent candidates standing on an independence platform, and they win a vote on the second of the list votes in the Scottish Parliament, there's no international bodies [that are] going to recognise that as a legitimate way forward to declare independence.”
It comes as SNP members are set to hold a second rebel meeting against the leadership’s strategy.
