CONSTITUTION Secretary Angus Robertson has been urged to clarify the Scottish Government’s indyref2 position following his comments on the possibility of the SNP becoming the official opposition at Westminster.
On Thursday, two separate UK-wide polls showed Labour with a massive lead over the Tories, with YouGov’s survey putting Keir Starmer’s party polling at 54%, while Liz Truss’s Tories were far behind on only 21%.
The polling company said it was “the highest [lead] of any recorded poll since the late 1990s”.
A second poll from Survation showed Labour with a 21-point lead against the Tories, the largest Labour lead they had “ever recorded”. The September 29 poll put the Tories on 28% and Labour on 49%.
Both polls also showed the SNP sitting at 5%.
Meanwhile, a third survey showed Scottish Secretary Alister Jack and Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross are set to lose their seats to the SNP.
When the results from the YouGov poll were put into an electoral seat calculator, it showed an almost complete wipe-out of the Tory party, leaving them with only three MPs and in theory, the SNP would become the official opposition.
Here's what happens if you put the vote shares from today's YouGov poll into https://t.co/YoxqdahYQ0 - Labour win 565 seats, the SNP become the official opposition with 51, the Lib Dems hold seven and the Conservatives just three. pic.twitter.com/Mrrc7aiMEl
— Phil Rodgers (@PhilRodgers) September 29, 2022
These predictions off the back of the poll results claimed that if a General Election was called now; Labour would have 565 seats, the SNP 51, LibDems seven, Plaid Cymru four, Tories three, Greens one, Other one and 18 MPs from Northern Ireland parties.
Whether this is likely or not, Constitution Secretary Robertson waded into the debate on Thursday evening on social media.
No chance. According to latest polls @theSNP will win all Tory seats held in Scotland and become the official opposition at Westminster! 💥🏴 https://t.co/Iw5AhVXpkn
— Angus Robertson (@AngusRobertson) September 29, 2022
Sharing an article where Truss had urged Nicola Sturgeon to mirror the tax cuts which have prompted economic turmoil and the collapse in the pound, he wrote: “No chance. According to latest polls @theSNP will win all Tory seats held in Scotland and become the official opposition at Westminster!”
The current Scottish Government position is to pursue a referendum, first through the Supreme Court case which is due to be held next month, and in the event of a ruling that doesn’t allow Holyrood to legislate for indyref2, the upcoming 2024 General Election was to be used as a defacto ballot.
Alba said they found it “at odds that Robertson is relishing the prospect” of the SNP becoming the main opposition in the House of Commons, when in the event of a successful General Election win for pro-Yes parties Scotland should “declaring independence on the outcome of a successful vote”.
Yet, the pro-independence party headed by former first minister Alex Salmond were not the only ones to criticise Roberston's intervention, with his comments sparking a mixed response on social media.
One SNP member wrote: “I didn't spend half my waking life from 2014-2017 rapping doors, climbing stairs, folding papers, & donating what I could to the SNP just so they could be His Majesty's ‘official opposition’ in 2024.
“It's long past time to ‘settle up, not settle down’, mind that phrase?”
Another social media user added: “I wonder how many SNP members and Voters wanted to be 'the official opposition at Westminster' in 2014? How a party changes eh.”
One said simply: “We don’t want that. We want out Angus.”
Another added: “Why would we be interested in, let alone celebrating, being official opposition at Westminster? We have a promised referendum to win next year. DON’T WE?”
Chris McEleny, Alba’s general secretary, said: “Of course, using a national opinion poll to predict seat numbers gives you an inaccurate return.
“It has been 15 long years since the Scottish people freed themselves from the yoke of Labour mediocrity forever and they have still failed to reflect Scotland's interests, so I do not see independence supporters rushing back to a party that wishes to suppress Scotland’s right to choose its own future as much as the Tories do.
“However, the Scottish Government have been clear that in the event of their Supreme Court action ending in failure, the next General Election will be a defacto referendum on independence.
“Therefore, I am at odds as to why you would be relishing the prospect of being His Majesty’s Official Loyal Opposition when the reality is if a de-facto referendum is to be treated as such then you should be declaring independence on the outcome of a successful vote.
“Perhaps the Constitution Secretary would care to clarify the Government’s position in this regard.”
The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.
