SNP members are set to vote on a potential new policy that could see talks on leaving the UK start if the party wins a majority of Scottish seats at the next General Election.
A motion from SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf and Westminster leader Stephen Flynn in support of that is to be debated at the party’s conference next month.
Essentially the announcement made by Yousaf at the party's Independence Convention this summer, it makes clear that as the UK Government has continued to “unjustly block a democratic referendum” the next Westminster general election – expected to take place some time in 2024 – could be a “means to offer that opportunity”.
The SNP manifesto for that election should “state on page one, line one” that a vote for the party is a vote for “Scotland to become an independent country”.
The motion then goes on to add that “if the SNP subsequently wins the most seats at the General Election in Scotland, the Scottish Government is empowered to begin immediate negotiations with the UK Government to give democratic effect to Scotland becoming an independent country”.
It comes after successive Conservative prime ministers have rejected calls from the Scottish Government for another vote on the country’s place in the UK.
The UK Supreme Court has already ruled that the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to organise its own ballot on the issue.
Reaction to the motion has so far seen Scottish LibDem chief Alex Cole-Hamilton describe it as a "crackpot" plan, and Alba chief Alex Salmond warn it's "not at all credible".
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