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Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Andrew Quinn

SNP should treat every election as a de-facto independence referendum, says senior MP

A senior SNP MP has said that the party should treat every election as a de-facto independence referendum.

Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart said "the referendum route to independence is now dead" and that every election should "become a verdict on independence".

Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had said that the party would use the next general election as a de-facto independence referendum after the Supreme Court ruled that the UK Government must grant Scotland the power to hold a vote on independence.

The strategy is understood to have gone down badly with some MPs. Many were fearful that such a tactic could result in them losing their seats.

The disagreement led to the party announcing that it would hold a special conference to discuss its independence strategy, but this was postponed after Sturgeon resigned as First Minister.

Wishart wrote in a post on his blog: "Every vote for the SNP must be seen as a vote for independence and every election an opportunity to progress the cause of an independent Scotland.

"The referendum route to independence is now dead.

"The UK Government have repeatedly said that they will not grant the necessary order or powers for an agreed process to take place. If anything they have become even more assertive in that view."

He continued: "What I believe should now happen is that we contest every election with the first line of each successive manifesto stating that ‘if the Scottish National Party secures 50% plus of the vote this will mean Scotland will become an independent nation’.

"Every election will therefore become a verdict on independence and every vote secured for the SNP a vote to ensure our nation becomes sovereign."

He also said that he did not think the current investigation into the SNP's finances would affect people's views on independence.

Sturgeon's husband and former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell and ex-party treasurer Colin Beattie were both arrested and released without charge as part of the probe.

Wishart wrote: "People’s views on the constitution and desire to see their nation independent are not affected around the acquisition of motorhomes, police investigations or the hiring of auditors.

"It is determined by the fact that people believe that another type of future is possible and that future will be significantly better than the condition Scotland currently finds itself in."

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