THE SNP have challenged Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar to “break the habit of his leadership and stand up for Scottish democracy” by calling out Liz Truss’s latest proposed plan to "gerrymander" the next independence referendum.
It has been reported Truss's campaign team are mulling over bringing in a new law which would require more than half of the Scottish electorate to vote for independence before it is allowed to happen, rather than just 50% of those who vote.
The legislation would also require evidence for more than a year that at least 60% of voters in Scotland want a second referendum before the UK Government would consider it.
SNP depute leader Keith Brown has branded the proposal "outrageous" and says Scottish politicians should be "lining up" to shoot it down.
And he has in particular called on Sarwar to reject the plan, suggesting that if the same idea was being floated for a General Election, his party would be quick out the blocks to take action.
Brown said: “This outrageous proposal is an Orwellian perversion of democracy that simply cannot happen.
"It destroys the founding principles of democracy and every politician who claims to be a democrat must reject it in the strongest terms possible.
“The news that it is even being considered is a terrifying indictment of how far the Tories are prepared to stoop. But following Boris Johnson’s Trump-like erosion of standards in public life, we cannot rule out continuity candidate Truss also dispensing with integrity and respect for democracy.
“Scottish politicians, regardless of their position on the constitution, should be lining up to shout this down. We know supine Douglas Ross has no credibility as a leader - he can’t even choose between Truss or Sunak - so he will just do as he’s told.
“But Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar must break the habit of his leadership and for once stand up for Scottish democracy. Imagine if the Tories brought in similar laws for general elections, meaning 50 per cent of the British people need to cast their vote to change a Government. That would have Labour frothing at the mouth because it would all but guarantee a permanent Tory government.
“If Anas Sarwar cherishes Scottish democracy, he needs to defend it by speaking out. Anything less would be an unforgivable failure of political leadership.”
The SNP's Tommy Sheppard said the plans were "illegitimate" in a country where voting is not compulsory.
He said it effectively meant anyone who was unable to vote would become an assumed Unionist and insisted he was a “firm believer” in the country’s future being decided by those who visit the ballot box.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the reported reform would be “a changing of the basic rules of democracy that we have all abided by for our entire lifetimes and long before that”.
Neither the 2014 independence referendum or the 2016 EU referendum required half of the entire electorate to participate for the result to be adhered to.
The convention is that a simple majority of those who turn out to vote suffices.
Green MSP Maggie Chapman added: “It’s clear that unionists no longer believe they can win a referendum.
"But whether you support independence yet or not, nobody should stand for this attack on basic democratic values.
“Threatening to change the rules because the vote might not go their way just reinforces that the UK is incapable of delivering the greener, fairer Scotland we need."
