An SNP plan to use the next general election as a proxy independence referendum was thrown into confusion today.
John Swinney was forced to backtrack after he used an interview to claim his party would have a mandate to begin negotiating with the UK Government if it won a majority of seats in Scotland.
But the Deputy First Minister later claimed he had misheard the question - and insisted he meant to say the SNP would only have a mandate if it won a majority of votes cast.
READ MORE: Sturgeon is preparing the SNP to fight a general election and not an IndyRef2
Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs on Tuesday her government intends to hold a second referendum on independence on October 19 next year.
But the vote will only go ahead if the UK Supreme Court rules that Holyrood has the legal power to stage it.
The First Minister warned if judges blocked her plan she would instead use the next general election as a "de facto" referendum.
The SNP leader said she would ask Scots to vote for her party on the basis it would begin talks to end the Union if it won a majority.
Appearing on BBC Radio Scotland, Swinney was asked: "Just to be clear, if you have a majority of Scottish MPs at the next UK general election, that would be a mandate to start negotiations for an independent Scotland?"
The Deputy First Minister replied: "That's correct, yes."
Asked why his party had not done so at the last two general elections, he added: "The Scottish Government has set out our view that the question of independence should be settled in a legal and a democratic referendum.
"That was judged to be appropriate in 2014 and we judge it appropriate again in 2023.
"That's the process that should be put in place and we would prefer to agree to that process by a section 30 order with the UK Government."
In a tweet posted more than two hours after the interview, Swinney backtracked: "When asked me about a 'majority of seats' this morning, I only picked up on 'majority'.
"Referenda, including de facto referenda at a UK General Election, are won with a majority of votes. Nothing else."
And the First Minister backed that position in a separate BBC interview.
Asked about the possibility of a general election being used as a "de facto" referendum, she said: "I'll set out this in more detail should we be in this situation, which I hope we won’t be in because I hope we'll be able to have a lawful referendum.
"But the first issue of principle is that – and I've always said this – Scotland can only become independent if a majority of people vote for that proposition.
"And secondly, when a majority of people do vote for that proposition, as a matter of practical reality, and this will be true after a referendum, we have to negotiate the implementation of that with the UK Government."
She added: "Actually it's the UK Government that should be getting pinned on the what ifs here.
"What I'm trying to do is respect democracy and the rule of law and to work away to deliver the mandate in the Scottish Parliament for a lawful referendum.
"And if that is blocked every time then what does that say about UK democracy? What does it say about the nature of the UK – certainly not a voluntary union of equals."
Professor James Mitchell, a constitutional expert at the University of Edinburgh, said it was "not for a political party to dictate the terms of an election".
He told ITV Border: "There is no such thing as a de facto referendum.
"There are elections and there are referendums and they are quite distinct.
"In an election, the voter is allowed to choose what she or he wishes to choose to determine their vote.
"It doesn't have to be about one issue - and it rarely is about one issue.
"It's not for a political party to dictate the terms of an election.
"In a referendum, the question is very clear and that is the whole point."
Sarah Boyack, constitution spokeswoman for Scottish Labour, said: "This desperate claim from John Swinney exposes the SNP for what they are – obsessive nationalists who are hell-bent on gaming the electorate to suit their ends.
"It is deeply embarrassing for Nicola Sturgeon to be so publicly contradicted on the barometer for independence by her own deputy.
"This is just a tired party, trying to deflect attention from their failures in government.
"The Nicola Sturgeon of the pandemic is gone. This is the return of the divisive Nicola Sturgeon who wants to drag our country back to the arguments of the past.
"This is not the time to pit Scot against Scot – we must be focused on tackling the cost of living crisis and re-building Scotland for the future."
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Scottish Lib Dem leader, said: "We’re less than 24 hours into the nationalist’s latest cunning wheeze and already the wheels are falling off the clown car.
"They seem to have conceded that they are heading for a defeat in court and so they are brainstorming barmy schemes for what comes next."
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