A HUGE majority of MSPs have backed a motion affirming that Scotland has a right to decide its constitutional future.
The First Minister led a Scottish Parliament debate on Tuesday in which he asked MSPs to endorse a motion stating “that the Parliament agrees that Scotland is a nation that has a right to decide its own future”.
The motion passed with 84 votes in favour and 18 against, with MSPs from Scottish Labour, the Scottish Greens and the SNP all backing it.
John Swinney opened the proceedings by saying that the debate was “vital”, highlighting that Prime Minister Andy Burnham made comments earlier this month in which he appeared to suggest a second ballot on independence could be possible if Scots support one.
“For the first time since 2014 there is now an explicit acknowledgement from the UK prime minister that Scotland should have a referendum when it is likely that people would vote for it,” he said.
Swinney then added that he hopes for a "meaningful discussion about where power lies".
Referring back to the 2014 referendum, he then said: “Just because a right has been exercised once does not mean it can never be exercised again.
“If the people of Scotland themselves want the opportunity to ask the question again, who has the right to stop them?
“Scotland is a nation and its people have the right to decide their future.
“The UK is a voluntary Union, which means its nations can stay part of it or they can choose their independence. These two things were once accepted right across the political spectrum in Scotland.”
Scottish LibDem MSP Willie Rennie argued against the motion, saying that the SNP failed to secure a majority at May’s Holyrood election – to which Swinney highlighted that there were now a record 73 pro-independence MSPs in the Scottish Parliament and that “it should be respected by the UK Government”.
Introducing his amendment which backed Swinney's wording but added further commitments to tackling child poverty, Michael Marra called for Holyrood to "deliver change now" on issues such as the cost of living, opportunities for young people, housing and public services.
The new leader of Scottish Labour said that Scotland is set to miss child poverty targets "by a mile".
“This parliament’s priority should be getting us back on track to recommit ourselves to that commitment and change the lives of children right across the country," he added.
Marra went on: "I know many people who voted Yes in 2014 - I count them among my friends and family. I think of the people I know who support independence and I feel sympathy for how comprehensively this SNP government has failed them for the last 12 years."
Reform UK Scotland leader Malcolm Offord then withdrew his party’s amendment as he said the proceedings are a "vanity project" and (above) led Reform MSPs out of the chamber to jeers from SNP and Scottish Greens politicians.
Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer, who was due to speak next, then said: “I hope the Parliament Arms across the road have got extra staff on this afternoon.”
He added: “I get the impression they might be busy."
He then went on to say that it is "not good enough for the hundreds of thousands of younger Scots who were not old enough" to vote in the 2014 referendum.
"They deserve their right to decide the future of this country," Greer added.
Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay said: "John Swinney doesn't like anything that's British – apart from his British Airways business-class flights."
He then said that the SNP are "sowing petty grievance and division".
