Keir Starmer has rejected Nicola Sturgeon’s call for the next general election to be turned into a referendum on independence.
The Labour leader, buoyed by a massive poll lead over the Tories, said the election would be a choice between his party and the “disastrous” record of the Conservatives.
The Scottish and UK Governments are at loggerheads over the Truss administration’s refusal to agree to indyref2.
If the Supreme Court rules that Holyrood cannot organise a referendum unilaterally, the First Minister has said the next Westminster election will be a ‘de facto’ vote on independence.
Writing exclusively for the Record, Starmer said: “The next election is not going to be about independence.
“It’s going to be a choice between the disastrous record of the Tories over the last 12 years and change.
“In Aberdeen, Manchester, Liverpool, Dundee, London, Glasgow - in every town and city across these islands there is a majority for change.”
The economic carnage caused by the Tory Government’s mini-budget has resulted in Labour leading the Tories by over 20 points.
Three opinion polls also showed a sizeable bounce for Scottish Labour, with Anas Sarwar’s party recording over 30% of the vote.
A party source said Labour needed to win around one in ten SNP voters to start winning a large number of seats in Scotland.
SNP MP Kirsten Oswald said: “Keir Starmer is either insincere or ill informed - in every Tory held seat in Scotland, the SNP is the only real challenger. The only way to get rid of the Tories for good is by voting SNP and the only way to get rid of this rotten Westminster system - that the Labour party is intent on protecting at all costs - is for Scotland to become an independent country.”
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