SCOTLAND’S newly elected parliament has called for Westminster to devolve the powers which would allow it to hold a second independence referendum.
MSPs voted by 72 to 55 to support First Minister John Swinney’s call for the UK Government “to make a Section 30 order under the Scotland Act 1998 to devolve the powers to the Scottish Parliament to hold a referendum on Scottish independence”.
MSPs also voted by 72 to 56 to support an amendment to Swinney's motion proposed by Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer, which called for "more effective use of existing devolved powers".
At the Holyrood elections on May 7, Scotland elected 73 pro-independence MSPs – the largest number ever – against 56 Unionist MSPs. The Parliament voted along those lines to support Swinney’s motion, with the Scottish Greens backing the SNP and the SNP backing the Scottish Greens.
Amendments tabled by the Scottish Labour, Tory, and LibDem groups all failed to pass, while Reform UK did not make any effort to alter the SNP leader’s motion – for which they were criticised by the other Unionist parties during the debate.
The final amendment which MSPs voted to pass calls on the UK Government to devolve powers over an independence referendum. It reads:
That the Parliament welcomes the emphatic democratic mandate for bold and ambitious reform backed by the people of Scotland at the Scottish General Election; further welcomes the Scottish Government’s clear commitment to eradicate child poverty, deliver a stronger NHS and public services, build a more prosperous economy and help people in the cost of living crisis and tackle climate change; recognises that the people of Scotland have returned the largest pro-independence majority ever elected to the Scottish Parliament; believes this majority affirms a clear mandate that decisions about Scotland’s future are best taken in Scotland and that mandate must be respected; calls on the UK Government to make a Section 30 order under the Scotland Act 1998 to devolve the powers to the Scottish Parliament to hold a referendum on Scottish independence, and agrees that the Parliament is at its best when it works together in pursuit of a country that can be confident in its future, believes that the most effective way in which to grow public support for Scottish independence and to meet the scale of the challenges currently facing Scotland is through more effective use of existing devolved powers; recognises that meeting the Scottish Government’s stated ambitions will require a significant escalation in action and ambition; notes that no one party holds a majority in the current parliamentary session, but that there is a clear majority for progressive values, and agrees that, if all progressive parties work constructively and collaboratively, Scotland can be a fairer, greener and kinder country where household costs are reduced, where wealth is distributed more equally and where climate and natural environment are protected.
Urging MSPs to back his calls for powers over a second independence vote, Swinney said his SNP Government’s plans offered Scotland “a golden opportunity, and it is one that I believe people will vote for resoundingly when our nation has, once again, the ability to decide our own future in an independence referendum”.
“And that is, of course, why Westminster currently says no,” he went on. “But to build on the words of one of the fathers of our self-government, we are the people, we are the people’s parliament, and we say yes.
“Today, is the start of a process that I believe will lead Westminster to a yes to a referendum, and Scotland to a yes to independence.
“Today, I seek confirmation from this parliament that this is a voluntary Union and that the people of Scotland have the right to decide whether we remain in that Union.
“That is a principle that should be accepted by all those in this chamber who believe in independence but also all those who believe in the Union.”
Downing Street quickly rejected the call for a referendum, saying: “Ahead of 2014 there was agreement across all parties, across civic society in Scotland and across the Scottish and UK parliaments that there should be a referendum. There is no such consensus now.”
Reform UK’s Scottish leader Malcolm Offord used his speech to say that the Tory Party he left behind had got themselves into a “mess on this because all they say is no, always no to another referendum”.
“We can't sit in this Chamber and say there will never ever be another referendum, but we can say in this Chamber that right now there's no appetite,” Offord added.
Tory MSP Craig Hoy intervened to ask why Reform UK had not tabled an amendment to the SNP’s motion, to which Offord said: “We don't believe we should be debating this matter.”
Given that the Reform MSP's remark came as he personally debated the issue of a Scottish independence referendum, it led to widespread jeers from the other party benches.
Scottish Labour depute leader Jackie Baillie later took aim at Offord, quipping that his speech had been more confusing than necessary because his "microphone was on".
