A SCOTTISH Labour leader candidate has said he would not “stand in the way” of a second independence referendum.
In July, former leader Anas Sarwar was elevated to the House of Lords and made a minister in the UK Government, leading to the contest between North East MSP Michael Marra and South Scotland MSP Joe Fagan.
Speaking to the Press Association in the final week before the new Scottish Labour leader is announced, Fagan made it clear following recent comments from the Prime Minister he does not support another independence referendum.
However, he said he would not “stand in the way” of one if it was the will of the Scottish people.
Fagan said: “My position is very clear, I don’t support independence and I don’t support an independence referendum.
“I think there’s another question around what are the circumstances in which it is legitimate to have one, and I think that’s the debate that seems to be preoccupying people just now.
“It’s not an unimportant debate, but I don’t think it’s actually a priority for the Scottish people. I think the key point here is around consensus and establishing what is the settled will of the people.
“If it’s the settled will of the people that not only should there be another referendum, but that the country is prepared for independence and the country wants to vote for independence, then I wouldn’t stand in the way of another referendum.
“But it’s not something that I support. It’s not something that I’d argue for.”
Scottish Labour faced an heavy defeat in the Scottish Parliament elections in May.
The number of MSPs elected for the party has declined in every Holyrood election since devolution, falling to just 17 after May’s vote.
Fagan said majority of the blame lay “largely with Keir Starmer.”
He continued: “And now he’s gone, and we have a new prime minister who’s rebuilding the party and I think he’s off to a very good start.
“But that doesn’t get us off the hook in Scotland. I think we had to have a more provocative manifesto offer that connected with working-class communities and with working people across the country.
“There’s a challenge for Scottish Labour to be bolder, to be more ambitious, and to reconnect with working people. And that is the real test for whoever’s going to be the next leader of the party.”
Fagan said the party needs to carry itself with “some confidence again”, however, he admits this is “difficult after a bruising defeat”.
He reckons the party could speak to working class voters across the country with “a good, solid” policy offer.
He said: “The tragedy for Scottish Labour is that when the battleground had shifted onto bread and butter politics in Scotland, we still lost.
“We’ve got to get over that. We’ve got to come back from that, and we come back from it with a good, solid policy offer that speaks to the aspirations of working people in this country.”
Polls close in the Scottish Labour leadership race on Friday, with results due on Saturday.
