THE SNP leadership has been accused of “shutting down debate” after multiple draft resolutions on the party's independence strategy did not make it on to the provisional conference agenda.
The National understands that numerous branches put forward proposals ranging from contesting the next General Election as a de facto referendum, setting up a constitutional convention, and putting in place plans for when Westminster inevitably refuses to grant a Section 30 order to hold a referendum.
However, none of the motions appeared in a provisional agenda seen by this paper.
Two motions discussing independence did: one requesting the appointment of an Independence Commission to update and renew the prospectus for Scottish independence, and another asking for “evidence-based resources” to answer questions most commonly asked by undecided voters.
Furious SNP members told The National that after First Minister John Swinney’s independence strategy – that a majority of SNP MSPs in Holyrood would constitute a mandate for a referendum – failed, they had expected the party to open up the issue for debate at the October conference in Aberdeen.
A source told The National: "John Swinney has shut down debate in the SNP."
They added that if the conference committee did not allow a debate to be held, then there could be a walk-out of members in protest.
It comes after the UK Government rejected a historic Holyrood vote calling for the Scottish Parliament to be given the powers to hold a second referendum within minutes of its passing. It was the first vote held in Holyrood after the May election, and prompted debate about how pro-independence parties and supporters should move forward when dealing with an obstinate Westminster.
Despite there being a change of Prime Minister in recent months, Andy Burnham has taken an identical approach to his predecessor and refused to discuss the constitution and the democratic way forward.
On his first, and so far only, visit to Scotland, Burnham told Swinney that talk of independence is “off-limits”.
SNP members, who did not want to be named, told The National that they had hoped the party would open up the debate in the current political context.
"This is unprecedented,” a source said.
"Basically they’ve rejected all of it, John doesn’t want to have a debate on it.
"He's been saying the SNP conference is a great example of internal party democracy when he's been questioned about SNP culture.
“Our former chief executive is in jail as a result of a culture that’s been quite oppressive over the years, and he’s just rejected and obstructed an entire debate on the way forward for independence.”
The source added that Swinney’s strategy was only approved by the previous party conference as it was an election year, and “nobody was going to vote that down”. But as that didn’t work, there was an expectation there would be an open debate.
"Surely you must recognise on the back of a strategy failing, there needs to be a new approach,” they added.
“The sad reality is that the SNP has a devolutionist leadership with zero intention of moving independence forward," they added.
“If John isn’t willing to carry the torch he should step aside for someone who will."
Another SNP member told The National that a “lot of people are unhappy” about the provisional agenda.
“Basically now the party does not have a policy on delivering independence because the one we had was based on the Holyrood vote. The next vote is not likely to be Holyrood it will be the UK General Election, and we have got to frame a policy for that.
“If that policy is we win a majority of seats and ask nicely again or demand a referendum then that just makes us a laughing stock among the Yes family, which is considerably bigger than the SNP now.
“We’ll just continue to drift until some other political party emerges to carry the flame or alternatively the public will get fed up.”
One draft resolution that is not on the draft agenda called on the SNP leadership to “immediately negotiate with political parties and the wider independence movement to prosecute the next UK General Election as a plebiscite election to leave the Union".
The SNP’s former policy officer Toni Giugliano also put forward a motion detailing his three-point plan to; establish a constitutional convention to agree within two years the mechanism for a referendum, to prepare to fight the 2029 General Election as a “constitutional election”, and to use part of SNP membership fees to fund a Yes campaign outside of political boundaries. It is understood that several branches had supported this being taken forward.
The Annandale and Eskdale branch also put forward a draft resolution which said the SNP should “stop seeking permission” and “take direct control” of the route to independence. It called for a citizens convention to be established, and an immediate written request for a Section 30 order to be made, if not done already, as a “final formal test of the UK Government’s position”.
It added: “Where the UK Government refuses a Section 30 order or fails to respond formally, treat this as confirmation that the Section 30 route is exhausted, and thereafter adopt the ‘Independence Election’ as SNP policy at every subsequent Holyrood and UK election, defined as ‘either a majority of Scottish seats won on a combined pro-independence vote, or exceeding 50% of the combined pro-independence vote’.”
Multiple sources told The National that there were more motions on the same topic put forward that did not make it on the provisional agenda.
The SNP’s conference committee, chaired by national secretary Alex Kerr, decides which motions go forward for members to debate and vote on at the conference. The provisional agenda and any amendments put forward is then voted on by SNP members before the final motion is agreed.
One SNP source said that the committee’s role is generally to ensure that motions are competent, not to “determine the political line”.
At the May Holyrood election, while the SNP did not return a majority, a record number of pro-independence MSPs were returned to the Scottish Parliament. The SNP’s 58 MSPs combined with the Scottish Greens 15 MSPs gave Holyrood 73 MSPs in favour of independence, while only 56 are in pro-Union parties.
The SNP have been contacted for comment.
