SNP MP Angus MacNeil has renewed his call for an early Holyrood election to be used as a de facto vote for independence.
Speaking to the Sunday National after the Supreme Court last week ruled that Holyrood could not hold an independence referendum without the permission of Westminster, MacNeil said the SNP and Greens should trigger the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament rather than wait for a general election.
This could then be used as a de facto independence vote, rather than “suffer” another two years of Tory austerity until a general election.
Under the Scotland Act that set up devolution, the Scottish Parliament has fixed terms and another Holyrood election is not due until 2026.
However, if the Parliament is dissolved either through a vote of two thirds of the MSPs or through the resignation of the First Minister with none reappointed within 28 days, then an election must be held. The Greens and the SNP would require some of the opposition to gain two thirds of the vote but if they refused, it would still be possible for Nicola Sturgeon to resign, with the independence parties blocking any new nomination for First Minister until the 28 days are up.
MacNeil said there was no point in waiting another two years of Tory policies.
“This is a huge opportunity,” he said. “The UK is a most unequal society and we need to rejig things.
“Last time the Tories had a fetish for austerity it cost 300,000 excess deaths and we don’t want to be doing that again. The point of independence is that we don’t have to suffer the Tories any longer. We can make better choices in the way that Ireland has done.”
He said the Supreme Court decision opened a number of doors as any election from now on could be used as a de facto poll on independence.
“That is the reality,” he said. “Each and every election now can be a plebiscite election and if the Westminster election does not work you can have the Holyrood one which of course is scheduled for 2026 but hopefully you can get one earlier.
“The other thing that is a really interesting consequence from what the Law Lords said is that although a referendum would not in itself end the UK, the consequences could end the UK.
“Because of that that they then could not allow the Scottish Parliament to have a referendum – it wasn’t that the referendum itself would end the UK but that the consequences of a decision by the Scottish people would end the union between Scotland and England. By extension an election fought on independence will have political and constitutional consequences if the people choose independence.
“That means that when there is a ballot box event in Scotland and we vote for independence, the Law Lords of the highest court in the UK are saying that would have consequences and would be heeded. So basically those votes would be recognised in other words.”
