THE SNP have been urged to consider abstaining from Westminster if the UK Government continues to block a second independence referendum.
The Scotsman reports that SNP MSP Steven Bonnar, who previously served as an MP, said his party should think about copying Sinn Fein in abstaining in the Commons if the current "impasse isn't broken".
It comes after the leaders of the Celtic Alliance – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – met earlier this week to sign a landmark agreement demanding that the UK Government allow them to hold referendums on independence.
Andy Burnham responded by saying he is focused on easing the cost of living for households rather than on "constitutional debate", while Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander dismissed the event as a "distraction".
Bonnar told the Scotsman that while Scotland and Northern Ireland "have different constitutional arrangements and are at different junctures on our national stories", abstention "should be considered".
The MSP added: "Nothing should be off the table. If the impasse isn't broken then everything needs to be considered."
Bonnar was the SNP MP for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill between 2019 and 2024.
He lost his seat in the 2024 General Election to Scottish Labour's Frank McNally.
Bonnar was then elected as an MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill in the Holyrood election in May.
Sinn Fein, which is in support of Irish unification, stands for election in Northern Ireland, but the party does not take up the seats.
In the 2024 General Election, Sinn Fein won seven of the 18 constituencies in Northern Ireland – the most of any party.
The party does not believe in the legitimacy of the UK Parliament in Northern Ireland or in the oath to the King, which MPs must make to be sworn into the Commons.
SNP MPs have consistently protested the King's oath as they are sworn in – including Bonnar – with the most recent example being Lara Bird, who won the Arbroath and Broughty by-election in June.
Upon repeating the oath, she crossed her fingers and said she was only taking it "so that I can serve the people of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry".
"My first allegiance is, and always will be, the sovereign people of Scotland," she added.
The SNP reiterated that its policy does not support abstentionism.
An SNP spokesperson said: “For as long as decisions are taken by Westminster that impact people in Scotland, SNP MPs will be there to stand up for Scotland at every turn.
“Westminster's time is coming to an end, but until that day comes when we democratically achieve our independence – only the SNP will always put Scotland’s interests first in that parliament.”
