MSP sounds Scottish Labour indyref2 warning
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THE Scottish Labour Party will "be on the wrong side of history" if they refuse to support an independence referendum, a local MSP has warned.
Banffshire and Buchan Coast SNP MSP Karen Adam's caution came after a senior Labour MSP said that a referendum on independence should take place if the Scottish Parliament votes for it, putting her at odds with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
Katy Clark, who has taken a leave of absence from House of Lords to be an MSP, told the BBC that “if the Scottish Parliament were to vote for one my view is that that should happen. If the Scottish Parliament is saying that there needs to be a referendum then I would argue there should be one”. In the interview, she added that she was not personally in favour of a referendum.
Ms Clark, who was an advisor to former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, also said that the Scottish Parliament should have a veto over the UK government on matters such as Trident renewal and going to war.
Responding to the comments, the SNP stated that if Labour continues to deny the clear pro-referendum, pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament, the party will “end up on the wrong side of history.”
Ms Adam said: “I welcome Katy Clark’s stance on supporting Scotland’s democratic right to choose. The people of Scotland must have our right to choose denied by a Westminster government we didn’t vote for.
"I would now urge the leader of Scottish Labour, Anas Sarwar, to listen to his colleague Katy Clark MSP in backing an independence referendum post-pandemic. Labour have a choice ahead of them, to listen to the will of the Scottish people, or stand side by side with the Tories. Labour risk being on the wrong side of history if they choose to back the stance of Boris Johnson’s Conservatives.
“It’s evident now that Scotland does not benefit from being tied to the UK and dictated to by an unravelling Westminster system, where the UK government’s integrity is being brought into question almost every day, particularly with the UK government’s Tory Covid contracts scandal.
“I am delighted we have sensible Labour MSPs coming forward in agreement that Scotland’s right to choose is paramount.
“Our future lies with Scotland being an independent country, where the decisions for Scotland are made by the people living here.”
