SCOTTISH Tory leader Jackson Carlaw has said there will be no second independence referendum during Boris Johnson’s premiership if his party is returned to power.
Speaking in Newton Mearns yesterday, he said another vote would betray the “once-in-a-generation” decision made in 2014.
Nicola Sturgeon has said that she will request a Section 30 order to hold a second referendum by the end of next year.
When asked if Johnson would reject the request, Carlaw said the Prime Minister had made it “perfectly clear that he would say no”.
He added: “I’ve made it perfectly clear that we are going to respect the result of 2014 when we promised people that it would be a once-in-a-generation vote.
“I’m not going to betray the basis in which people participated in 2014. Once in a generation sounds good to me.”
The Scottish Conservative interim leader claimed it was “not really the point” that the responsibility for granting a section 30 is reserved to Westminster.
“The point is that the SNP are obsessed with railing against a result that over two million people took in 2014,” he said.
“We were asked the question did we want to be an independent country or did we want to remain in the United Kingdom. We said we wanted to remain in the United Kingdom, we said no to independence and we don’t want to go through all of that again.
“It was a once-in-a-generation vote and that was the commitment we gave, that’s the commitment we should honour.”
A poll published by YouGov last week suggested that the SNP is set to secure 43 seats in Scotland in the election, with the Scottish Tories picking up 11 seats – two down on 2017.
Carlaw, who is tipped to stand as leader when the party holds a leadership contest in the New Year, said that he was “really encouraged” by the poll, insisting that his party is the only one that can challenge the SNP.
“I mean, a poll is not a result. At this time in the 2017 election, nobody was predicting we’d be winning anything at all,” he said.
“And if I’d predicted how we were going to do, I would seriously have under-called our ultimate performance.
“I think what it does demonstrate, that poll and others that came out this week, is that there is now only one party that is challenging the SNP in Scotland, one party that can stop Nicola Sturgeon.
“If people don’t want a second independence referendum, if they want to move the country on, if they want to put the constitutional division behind us, then in this election the polls suggest the one party that can do that is the Scottish Conservative party.”
Johnson faced criticism this week having been urged to take part in a BBC interview with Andrew Neil, as well as a Channel 4 climate debate.
Carlaw said that he was hopeful that Johnson would participate.
“I hope the Prime Minister does participate in interviews going forward,” he said.
“There are lots of debates throughout the contest and all I know is I’m looking forward to the two debates that lie ahead for the Scottish party leaders here in Scotland. I’m looking forward to taking the Conservative case to Nicola Sturgeon and to the people of Scotland.”
Meanwhile Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie also put independence at the top of the agenda as he visited St Andrews yesterday on the campaign trail. He said voters must “act now” to stop the SNP from seeking a Scottish independence referendum next year.
He said: “I want to see Scotland working in partnership with our neighbours, as we have done for hundreds of years.
“From pushing forward the frontiers of science to building the NHS, we have always been stronger when we work together. Nicola Sturgeon’s plan to break up the UK puts all that at risk – but we have a chance to make it stop on December 12 by voting Liberal Democrat.
“The clock is ticking as the SNP want the split next year, so we need to act now to make sure it stops now.
“So on St Andrew’s Day, let’s act to make the division stop.”
He added: “I am a proud Scot, Brit and European, and I believe that the last thing we need is more division. The SNP have learned nothing from Brexit.
“The Liberal Democrats want Scotland to stand tall in the UK rather than cut and run with
independence.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel