MOST voters believe Scottish Labour will have to offer a compromised position on a second independence referendum if it can claim to speak for Yes supporters, according to opinion poll findings.
The Panelbase survey records that 62% of Scots think Anas Sarwar needs to come up with a new position on indyref2, with just 38% saying he does not (when those without a view are excluded).
During the election campaign, party chief Anas Sarwar has tried to move discussion away from the constitution to focus on recovery from the pandemic, insisting he stands for people on both sides of the Yes/No debate.
However, the Labour manifesto published last week firmly opposed independence and a second referendum in the next parliamentary term.
The following question wasput to voters by Panelbase: “Anas Sarwar says that, unlike the Conservatives, his party speaks for both anti-independence and pro-independence voters.
“However, Labour remains firmly opposed to independence and to an independence referendum. Which of the following statements is closest to your own view?”
With “don’t knows excluded”, the poll finds that 62% of voters say they agree that “Labour would have to offer a compromise on an independence referendum before it can claim to speak for pro-independence voters.”
READ MORE: Anas Sarwar told he can’t have his cake and eat it over independence in new poll
It finds that 38% agree with the statement: “Labour can claim to speak for pro-independence voters without having to offer a compromise on an independence referendum.”
If all voters are included, 44% agree with the former and 26% disagree.
The survey also finds that more than two thirds of voters do not see the LibDems as a pro-European Union party. With “don’t knows” excluded, some 68% think that the party could not be seen as pro-EU, while 32% say the party can still see be seen as pro-EU.
Pollsters put the question as follows: “The Liberal Democrats are opposed to Scotland seeking to rejoin the European Union by becoming an independent country, and are not campaigning for the UK as a whole to rejoin the EU.
“In view of this, do you think the Liberal Democrats can still be considered a pro-European party?”
The poll, for the Scot Goes Pop website, also records that a majority of Scots feel the Conservatives must accept a second independence referendum in the event of a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament. Of the total respondents, 43% agree that this should be the case, compared to 37% who do not. Some 19% say they didn’t know.
Overall the poll finds that the projected outcome of next Thursday’s election will see the SNP as the largest party with 61 of the 129 seats at Holyrood, two fewer than at the 2016 election. It also suggests Alex Salmond’s Alba Party is on course to win eight seats and the Greens returning 11 MSPs, with a pro-independence majority of 16 seats.
And it finds that the Scottish Conservatives are on course to remain the second-largest party, while the LibDems will remain on five seats. The poll of 1075 over-16s was carried out between April 21 and 26.
Labour have battled with difficulties over their position on a second independence referendum for several years. Under leader Kezia Dugdale the party opposed indyref2. But amid criticisms the policy was undemocratic and putting off Yes supporters, the party later tried to soften its stance. Former chancellor John McDonnell said in 2019 Labour should allow Holyrood to stage a second independence referendum if MSPs vote for one – contradicting official policy.
He told an event at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe his party should not try to block a second vote on independence by withholding the legal powers to do so. Interviewed by the broadcaster Iain Dale, McDonnell said: “We would not block something like that. We would let the Scottish people decide. That’s democracy.”
Ahead of the 2019 General Election, Labour tried to appeal more to Yes supporters with prominent activists involved in the campaign. After the election defeat – in which Labour was left again with a single MP – the party was again embroiled in a debate with MSPs Neil Findlay and Monica Lennon (below) arguing it should not oppose a new vote.
A Scottish Labour spokeswoman said: “What this fails to recognise is that many Scots don’t place themselves in the binary camps of ‘pro-independence voters’ or ‘anti-independence voters’; they consider themselves simply as voters.
“And only Anas Sarwar is talking to everyone in this country about their top priority – national recovery.”
A LibDem spokesman said the party is pro-EU: He said: “The SNP minister Mairi Gougeon has written a letter to LibDem voters in Angus in which she says ‘Both our parties are pro Europe’. She is right and this matches everything that the Liberal Democrats have done in favour of Europe for the last 50 years.”
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