WE are hearing almost daily calls from some quarters for a Plan B to be instigated to achieve independence for Scotland. However, I see several glaring flaws inherent with the Plan B being proposed, the biggest and most obvious being that we already have a mandate, and calling for a Plan B suggests the mandate we have is deficient in some way. Promoting a Plan B delegitimises our mandate.

The mandate the SNP has is of a “gold standard”, our plan for a second referendum was in our manifesto for the 2016 election, an election we won, and since then our plan has been agreed by the Scottish Parliament.

Plan B suggests that if the SNP win a majority of the Scottish constituencies in a General Election then we can force negotiations for our independence. Unfortunately, a majority of SNP Members of Parliament in Westminster where we have 59 Scottish MPs in a total of 650 does not constitute the right to self-determination under the United Nations Charter.

What is needed is a clear democratic demonstration that a majority of the Scottish people want and support Scottish independence.

We have already had a majority of SNP MPs elected from Scotland twice, but by less than the clear majority of votes cast required for UN accreditation. So, what difference does a third time make? I’m sorry to say none without a majority of the Scottish voters supporting us.

First-past-the-post lends itself for non-majority wins, and simply having the highest share of the votes does not count for independence.

Asking in Plan B for people to only vote SNP marginalises all those Yes voters who vote for other parties, who for many reasons will not vote SNP but will vote, and have voted, Yes.

What about the Green voters, or the 40% of Labour voters who voted Yes and are crucial for the win in a referendum? The Plan B strategy sends out a message that we don’t want or need you.

Why would you want to divide and rule the electorate and in doing so fail to reach the required majority mandate that is universally recognised for self-determination which does give you the right to negotiate? From the outset, the SNP leadership have said that not until we know what Brexit is going to look like will we have indyref2, and for good reason.

The calls from certain quarters for indyref2 have been constant and insistent for more than a year and it still goes on after each completely disastrous move by our Unionist opponents, even though after every Brexit calamity there is reaction and a move towards Yes. Some high-profile former No’s switch every time, and still the Plan B team are back demanding Plan B or that the referendum be announced immediately.

Are they blind to the impact of Brexit? Almost on a weekly basis Brexit delivers another fiasco, another shambles that can’t be swept under the carpet, even by a compliant press which is almost 100% against independence in Scotland (especially the BBC).

Events over the last few days should tell everybody that the Brexit mess has not finished delivering its calamities just yet. Maybe just as important, Brexit is not shielding those in power in London, rather it is exposing just how incompetent they really are.

What Scotland is witnessing is an eye-opener for most of our people and is so revealing that it is shaking them to the core.

I’m what used to be called a fundamentalist (more of a term of abuse than of substance, I may add). I do admit to being in a hurry for independence but there are no short cuts, there is one democratic route, and one route only, to independence and that is by having the majority of our people on the same road, and right by our side, every step of the way.

Plan B fails that vital test.

Gil Paterson
MSP for Clydebank & Milngavie