POLITICIANS have spent “too much time obsessing” over an independence referendum date, SNP MP Dr Philippa Whitford has said, as she looked back on a packed year in politics.
Speaking to The National’s Holyrood Weekly podcast, the MP for Central Ayrshire said that there needs to be “more energy” focused on convincing voters to support independence from the UK if it is ever to be achieved.
The outgoing MP, who is set to stand down at the next General Election, said no other country has achieved independence from Britain starting “with the end date”.
Whitford joined the final episode of Holyrood Weekly for 2023 to review the biggest stories that have dominated both Westminster and Holyrood in the past 12 months, from Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation and Section 35, to the UK Covid Inquiry and speculation over a date for the next Westminster election.
READ MORE: How could an independent Scotland influence global climate policy?
On looking forward to how Scotland can achieve independence, Whitford said that she believed “too much of our time” has been spent “obsessing about a date and a methodology”.
“If we'd been putting more of our energy into reaching out to people who are not yet convinced about independence, that would I think have moved us further,” she said.
“Every time we've tried to speak about democracy in the Commons, they just go ‘Oh yeah, this poll shows that’.
“We quote one poll, they quote another.”
Whitford referenced her husband Hans, who is German and was in his home country in August 1989, before one of the most iconic displays of people power occurred in recent history.
“You couldn't see that the Berlin Wall was going to come down,” she explained.
“Three months later, the people brought it down, they decided they were going to bring it down. That's what we need to focus on, we need to convince a majority of Scots that they want to live in an independent country with power over their own future.
“That empowers MPs at Westminster, it empowers the Scottish Government, and it empowers Scotland within the eyes of the international community.”
Whitford added: “There's no independence of any country in the world from the British Empire that ever started with the end date. Here's our independence date and worked backwards.
READ MORE: 'Biggest impact since fall of Berlin Wall': Oxford expert hails key Scottish policy
“They have all worked at mobilizing and convincing their populace and then have either sadly, some through violence, others through democratic means, have pushed forward until they achieved independence.”
The MP added that it was “nonsense” that there was some who believe that talk about independence should be stalled until a date for a referendum is set in stone.
“Everyone has got friends, family, neighbours, work colleagues, who are not convinced, but would maybe be open to being convinced,” she added.
Whitford joins our political reporters Abbi Garton-Crosbie and Steph Brawn for a lengthy chat about the biggest stories of the year, and how it feels to watch the war in Gaza unfold as someone who has previously worked in a hospital in the area now frequently under bombardment by Israel.
Later, chief political reporter Judith Duffy joins our reporters to analyse some key moments from the year, and some of the most ridiculous stories that have made it into the headlines.
You can listen to Season 2: Episode 13 of Holyrood Weekly with Philippa Whitford below, on Spotify and the Omny streaming platform:
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