Andrew Marr: ‘Nothing will happen’ with Scottish independence

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The SNP leader and her ruling party are continuing to push for another independence referendum – nearly seven years after Scotland voted by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent to remain part of Britain. Nicola Sturgeon had suggested the SNP will push ahead with another referendum should the SNP win a majority at the upcoming Scottish parliamentary elections on May 6. Prior to presenting the referendum bill in the Scottish parliament last month, constitution secretary Mike Russell said it would vow to hold a Scottish independence referendum “at the conclusion of the pandemic”.

But Ms Sturgeon is continuing to press ahead with her independence plot despite coming under mounting pressure to resign as Scotland’s First Minister after she was found to have “misled” the Scottish parliament over her knowledge of harassment complaints against predecessor Alex Salmond.

Maurice Golden, the Scottish Conservatives’ Shadow Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Fair Work and Culture, Scottish Conservatives, raged to Express.co.uk: “Sturgeon should have resigned already.

“There is a catalogue of failures and ultimately nobody has taken responsibility for them.

“Sturgeon is head of the Scottish Government, which has been proven beyond all reasonable doubt to have failed the Scottish people.

“I would argue that Sturgeon as head of the Scottish Government must take responsibility and resign.

“Her refusal to resign is down to her relentless pursuit of Scottish independence.

“That is her reason for getting up in the morning, and she will focus on that above all else and considerations that other politicians in other countries would have brought to bear.

“All the SNP have left is blood and soil nationalism.

“That is incredibly dangerous for democracy, and incredibly dangerous for Scotland and indeed the Union.”

Mr Golden also exploded at the SNP’s plot to press ahead with holding a Scottish independence referendum at the end of the Covid pandemic, branding it “absolutely ludicrous” and “outrageous”.

Scotland has been ravaged by the pandemic, with thousands of people dying, the health service under huge pressure and the battered economy not expected to return to normal until at least 2023, according to experts.

He said: “The SNP’s plan to press ahead with a Scottish independence referendum at the end of the Covid pandemic is absolutely ludicrous.

“The reverberations following the pandemic will last for years to come.

“Economic forecasters have said we might get back to normal by 2023 or 2024, so there is no time or space or legitimacy for holding an independence referendum in this next parliament.

“There is so much to do to restore Scotland and diverting resources to a referendum is outrageous.”

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross is confident his party can stop the SNP from pushing ahead with “another reckless referendum”.

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He also lashed out at Ms Sturgeon’s continued push for Scottish independence, claiming “their desire to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK trumps all else”.

Mr Ross told Express.co.uk: “We can stop the SNP and stop them pushing ahead with another reckless referendum.

“The 14 years of misery from the SNP mean so many things need addressing – education system, economy that has been ignored by the SNP.

“We must protect people’s jobs, invest in local communities.

“We will highlight their dismal term in office, how they have let down the Scottish people, how the insistence on another independence referendum has meant our services in Scotland have not received the attention they deserve.

“Given the Scottish political system with proportional representation, a vote for a party not strong and determined to fight the SNP only helps the nationalists.

Mr Ross added: “If people unite behind the Scottish Conservatives to stand up to them and stand up for Scotland’s place in the UK, we can stop them like in 2016 when the Scottish Conservatives doubled the number of MSPs.

“What the Scottish people have to realise is when Sturgeon seeks another mandate, that mandate is not to focus on education, which she previously said is her top priority, not to focus on the Covid recovery – it will always be for the SNP to hold another independence referendum.

“Their desire to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK trumps all else.”

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