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Congressman Angus MacNeil, Councilman Chris McEleny and Angus MacLeod, the party’s national secretary, agreed to draft a motion that will be presented to the SNP conference next month. If agreed, this would commit the SNP to establish “legal competence” to hold a referendum without the permission of the UK government in accordance with Section 30 of Scottish Law. If legality cannot be established, passage of the motion would mean that, absent a referendum, a “pro-independence majority of seats” would be taken as a mandate to begin independence negotiations with the UK government.
MacNeil said: “The 2021 elections will be a voting opportunity to establish the legitimacy of independence, it would encourage people to vote for it.”
However, businessman Kevin Hague, chairman of the These Islands think tank, noted that nothing would happen without Westminster’s consent.
Referring to Mr MacNeil, he told Express.co.uk: “He can say that’s what it is, but all they can do is ask for a Section 30 warrant, which is what they can do anyway. .
“The question has always been when will the SNP ask for it and Sturgeon won’t ask until he thinks he can win it, and he knows he can’t win it while we are still fighting COVID-19.
“So frankly, anything else is just saber rattling to keep the troops happy.
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“Having a mandate to ask for something does not influence Westminster’s ability to say no.”
“If you look at what he says, he says it will be a mandate that we will ask for.
“Well you can ask tomorrow, there’s nothing stopping you, but that’s not the problem.”
Hague added: “The truth is, it’s not really about the Holyrood election, it’s about the weight of public opinion.
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“And no one, including Sturgeon, thinks anyone wants a referendum anytime soon, say in the next one or two years.”
MacNeil was toying with staunch nationalist support and “throwing chunks of red meat at them” before next year’s election, Hague said.
He added: “The important thing is to make sure they get your vote.
“They are giving them a reason to go out and vote saying it will really help the cause of independence.
“Angus demands independence and that’s it.
“He is trying to frame the election as a referendum on holding a referendum.
“Of course we know that the two are basically the same in terms of audience.
“By the way, I think the whole thing would be a really stupid idea, because the only thing we know that people don’t want right now is another divisive referendum.”
The motion to be presented to the conference reads: “The conference calls on the Scottish government to establish the legal competence of the Scottish Parliament to hold a referendum on Scottish independence without the approval of the UK Parliament.
“The conference indicates that if the UK government denies a referendum on the future of Scotland and competition to hold a consultative referendum is not established, the manifesto for the 2021 Scottish parliamentary elections should indicate that the election of a majority of seats in favor of independence, in the absence of a referendum, it will be a mandate from the people of Scotland to begin independence negotiations with the UK government. “
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