Labour last night declared it would not block a second Scottish independence referendum – just hours after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon hinted she would help prop up a future Jeremy Corbyn government.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said any decision about holding another vote to potentially break up the Union would be up to the Scottish Parliament.
His comments came shortly after Miss Sturgeon, the Scottish National Party leader, said while she would not enter into a coalition with Labour if it won a general election, she would be interested in some sort of ‘progressive alliance’ to ‘lock the Tories out of government’.
Nicola Sturgeon has indicated she would be interested in some sort of ‘progressive alliance’ with Labour to ‘lock the Tories out of government’. But said Mr Corbyn (pictured together) would need to take ‘a very firm anti-Brexit position’ before any deal could be struck
Earlier this week, the first poll since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister (pictured with Miss Sturgeon) found that support for Scottish independence was ahead – by 52 per cent to 48 per cent
In an interview at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Mr McDonnell said: ‘It will be for the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish people to decide that. They will take a view about whether they want another referendum.
‘Nicola Sturgeon said by late next year or the beginning of 2021. We would not block something like that. We would let the Scottish people decide. That’s democracy.’
Mr McDonnell’s position appears to be in opposition to the leader of the Scottish Labour Party.
In March, Richard Leonard told the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland show that if Labour took power in Westminster the party would refuse to grant another referendum. He added: ‘What we said in the manifesto at the 2017 election was that there is no case for, and we would not support, a second independence referendum.’
Earlier this week, the first poll since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister found that support for Scottish independence was ahead – by 52 per cent to 48 per cent. Critics of Mr Johnson claimed he is so unpopular in Scotland that he could end up as the last prime minister of the Union.
A second vote on secession – the first was held in 2014 – would likely be a key condition of any Labour-SNP deal to put Mr Corbyn in No 10 if his party did not secure a majority.
Labour has always said it would not be interested in any coalition deals, and would instead try to survive as a minority government.
And Miss Sturgeon said Mr Corbyn would need to take ‘a very firm anti-Brexit position’ before any deal could be struck – something he has been reluctant to do.
The Conservatives made great play in the 2015 general election campaign of the dangers of a Labour government led by Ed Miliband propped up by the SNP, then led by Alex Salmond. Last night, Conservative chairman James Cleverly said a Sturgeon-Corbyn alliance would be a ‘nightmare prospect for Britain’.
Miss Sturgeon’s latest comments are likely to be seized upon by Mr Johnson as he prepares for a possible general election later this year.
Miss Sturgeon’s latest comments are likely to be seized upon by Mr Johnson as he prepares for a possible general election later this year (pictured, the number of days until October 31 – when the UK is due to leave the EU)
In an interview at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Mr McDonnell (pictured) said the decision to hold a new vote would be up to the Scottish Parliament
Speaking to the Guardian, the Scottish First Minister condemned Mr Corbyn’s approach to Brexit since the 2016 EU referendum.
‘I have fought two general elections now as SNP leader and, in both of them, I have been pretty candid,’ she said. ‘We would always want to be part of a progressive alternative to a Tory government. That remains the case.’
Pressed on whether she would rule in a deal with Labour, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘In politics you’ve got to be careful. But it would not be my intention, to go into a formal coalition. I said that in 2015 and 2017 – that’s not a new thing. But some kind of progressive alliance that could lock the Tories out of government.’
She added: ‘It wouldn’t be a blank-cheque type scenario. We would want Jeremy Corbyn to take a very firm anti-Brexit position. We would look to do what was right for Scotland.’
Despite being open to the possibility of an electoral pact, the SNP leader said that she was ‘no great fan of Jeremy Corbyn’. She added: ‘I think his lack of leadership on Brexit in particular… well, if we do crash out without a deal, he will bear almost as much responsibility as Theresa May or Boris Johnson.’
A Labour spokesman said: ‘Labour will not countenance a coalition or pact with other parties. We are campaigning to form a Labour government that will invest in communities and public services in all the regions and nations of the UK.’
Mr Cleverly said: ‘This Sturgeon-Corbyn alliance would be a nightmare prospect for Britain. From refusing to respect the referendum result to huge tax hikes and measures that would wreck our economy, Labour and the SNP in cahoots would hammer working people across the country.’