THE SNP's new Westminster leader claims that "independence is not off the table" despite the SNP's losing 21 seats in the General Election.
Ian Blackford, who succeeded Angus Robertson who lost his Moray seat, insisted the SNP still had a mandate for a second referendum despite the losses.
He said: "I think we've got a fantastic opportunity to deliver for the people of Scotland. There's a hung parliament with no majority for a hard Tory Brexit.
"The Scottish Parliament election took place in 2016 [May] when the SNP manifesto had a very specific commitment that there could be a new referendum if Scotland was dragged out of the EU against its will.
"The UK Government is being completely intransigent over issues like access to the Single Market and the right of EU citizens to remain. It's well recognised that if we can't protect Scotland from a hard Brexit that the mandate exists to give the people of Scotland a say over their future."
He added: "Do I believe Scotland will be independent? Yes it will. While we're focussing on opposing the Tory government, independence is not off the table."
Blackford, a former investment banker, became the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber after defeating the late Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy at the 2015 General Election.
In a separate intervention, Blackford said the Theresa May must abandon her plans for a hard Brexit that would see the UK leave the Single Market.
His remarks came as the UK Government is due to begin Brexit talks with the EU tomorrow.
He said: “With Brexit negotiations set to begin, the election has made it crystal clear that the Tory position of a hard Brexit does not carry the support of the public, and any attempt to plough on regardless will have damaging consequences for Scotland and the UK.
“Theresa May asked the electorate to strengthen her hand, but instead they have cut the Tories down to size – voters gave a clear instruction that the Conservatives cannot govern alone and must now reach out to others.
“The Prime Minister must ensure that the Brexit negotiations are representative of all of the UK nations – something which is backed by Scottish business leaders – and that will aim for an outcome which protects Scotland’s interests, particularly our continued place in the Single Market."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel