A VETERAN SNP MSP yesterday predicted a second independence referendum in 2017.
Sandra White, the MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, named the date at the Radical Independence Campaign (RIC) conference in Glasgow, despite Alex Salmond and others saying September's vote would settle the issue for a generation.
White said the re-run would come after a cull of Labour MPs in the General Election gave the SNP the balance of power at Westminster, combined with an SNP win at the 2016 Holyrood election.
"Unlike some others, I believe we will have a referendum in 2017," she told delegates in a break-out session called Radical Change Now.
"It is Labour who've sold their souls by standing hand-in-hand with the Tories in Scotland. If we get rid of Labour out of Scotland in enough numbers, we'll hold the balance of power at Westminster.
"We'll push forward for a referendum. 2016, we win the Holyrood elections, I would be almost certain in my mind that come 2017 we'll have a referendum for independence and we'll win it, because we deserve that.
"I've one word to say to the Unionist Better Together parties - we're coming to get you, and you're going to be feart."
Robin McAlpine, director of the Common Weal think tank, told the same meeting he expected a second referendum in 2020 and that the Yes campaign had six years to develop the right "bulletproof" policies to win over sceptical voters. He recommended a policy of a separate Scots currency, rather than sharing the pound.
Nicola Sturgeon has repeatedly said the timing of the next referendum will be determined by the public's appetite for independence and events.
A source close to the First Minister said: "Sandra White knows f*** all - and you can quote me on that."
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