THE former chairman of Yes Scotland has called for a second independence referendum but admitted leaving the UK could see the creation of a "hard border" between Scotland and England.
Dennis Canavan said the case for independence had been "strengthened" by the UK's decision to leave the EU against the wishes of most Scots.
READ MORE; David Cameron says UK will not stand for hate crime after Brexit vote
He said Scotland would become more attractive to inward investors if it remained in the EU but insisted: "The only way that could be achieved is if Scotland becomes independent.
"That's why I say, a second referendum on independence, bring it on."
Mr Canavan repeated his backing for a separate Scottish currency, a position he held in 2014, but added: "In the longer term we might want to consider joining the eurozone."
Asked about the prospect of a "hard border" between an independent Scotland in the EU and a UK outside the Brussels bloc, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I don't want to see a hard border between Scotland and England."
Pressed on whether it would be a price worth paying to retain Scotland's membership of the EU, he said: "Well, you'll have a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and there will be a hard border between the UK and the rest of Europe, or at least the rest of the EU.
"The Brexiteers should have thought all this out beforehand.
"I'm not one for creating unnecessary borders but I'm very much in favour of us being members of the European family and international community."
The former Labour MP and Independent MSP's firm backing for a second referendum goes beyond commitments made by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
She has said she will exhaust diplomatic efforts to maintain Scotland's relationship with the EU before calling a referendum as a "last resort".
She has also indicated she would prefer to keep the pound rather than join the euro.
READ MORE: No 10 insists 'last thing' Scotland needs right now is another divisive independence poll
Mr Canavan's call also put him at odds with another veteran Nationalist, former SNP leader Gordon Wilson, who argued against a referendum in the near future, unless there was clear and sustained support for independence.
In a strategy paper issued under the banner of his Options for Scotland think tank, he said the SNP should not aim to hold a second plebiscite within the next five years.
He also said the SNP should show greater "humility" than it did fighting the 2014 campaign.
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