The Scottish Government's Brexit minister has said that rushing into IndyRef2 after Brexit could quash the prospect of a Yes vote.
Speaking at the SNP conference, Mike Russell insisted that the party must wait for the "right moment" to call a second independence referendum.
He said that a second vote should only take place when Scotland is "persuaded, ready and determined to win" and that the right time was not "the moment that best relieves our natural impatience".
With the UK due to leave the European in less than six months' time, Mr Russell hit out at Theresa May's "destructive, dysfunctional UK Government".
But he dismissed the portion of the SNP calling for party leaders to push ahead with a date for a second vote in response to Brexit.
Mr Russell said: "Deciding the when can only come after agreeing on the why. Because the why isn't just about grabbing a lifeboat in choppy and dangerous seas.
"The why is about a route to a better Scotland, in a better Europe influencing the creation of a better world ...
"It can only happen when we find the right moment and the right arguments to make it happen.
"Our job as a party and as a government is to both make sure that Scotland flourishes, no matter the circumstances but also to ensure that - at the right moment - the choice of independence can be made.
"The right moment - not the most comfortable moment or the moment that best relieves our natural impatience. The moment at which our country is persuaded, ready and determined to win.
"These are difficult times. They may become more difficult still and that is why the Scottish Government is working so hard to try and ensure that even in the event of a disastrous no deal we will be able to offer some mitigation and some protection."
Sturgeon has already warned the UK Prime Minister her party's MPs will vote against any Brexit deal at Westminster which takes the UK out of the single market and the customs union.
Russell echoed this, stating the SNP "will not be the midwives of Brexit, willing dislocation and disaster upon our country".
He told the conference: "Let me put it this unequivocal way, if there is no offer and no possibility, at the very least, of a single market and customs union outcome, either for the UK as a whole or for Scotland as a differentiated part of these islands, then there is no meaningful option being offered at all, and no option that can or will have SNP support."
He said if Scotland was "forced to leave" the EU "for no matter how short a period, the only sensible, evidence led, option is to stay in the single market and the customs union".
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