NICOLA Sturgeon has dismissed plans by the pro-independence blogger Wings Over Scotland to set up his own political party to boost the independence cause.
The First Minister said attempts to game the electoral system “risk ending up in a mess and achieving the opposite of what you wanted to achieve”.
Stuart Campbell, who runs the Wings Over Scotland website, has floated the idea of setting up his own party to stand for Holyrood on the regional list system in 2021 if independence has not been delivered by then.
But speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Ms Sturgeon insisted the best way to secure independence is to vote SNP.
Presenter Gary Robertson said: “[Mr Campbell] says second votes, particularly on the list, for the SNP are wasted in terms of the way the system works.
“So he’s advocating that people who support independence vote for him in those circumstances.”
READ MORE: Wings over Scotland blogger attacks SNP and Greens in Yes movement split
Ms Sturgeon replied: “I disagree profoundly with that. If you start gaming an electoral system then you risk ending up in a mess and achieving the opposite of what you wanted to achieve.
“If you support independence and you want to see an SNP Government, then the simple and best way to secure that is to vote SNP at every opportunity you have.
“Now, you’ll have to forgive me – it’s for other people to argue a case for what they’re proposing.
“I’m leader of the SNP, and the best way to secure an SNP Government, the best way to secure independence is to vote SNP.”
READ MORE: Mark Smith: How a Wings Over Scotland party could turn Yes to No
Mr Campbell previously told BBC Radio Scotland that the aim was to win seats from Unionist parties in order to increase the chances of a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament.
He said the plans were at an early stage, but the intention would be to stand on the regionalist list system, where the SNP gets a minority of its seats, in order to get more pro-independence MSPs under a different label.
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