A LABOUR MSP has warned his party faces “oblivion” unless it comes up with a credible alternative to independence as Holyrood passed a law paving the way for Indyref2.
Neil Findlay said Scottish Labour had wasted the last eight years opposing more powers for Holyrood when it should be embracing maximum devolution, or Devo Max.
Mr Findlay, the party’s former election campaigns spokesperson, who is leaving Holyrood in 2021, was speaking as MSPs debated the Referendums (Scotland) Bill.
The legislation creates a framework for referendums of all kinds, but has been designed with Indyref2 in mind.
There were angry scenes as opposition MSPs accused the Government of trying to “rig” Indyref2 by “manipulating” the question and restricting impartial testing of its intelligibility.
However the Bill passed by 68 to 54 on the back of SNP and Green votes.
Mr Findlay said last week’s election gave the SNP the right to hold a new independence vote, but said it would be reckless to do so in 2020, as there were too many Brexit unknowns.
He said: “The government has the right to proceed with the referendum, but doing so before clarity on Brexit is putting party interests before the national interest.”
He added: “Finally, can I say to my own party, we have wasted eight years from the 2011 election, through the 2014 referendum, to the present day where we have failed to come forward with a credible, workable, coherent alternative to independence.
“We’ve been reluctant and grudging when proposals for devolved power came forward, seeing it as a concession to Nationalism.
“I am no Nationalist and I never will be, but I see the devolution of power to the lowest possible level as the natural and desirable democratic order. Labour must now get its act together very quickly.
“Hard oppositionalist Unionism is the road to oblivion, in my opinion.
“The people want change, and I think that should be a Devo Max proposition that should be based on the principle that all powers should be devolved unless there’s an overwhelming reason not to devolve them.”
Mr Findlay was one of two Labour MSPs to defy the whip by abstaining instead of opposing the Bill.
The other was Monica Lennon, who nevertheless remains her party’s health spokesperson.
LibDem MSP Mike Rumbles accused the SNP and Greens of using the legislation to try to rig the question in a future independence referendum.
He branded the Bill a “nationalist charade” and claimed: “The two nationalist parties have fixed the terms of this Bill for their own partisan advantage.”
SNP Brexit Secretary Mike Russell said: “Today we are closer to giving the Scottish people a choice over the path our country should take. With this legislative framework in place, it only requires a short Bill for an independence referendum to be held once a transfer of power, which puts holding a referendum beyond challenge, is devolved to the Scottish Government.
“These robust regulations will allow debate to focus on the issues at stake in referendums, not procedure, and ensure that the results can be accepted by all parties.
“Legal changes are required to keep pace with the way campaigns are now conducted. To protect the space for rational, respectful debate, it must be clear who is behind online campaign activity, while those who break rules should be properly sanctioned. This Bill addresses both these issues.”
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