A CONSERVATIVE cabinet minister has suggested that Scots should be able to hold a referendum if they decide they want to.
Kwasi Kwarteng appeared to deviate from the views of his boss, the Prime Minster, when he told a journalist that it was "up to the Scottish people" whether to hold another poll.
Earlier today Boris Johnson said another referendum was “completely in-apposite, irrelevant, uncalled for and unnecessary", after repeatedly ruling out granting a Section 30 order to Holyrood to hold another vote.
During a visit to Scotland last month, he said he believed IndyRef2 was "completely irrelevant" to most people.
However Mr Kwarteng, the business Secretary, said during a TV interview: "It’s up to the Scottish people to decide when and whether they want a referendum."
Asked if he agreed with Mr Johnson's comments, he said: "I’ve always thought that the issue of Scottish independence is something for the people in Scotland.
"I do remember, in 2014 I think it was, that they said that the referendum would settle the issue for 25 years, for a generation.
“And I am surprised at how often it’s come back, but it’s up to the Scottish people to decide when and whether they want a referendum."
Kirsten Oswald, the SNP's deputy Westminster leader, welcomed Mr Kwarteng's remarks, saying he was "absolutely correct that the people of Scotland – not Boris Johnson – have the right to decide their own future."
She added: "The UK government seem to be waking up to the reality that their anti-democratic position of denying people in Scotland that right is completely unsustainable.”
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