Reform Scotland’s Malcolm Offord has refused to rule out the possibility of another independence referendum should the SNP win a majority of seats at the next Holyrood election.
However, the former Scotland Office minister and Reform leadership hopeful said there was currently "no appetite" for such a vote.
During a STV Scotland Tonight debate last night, Mr Offord, who recently defected from the Conservatives to Reform UK, also said “there might be” a referendum in Scotland within the next decade.
Mr Offord, who intends to stand for Reform in the upcoming Holyrood elections in May and is vying for leadership, made the comments as polling currently suggests the SNP is ahead in the race to power north of the border.
SNP leader John Swinney has set a target of winning 65 seats, a Holyrood majority, which he says would give his party a mandate to deliver another independence referendum.
Asked by STV political editor Colin Mackay whether there should be another referendum if the SNP achieves such a majority, Mr Offord said: “That’s pure speculation.
“The reality is that for 25 years, this parliament has been dominated by this constitutional question and every area in public life has gone backwards.
"The people of Scotland want to focus on making this parliament more prosperous not the constitution.”
Mr Offord was repeatedly pressed to give his view on whether an SNP majority would constitute a mandate for another independence vote, but he declined to give a direct answer.
In August, Mr Offord told The Herald he could accept an argument for a second independence referendum in 2036, but only if the constitutional question were parked for the next two Holyrood terms.
During last night’s debate, Mr Offord again said “there might be” another referendum in the next 10 or 15 years.
“There might well be. There could be a referendum whenever but that’s not the point,” Mr Offord said. “Right now, there is no appetite for another independence referendum.”
Conservative MSP Craig Hoy raised Mr Offord’s previous remarks contained in his Wealthy Nation, Healthy Nation papers in August last year.
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Mr Hoy later told The Herald: “Pro-UK voters will be alarmed that Reform’s de facto leader in Scotland clearly refused to rule out the prospect of another independence referendum.
“His weak response comes alongside Nigel Farage saying he’s relaxed about the prospect of five more years of an SNP government and the fact that Reform fielded pro-independence candidates at the General Election.
“It’s clear that a vote for Reform will only help the SNP at the election and will inevitably accelerate their bid for a fresh vote on breaking up the United Kingdom.”
In his papers, Mr Offord argues the constitutional debate should be “set aside” for a generation to allow parties to “work together to make Scotland the most prosperous and best-governed part of the UK”.
The paper states: “Only once that milestone is achieved, might we have the constitutional debate once again. The Scottish people can then decide their future direction, but from a position of strength, not weakness.”
Representatives from the SNP, Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour, Scottish Greens, Scottish Liberal Democrats and Reform UK took part in the debate, discussing issues ranging from immigration and the cost of living to the constitution.
Responding to the SNP's plans on another indyref, the Scottish Conservatives' Craig Hoy said: "We had that referendum back in 2014, it was once in a lifetime."
He added: "Reform runs the risk of splitting the vote and actually putting John Swinney back to Bute House at the next election."
Addressing the prospect of a second independence referendum, SNP deputy leader Keith Brown insisted his party’s position , that a majority of 65 Holyrood seats should be viewed as a mandate, was justified.
“It happened before, it sets a precedent, of course it can happen,” he said.
“I think, given where we’re starting from in this campaign, and given the way that John Swinney has led the party in the past 18 months, I can see nothing but a positive future for Scotland and yes we can achieve that 65 seats and more.”
That claim was challenged by Jackie Baillie, who argued there was no public appetite for another referendum.
She said: “After 20 years of the SNP people do not want another referendum.
“And I have to say, after 20 years you’ve been unable to deliver independence.
“People want a better health service, they want their schools not to struggle.
“This is what the polls tell us consistently, when people rank their top priorities independence comes low down on the list.”
Making the case for another referendum, Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay, whose party supports independence, said circumstances have changed since the Scottish independence vote in 2014.
She said: “I voted no in 2014, there are plenty of people like me who would like to cast their vote again and many young people who didn’t get to have their say the first time round.
“We were promised big things and we ended up with Brexit and Boris.
“So we’re in a different place now to where we were ten years ago, so I think it’s perfectly fair that should that pro-independence majority come round at the next election that we get that referendum.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton rejected that argument, saying Scotland’s challenges would not be solved by another constitutional vote.
“For all of the questions that Scotland currently faces, whether that’s the rising cost of living, access to local healthcare, problems with our education system; the answer to none of them is another independence referendum,” he said.
