AN ALBA MP has tabled legislation with the Commons to give Holyrood the power to call a referendum on independence without the permission of the UK Government.
If passed, Neale Hanvey's Ten Minute Rule Bill would amend the Scotland Act to effectively mirror the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland which allows a border poll to be called every seven years.
He told MPs a vote would only happen when the “Scottish public has demonstrated its support for the holding of such a referendum.”
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Mr Hanvey said: “The question of whether the ancient nation of Scotland should be an independent country once more continues to be the subject of much debate, indicating that the matter is far from settled.
“Of course, it's entirely proper for any country to review such matters because Scotland will only become independent as and when the majority of people of Scotland choose that path.
“Yet this requires a democratic mechanism that is constitutional and satisfies international legal precedent.
“This Bill seeks to standardise and codify such a requirement in line with the motion passed by this house which endorsed the principles of the 1989 claim of right, which acknowledged the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of government best suited to their needs.”
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Mr Hanvey said public support for a referendum would include “a democratic mandate from the Scottish public to do so."
This, he argued, had already been achieved.
He told MPs: “The UK Government enthusiastically claims it seeks to preserve democracy the world over yet it has moved to block Scotland's consistently expressed democratic aspirations at each and every turn.
“Surely, it's now time to move to eliminate accusations and counter-accusations of brinkmanship and set out a clear pathway consistent with the precedent across these islands where constitutional friction exists.”
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The Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath politician said the Bill was “neutral” in its effect.
“It favours neither one side or the other, but it seeks to codify the Scottish people's right to choose their own constitutional future,” he said.
"If democracy matters at all, every member in this house should support the remedy contained in this bill, regardless of their view on Scottish independence," he added.
The legislation was backed by Mr Hanvey’s Alba colleague, Kenny MacAskill, as well as the SNP’s Joanna cherry, Angus Brendan MacNeil, and Douglas Chapman.
Independent Margaret Farrier also threw her weight behind the Bill.
However, the parliamentary arithmetic means it has little chance of success.
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