John Swinney hints at SNP legal bid over independence referendum 'precedent'
The First Minister has been accused of “trying to provoke an argument about the constitution”.
John Swinney has suggested that securing a majority at next May’s Holyrood election could hand him an advantage in any legal challenge to compel the UK government to agree to a second referendum on independence.
It comes as former first minister Nicola Sturgeon said she has “confidence” in Mr Swinney “to deliver” Scotland leaving the Union, insisting he has a “secret plan” to force the issue.
The First Minister has pointed to the secret “tactics” he will deploy to spark a re-run of the 2014 referendum. He has raised the prospect of a potential legal challenge if the SNP can secure a majority of seats at next year’s election.
Mr Swinney has said “precedent is on my side” if his party matches the 2011 Holyrood majority that led to the 2014 vote. He suggested that "precedent is a substantial factor in legal consideration” of a referendum, opening up a possibility of a court battle if calls continue to be turned down by the UK government.
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Asked by the BBC if he knows what tactics he will deploy to compel the UK government to agree to a referendum, he said: “Of course I do.”
Mr Swinney added: “The first of those tactics is to make sure the SNP wins the election and wins a majority of SNP MSPs in the Scottish Parliament.
“The difference and the reason why the UK government’s position is factious is because in 2011, the UK government accepted and had to accept and established a precedent that a majority of SNP MSPs in the Scottish Parliament enable a referendum to take place.”
Pressed over the likelihood the UK government would continue to turn down requests for a referendum, the SNP leader said: “Precedent is on my side.
“This is what happened in 2011. Precedent is a substantial factor in legal consideration of the right of the people of Scotland to decide their own future.”
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said he was “not going to indulge in his game, which is to divert attention from his horrifically bad record on Scotland’s public services”.
He claimed the SNP leader was “trying to provoke an argument about the constitution”.
Mr Alexander said: “Labour does not support independence or another referendum. That’s the mandate on which I was elected.”
Ms Sturgeon, who attended the conference to sign copies of her memoir and appear at a fringe meeting, said: “I’ve known John Swinney for a long, long time and if he says he has a secret plan, he has a secret plan. I’ve got confidence in him to deliver it.”
She added: “John’s the leader of the party, I think he will lead the party to success and lead the country for a longer period as First Minister because of that and I have confidence in him to do that.”
In his keynote speech to conference today, Mr Swinney will warn that “on Westminster’s watch, the basic essentials of life - energy, food and more - are becoming more and more expensive”.
He is expected to say: "It was in part Scottish revulsion at the policies of Margaret Thatcher that catapulted Scotland towards the creation of a Scottish Parliament, and the rebirth of self-government.”
Mr Swinney will add: “Today I believe it will be revulsion at Westminster’s race to the right that will change Scotland’s status again.
"From a so-called devolved nation, to what we can be - a modern, outward looking, inclusive compassionate country. Not a devolved nation, but the world’s newest nation state.”
He will warn “the race to the right at Westminster is one reason why independence is so urgent and necessary”.
Mr Swinney will add: "Living standards in the UK have flatlined. And the promised improvements from a change of government at Westminster have simply not happened.”
Speaking at the conference on Sunday, SNP deputy leader Keith Brown accused Nigel Farage of “manipulating the failure of successive Westminster governments and his own political agenda” in a bid “to spread a vision of division, hate, and regression”.
He said the Reform UK leader “wants to normalise fear”, highlighting the “fear of immigrants, fear of difference, fear of change”.
Mr Brown announced the SNP had launched an initiative to bring more women into politics in honour of former minister and his partner, Christina McKelvie, who died earlier this year.
Under the Lead the Change programme, women interested in a career in politics could be mentored by current and former ministers, including Ms Sturgeon, Mairi McAllan and Shirley-Anne Somerville, along with senior female councillors and staff.
Mr Brown said: “With politics becoming increasingly toxic, especially towards women, and the rise of the far right leading to women’s rights coming under threat, it is beyond question that we all must do more.
“Given the toxic current climate we are seeing just now, I think we can all agree that support for women getting involved in politics is more important than ever.”
With the focus on independence, Scottish Conservative deputy leader, Rachael Hamilton claimed “it’s time for John to move on”.
She said: “John Swinney is desperately playing to the nationalist gallery to distract from his party’s atrocious record in government.
"He has been at the heart of that government for almost all of the 18 years the SNP has been in power, but still he prioritises an obsession with independence over Scots’ real priorities.”
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Scottish Labour constitution spokesperson Neil Bibby said Mr Swinney “doesn’t have a plan at all”.
He added: “You’d laugh if it wasn’t tragic for the people of Scotland to have a tired and out-of-touch government who are more obsessed with division than getting the basics right.”
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