21 Mar 2017
The people of Scotland are “sick to death” of nationalist games on independence, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has said.
Speaking as part of a marathon Holyrood debate on whether or not there should be a second independence referendum, she blasted both the SNP and the Greens for their “hypocrisy” on the issue.
She said the previous referendum was agreed legally and decisively under the Edinburgh Agreement, a process the SNP had described as the “gold standard” for referendums.
However, Nicola Sturgeon’s latest attempts indicate a “tin pot approach”, she said.
The First Minister announced last Monday that she wanted to hold a referendum re-run sometime between the autumn of 2018 and the spring of 2019, a timetable which has been rejected by the UK Government and the Scottish Conservatives.
And far from this being an attempt by the SNP to have a fair referendum, Ruth added, it was instead part of a “well-rehearsed game” to stoke grievance between Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said:
“Most people in Scotland are sick to death of the SNP’s games.
“They don’t want another referendum any time soon, just three years after the last one.
“But let’s cut to the chase: the SNP’s plan was not actually about trying to hold a fair, legal and decisive referendum.
“It was about a well-rehearsed game to put forward unworkable proposals, wait for Westminster politicians to point that out, then rush to any nearby microphone – angry face attached – to trot out the same old tired complaints.
“This bull-dozer approach is completely at odds with the way the 2014 referendum was held.
“The UK and Scottish governments worked together on proposals for a fair, legal and decisive referendum.
“The Edinburgh Agreement was then signed – with both sides promising to respect the result.
“How different things are today.”
You can read the text of Ruth’s speech here:
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