SNP split over referendum bill

Published on Saturday 11 September 2010 15:10

A LEADING figure in the SNP has criticised the decision by First Minister Alex Salmond to pull a bill on the independence referendum, saying the party should have given it "a square go" by putting the bill to a vote.

MEP Alyn Smith said he wanted the SNP government to press ahead with its original plan to place a referendum bill before the Scottish Parliament.

It is the first time Salmond has been openly contradicted by an SNP parliamentarian over party strategy for many years.

The First Minister last week revealed he had decided not to place the bill before MSPs, on the grounds that it was already clear Labour, the Lib Dems and the Tories were going to knock it back.

However, the decision has prompted a divided response from within his party, with MSPs and activists understood to be unhappy that the party's principal objective has now been delayed.

One senior party source described the move as "madness". Party figures also believe the SNP has missed a chance to show up their enemies as being opposed to people having a say on the independence question.

Smith, who is also president of the party's youth wings, said: "Obviously the SNP is committed to independence. There is a tactical question about how best to achieve that. But I would like us to give it a square go. If we do not have the parliamentary arithmetic, that is democracy and that is for the next election."

He added: "We are the government. We are not doing gesture politics. We are united that independence is our aim. But I think if it is our principle aim, take it to a vote."

The row over the cancellation of the referendum bill may now spill out at the SNP's annual conference, to be held in a month's time. Other party sources believe the leadership "bounced" the party membership into the decision without due consultation.

However, Salmond is insistent that nothing would have been gained by putting the referendum to a vote when it was certain to fail. The First Minister believed that, once killed in parliament, the referendum would then be a dead issue during the election campaign next April.

Salmond now wants to place the referendum at the head of that campaign, where he is expected to claim that increased financial powers for Scotland are the only alternative to facing up to years of public sector cuts. The SNP leader believes that if the SNP emerges as the largest party once again, his opponents will find it impossible to oppose a referendum for another four years.

However, opponents last night said that Smith's opposition was indicative of a growing rebellion within the SNP over the First Minister's tactics.

Pauline McNeill, Scottish Labour's spokesperson on constitutional affairs, said: "It's a humiliating climbdown and it has obviously caused embarrassment within his own ranks."

The SNP has also revealed it intends to run a highly personalised campaign, contrasting its own frontbench team.