Labour deputy leader now rules out referendum

Labour deputy leader Alex Rowley has called on the SNP to rule out a second independence referendum before the end of the decade.

Alex Rowley, pictured with Kezia Dugdale, now rules out a second referendum

Mr Rowley has previously indicated that the SNP would be entitled to bring forward another vote on the leaving the UK after the Brexit result - but insisted today such a move would be a "distraction."

Instead, he said a post-Brexit Scotland gives the opportunity to move towards an arrangement of Home Rule within the UK.

Mr Rowley claimed in July that he would not oppose a second referendum on independence and that it would be a "different proposition" from the 2014 vote.

But he said today that the post-Brexit landscape allows Scots for a more federal set-up in the UK.

"It is essential in this time of turmoil, that in Scotland we have an inclusive discussion about the big issues and challenges for our country moving forward, and we should not be distracted by arguments about a second referendum," Mr Rowley said in a blog today.

"It would be sheer madness to go for a second referendum without knowing the terms of Brexit, and it would be a betrayal of Scotland to put a second referendum ahead of getting the best Brexit deal for Scotland.

"We should not play into the Tory trap and end up with whatever Boris Johnson and Theresa May eventually agree, and that is why, 100 days after the Brexit vote and with no progress made, I think we must remove the distraction of a second referendum from this term of the Scottish Parliament and focus all our efforts on getting the best deal for Scotland."