Labour MP says 'no doubt' Scotland will become independent

Scotland will become independent and it is "unsustainable" for the UK Government to rule out a second referendum, a Labour MP and former cabinet minister has said.

Ben Bradshaw, who served as culture minister under Tony Blair, warned that the "political class in England" must recognise Scots's right to self-determination.

Scots Labour leader Richard Leonard is poised to raise the possibility of reversing the party's opposition on a second independence referendum when the Scottish national executive committee meets in Glasgow tomorrow to support the prospect of multi-option vote.

Demands for a second referendum have stepped up after the SNP's landsllde election victory in Scotland

Mr Bradshaw, the Exeter MP told the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel: “I have no doubt that Scotland will become independent.

“It is completely unsustainable that the government in London denies Scots the right to self-determination.

“The Scots expressed in the 2016 EU referendum and the two subsequent General Elections that they do not want to leave the EU.

“It is important to understand that the UK is based on the consent of all parts of the country.

“The political class in England – and this includes my own party – must very quickly recognise the Scots' right to self-determination.”

A string of senior Scottish Labour figures have all suggested that the UK Government should grant second independence referendum, following the SNP's election victory north of the border. MSPs Neil Findlay and Monica Lennon, former Labour MPs Ged Killen and Paul Sweeney, , and current President of COSLA and Leader of the Labour group on Aberdeenshire Council, Alison Evison, have all voiced backing for another referendum.

SNP Deputy Westminster Leader Kirsty Blackman MP said: “Just as more people in Scotland are looking to an independent Scotland as a lifeboat from the chaos of Brexit at Westminster, a growing number of senior Labour figures recognise the mandate for a referendum.“The SNP won 80% of Scotland’s seats in Westminster - this is a cast-iron democratic mandate to hold an independence referendum. Scotland did not vote for Brexit and the SNP will always stand up to protect Scotland’s place as a European nation.“Scotland’s Parliament now faces being silenced by the whims of a Tory Prime Minister that Scotland did not vote for. While Labour may take a different position on independence, the argument to block Scotland’s right to choose is completely untenable”