Nationalists quids in thanks to late makar and a lottery win

THE SNP has already announced a war chest of nearly £2 million to spend on persuading voters of the case for independence in the lengthy run-up to the referendum.

A £1m donation from Britain’s most successful lottery winners, Colin and Chris Weir from Ayrshire, along with the bequest of a similar amount from the estate of the late Edwin Morgan, Scotland’s makar, has handed the SNP a huge financial advantage nearly three years before the referendum.

Nationalist sources also said the party had a “tightly knit” fundraising team, with party chief executive Peter Murrell and possibly finance secretary John Swinney involved in the efforts to boost the war chest.

Alex Salmond’s resistance to the call from Westminster to allow the Electoral Commission to run the referendum has led to speculation that there may be no spending cap in the election, allowing the SNP to massively outspend its rivals. An SNP source said the party was likely to use its financial muscle for “soft” and “hard” campaigns, ranging from roadshows to directly targeting voters.

The source said: “The fundraising work is being done by a tight knit group that principally involves chief executive Peter Murrell, and John Swinney is probably involved covertly.

“The money will be spent across the board on soft campaigning like constitutional roadshows to promote independence and also on hard campaigning, like using contact call centres to target voters. That’s where a lot of the cash will go, so that the party can get an up-to-date picture on people’s voting intentions.”

But while the SNP fundraising drive is already well under way, senior Scottish Labour peer Lord Foulkes said a “delayed” referendum would give supporters of the Union time to raise a war chest of their own.