Scottish independence: I’ll back independence if there’s no second question, says Labour figure

FORMER Scottish Labour chairman Bob Thomson has said he will vote for independence if there is no second question on devo-max or home rule in the referendum .

Mr Thomson said if he was “pushed into a corner” in a straight yes-no question on whether Scotland should remain in the UK, he would back independence, warning others in the Labour and trade union movement would do the same.

His comments represent the first suggestion of backing for outright independence from any senior Labour figure in the run-up to the 2014 referendum.

Mr Thomson, who was Scottish Labour’s treasurer for most of the 1990s, said Holyrood needed full economic powers to “protect” public services and jobs. He also claimed the status quo could lead to Scotland being increasingly involved in overseas conflicts such as in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Former Labour First Minister Henry McLeish said Mr Thomson’s intervention “highlights a concern” within Scottish Labour about blocking a second question in the referendum. He said: “I wouldn’t support that view on voting for independence, but it highlights a concern that many people on the Left have. It could be an unintended consequence of excluding the most popular option of extra powers for the Scottish Parliament.

“I want to defeat independence and if there is no second question I’d still vote against independence, but there may be other people out there who take a different view. It would be a real tragedy if there was just a debate between two extremes for two years in the run-up to the referendum and the danger is that some people may vote for independence in the absence of an alternative.”

Mr Thomson, Scottish Labour’s chairman in 1990-91, said that there was growing support for full economic powers for Holyrood within groups such as the Scottish Trades Union Congress.

He said: “Labour in Scotland has got to be much more in favour of home rule and needs to make clear its position on this.

“If you go for devo-max, it’s not a case of being a Nationalist. It’s a pragmatic move that is supported by a lot of people in the trade union and Labour movement. There’s a need to protect people from what’s happening at Westminster.”

“If we were left with the status quo and still being involved in conflicts like Afghanistan, Iraq or even the possibility of Iran, then I’d vote for independence.

“If I was pushed into a corner and it was either the status quo or independence, than I’d do that and a lot of people in organised Labour and the trade union movement might say it too.”

The SNP’s parliamentary business secretary Bruce Crawford welcomed Mr Thomson’s intervention, ahead of Friday’s deadline for making submissions to the Scottish Government’s referendum consultation.

Mr Crawford said: “These are positive comments by Bob Thomson, who is a very respected figure in Scotland’s Labour movement and knows the importance of securing job-creating powers for the Scottish Parliament.”