Scottish Parliament Election 2021: Scottish Conservative Douglas Ross refuses to say whether Boris Johnson block on second Scottish independence referendum would be undemocratic

Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross has refused to say whether he believes it would be appropriate for the Prime Minister to block a second referendum - if pro-independence parties won a majority at Holyrood next month.

During an appearance on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme, Mr Ross was repeatedly asked whether such an action by Boris Johnson would be “undemocratic”.

He said: “Well, I do think it is undemocratic for these nationalist-supporting parties to try and game the system - and the whole idea of a super majority has come about because Alex Salmond’s nationalists want to increase the numbers on top of Nicola Sturgeon’s nationalists to have another independence referendum.

“They don't want to see the focus here in Scotland, and in our Parliament on our recovery and rebuilding after this pandemic.”

A string of polls have forecast a pro-independence majority returning to Holyrood in May.

Asked whether a Conservative majority at Westminster trumped a majority for independence at Holyrood, the 38-year-old said: “I think the way this works is people want to see this country focused on recovery from Covid-19. They don't want to see the division and damaging discussions that we had in the previous referendum.

“We have come together as a nation to tackle Covid-19 and I think we should continue to act together as a nation to rebuild our educational standards and to support our NHS. These are all areas I want to focus on, and I want the Parliament to be laser focused on [them] in the next five years.”

Mr Ross also accused the SNP of plotting to hold an “illegal wildcat referendum” irrespective of the Prime Minister’s actions.

“They've set that out in their 11-point plan for another independence referendum,” he told interviewers.

“Nicola Sturgeon said...that she accepts that would be in our recovery fase. That's what the nationalists and the SNP want.

“There is a way to stop that - people stopped it back in 2016 - by uniting behind the Scottish Conservatives, by giving the Scottish Conservatives their list party vote.

“That stopped an SNP majority, it stopped another referendum. We can do that again now in 2021 to make sure our focus is 100 per cent on our recovery and rebuilding Scotland.”

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