SNP MP warns against 'wildcat independence referendum' claiming it 'terrifies' new supporters

A leading SNP MP has said that suggestions Nicola Sturgeon should hold a "wildcat referendum" or unilaterally declare independence, will scare off former No voters who now back independence in the light of Brexit.

Pete Wishart has warned that new support for independence among Scottish Remain voters, in the aftermath of the UK leaving the EU, is "tenuous" and that anything other than a legal indyref2 "terrifies them" and could "very well return them back to the Nos".

A blogpost by the MP for Perth and north Perthshire pours cold water on recent calls by his Westminster colleagues Joanna Cherry and Angus MacNeil, underlining the growing divide in the party over its "next steps".

Both Cherry and MacNeil have urged the First Minister to pass a Holyrood bill to hold a referendum to break "the current impasse", and believe the Scottish Government would win a legal challenge should the Prime Minister go to court.

Pete Wishart MP says suggestions of a wildcat referendum "terrifies" new independence supporters.

However, Mr Wishart calls for a more cautious approach. In his blog he writes: "Where our new support for independence has been hard won it remains tenuous.

"Our new recruits have come mainly from former No voting Remainers and they are looking to see if we are worthy of their continuing support. Talk of UDIs, ‘dissolved unions’ and wildcat referendums terrify them half to death and pursuing any such strategy could very well return them back to the Nos."

He says the Conservatives are "counting on" the independence movement to be "consumed with impatience, frustration and fragmentation.

Pete Wishart has warned that new supportfor independence among Scottish Remain voters, in the aftermath of the UK leaving the EU, is "tenuous" and that anything other than a legal indyref2 "terrifies them" and could "very well return them back to the Nos".

"The Tories are looking for anything to get them off the independence hook and are hoping beyond hope that we embark on a strategy that will alienate our new support and confine ourselves to illegality and unconstitutionality.

Mr Wishart also says that it is "fanciful" to believe that the holding of an "advisory referendum" would be "cost free".

He says the UK government would "boycott" any such referendum and would not "dirty their hands on a legal challenge on something they refuse to even countenance" and that even if one did go ahead, councils may not be "well disposed to participate" in the running of a vote.

Further, he says, any result would have to see more than 50 per cent of the total electorate vote Yes - "a huge threshold to achieve".

"An ‘advisory’ referendum is therefore anything but consequence free," he writes. "It is something that could set us back significantly and could also unleash a range of forces that could quickly escalate out of control."

Reacting to Mr Wishart's blog, Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: “Unfortunately for Pete, he is shouting into the wind.

“Many of his SNP colleagues are so desperate for a wildcat referendum they are prepared to strip money from public services for it, despite the fact that most people on Scotland don’t want a divisive second referendum – whether it’s official or unofficial.

“Scotland deserves better than this debate. We are stronger together as part of the UK and it’s time to move on and focus on improving our public services.”