The Scottish National party’s leader in Westminster has accused Tory MPs of denying Holyrood the powers to hold a second independence referendum because “unionism has run out of road”. Ian Blackford told the SNP’s online conference: “The UK that they argue for no longer exists and they have no idea how to reimagine or reinvent it … The Tories are in a panic – they are unwilling to accept the truth that a majority of Scotland’s people now want an independent future.” Referring to the UK government’s insistence that it will not grant the section 30 order required for the Scottish parliament to legally hold another poll, as well as their plans for a UK-wide internal market after Brexit, Blackford said: “Instead of listening to the will of the Scottish people, the Tories are attempting to deny democracy and destroy devolution.”
Blackford was speaking before a motion on Sunday morning affirming the party’s commitment to independence, which has been dismissed as “bland” by some activists amid growing frustration that focused debate on referendum strategy is being quashed by the SNP leadership. A vote on resolutions excluded from the conference, including a so-called Plan B route to a second referendum and the development of a Scottish pound, will take place at an alternative event also being held online on Sunday. Introducing the resolution on an independent future for Scotland, the SNP’s constitutional relations secretary, Mike Russell, told delegates that his government would bring forward legislation required to hold another referendum before next May’s Holyrood elections and “we will ask the people of Scotland to specifically endorse [it] at the election”. In a warning to more impatient activists, Russell said: “There are good ideas aplenty from B-Z [but] nothing can happen unless the SNP is in government.” Referring to the US election this month, he noted that when dealing with Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the democratic outcomes, Joe Biden “didn’t match it with threats or lawsuits”. But other speakers challenged the party to take immediate action. The former MP Roger Mullin said arguments to convince voters of independence “must dominate policymaking”, telling delegates: “We have much work to do and the party has not been doing enough of it.” Joanna Cherry, a vocal proponent of the need to develop policy positions and have answers to questions that scuppered the last independence campaign, encouraged members to vote candidates on to the party’s governing body to “get on with planning and free up the first minister to concentrate on the Covid crisis”.