Mandate for IndyRef2? SNP expected to push for independence after landslide victory in Scotland

The Scottish National Party (SNP) will likely use its electoral gains to tee up another independence referendum, Dr. Paul Monaghan, a former SNP MP, told RT, adding that Brexit will likely accelerate a split with the UK.

The Scottish Nationalists won 48 of Scotland’s 59 seats in Parliament, stripping the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats of 13 seats in total.

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has described her party’s victory as a clear mandate to pursue another independence referendum. With the Tories now controlling a majority in Parliament, the fiercely anti-Brexit SNP will likely make Scottish independence a top priority, Monaghan noted.

My view is that if they want Brexit, then they should have Brexit. But what is equally clear is that the SNP has done very well tonight. And we don’t want Brexit; we do want independence. So there is a real debate to be had now. And I think we are in a strong position to make it.

He stressed that while Boris Johnson’s success at the polls may have given the Conservatives a mandate to pursue Brexit, “equally the SNP has a mandate – and they’ve both got to be respected.”

Most importantly, the SNP’s victory means that the Conservatives will no longer be able to sideline Scotland, Monaghan said.

The people of Scotland are proud Europeans; we don’t want to leave the EU. We’ve said that repeatedly at election after election. And frankly our voices have been ignored. That is going to have to change.

An independence referendum held in 2014 failed, but calls for a second vote have grown louder as the UK prepares to leave the European Union.

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