Labour MP Ben Bradshaw says it is '100% certain' that Scotland will become independent
3 min read
A former Labour cabinet minister has predicted that Scotland will defiinitely become independent.
Ben Bradshaw said he was "100% certain" that voters north of the Border will choose to leave the United Kingdom if another referendum in held.
The Exeter MP, who served in government under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, said it was "unsustainable" for the UK government to deny Holyrood the right to hold so-called "indyref2".
Speaking to German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, he said that Scots' opposition to Brexit would be the main driving force behind the breakaway.
He said: “I have no doubt that Scotland will become independent.
"It is completely unsustainable that the government in London denies the Scots the right to self-determination.
"The Scots expressed in the 2016 EU referendum and the two subsequent general elections that they do not want to leave the EU.
"It is important to understand that the UK is based on the consent of all parts of the country."
Scotland voted 55% to 45% against independence in a referendum in 2014, but the SNP government in Edinburgh say another vote should take place this year.
Labour is officially opposed to independence, but it was reported yesterday that Richard Leonard, the party's leader in Scotland, is now in favour of a second referendum on the issue.
His comments come after the Scottish Labour party announced on Thursday that it would consider backing a second independence referendum.
Mr Bradshaw said: “The political class in England - and this includes my own party - must very quickly recognize the Scots' right to self-determination.
“I am married to a Scotsman. All members of our family in Scotland voted against independence in the 2014 referendum.
“But at the last general election in December, all of them voted for the Scottish National Party for the first time in their lives. And they would now vote for Scotland's independence differently than in 2014.
“Scotland will become independent. For me that is 100% certain.”
But Ian Murray, Labour's only Scottish MP, has insisted the party should maintain its opposition to a second referendum.
He said: "The Labour Party should categorically oppose a divisive and unwanted second independence referendum. Poll after poll has shown that Scots don’t want another contest anytime soon, and a majority of voters at the General Election backed pro-UK parties.
"The last referendum, which we were promised was ‘once in a generation’, caused divisions in society which have yet to heal and resulted in vital public services being neglected during the two-year campaign.
"With the SNP running our schools and hospitals into the ground, the last thing the Labour Party should do is give Nicola Sturgeon the distraction she craves to deflect from her record in office.
"We must be a pro-UK party and a pro-EU party not just because that is in the best interests of the country, but because it is part of our Labour values."
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