Top SNP figure urges Nicola Sturgeon to drop second referendum plans
2 min read
Scotland's former Health minister has urged Nicola Sturgeon to take her demands for a second independence referendum off the table following the SNP's poor general election showing.
Alex Neil, the MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, said the party risked further punishment at the ballot box if they do not change their position quickly.
It follows a bruising night for the SNP on Thursday as both the Conservatives and Labour outperformed expectations north of the border.
Although the Nationalists remain by far the largest Scottish party in Westminster, they lost 21 MPs and almost 500,000 votes compared to their performance in 2015.
The results have led to criticism of Ms Sturgeon from her own colleagues, with former justice secretary Kenny MacAskill saying there was "little coherence" and "little semblance of a message" to his party's campaign.
Mr Neil, who stepped down from government last year, said it was imperative for the First Minister to move the debate on from independence.
“We cannot win a referendum if so many people are against it in the first place - the party has to deal with the realpolitik," he told the Sunday Telegraph.
"We have to remember also there’s likely to be a second General Election as soon as October, where we can try to win back some of the 21 seats we lost.
“If we give the impression that we’re not listening to the electorate, the electorate would seek to punish us. It’s not in the interests of the independence movement and we cannot fight with the electorate.”
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said yesterday the general election had shown Scots had "had enough of their constant talk of division".
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
