WATCH: Jeremy Corbyn fails to rule out allowing second independence referendum
2 min read
Jeremy Corbyn has refused to rule out giving the Scottish Parliament the power to hold another independence referendum if he becomes Prime Minister.
The Labour leader said he would "decide at the time" if Nicola Sturgeon were to ask Westminsiter for its consent for another poll.
His comments, in an interview with BBC Scotland, are a major shift from his party's last Holyrood manifesto, which gave a "cast iron guarantee" that Labour would oppose so-called "indyref2".
Instead, he would only say that a UK Labour government would be "very clear on why we don't think it's a good idea" to have another referendum.
Asked how he would respond if Ms Sturgeon asked for Westminster's consent, Mr Corbyn said: "We'd obviously decide at the time, but I'd simply point out that the spending probems in Scotland are a £13bn gap between what Scotland can raise in taxation and what it gets at the moment in income and I point out the economic issues that have got to be centrepiece to part of it and the fact that ... this will be the atmosphere of a Labour government investing in Scotland.
"Things will be very different in Scotland with an ally at Westminster like a Labour government."
Asked if he was ruling out another independence referendum, Mr Corbyn said: "I'm not ruling out, I'm just pointing out the reality of it.
"Look, we don't want another referendum, we don't think another referendum is a good idea, and we will be very clear on why we don't think it's a good idea.
"We think what is more important is dealing with child poverty, housing problems and lack of investment in Scotland.
"A referendum will not solve that."
Scottish Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins said: "Every time Jeremy Corbyn talks about Scotland he gives yet another concession to the SNP.
"Jeremy Corbyn does not care about Scotland and has no interest in standing up to the nationalists, as this latest gaffe proves."
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