And the people of Scotland should look at it in that manner.” Speaking after his victory over rival leadership candidates Joanna Cherry and Drew Hendry, Mr Blackford said he would hold discussions with the First Minster on a second referendum “to make sure we do what is right for the people of Scotland.”īut the former investment banker said: “Any independence referendum, if it were to happen, is an insurance policy on the future of Scotland being impacted by a hard Tory Brexit that damages our interests. The prospect of another independence vote dominated the election campaign in Scotland, with the three Unionist parties urging voters to send Ms Sturgeon a message they did not want one. The SNP received only 37 per cent of the popular vote, losing almost half a million votes compared to the 2015 election and 21 MPs, including Alex Salmond and Mr Robertson, the party’s deputy leader. Mr Blackford’s intervention came the day after Ms Sturgeon’s Cabinet failed to discuss the referendum in their first meeting since last week’s election. The Ross, Skye and Lochaber MP was speaking shortly after winning the race to succeed Angus Robertson, who lost his Moray seat in the General Election, to lead the SNP’s group of 35 MPs. The First Minister described as “nonsense” allegations that she has already decided to plough ahead with her blueprint to break up Britain despite the SNP’s General Election mauling.Īmid growing pressure on her to make public her stance, a defiant Ms Sturgeon said she would “not be dictated to” over the timing of an announcement and she would set out her plans “in due course after talking to people across the SNP.”īut only hours later Ian Blackford said the SNP will “make sure” that the option of another referendum is available for Scots if they are unhappy with the outcome of the Brexit negotiations. "So, we want to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with an elected chamber that has a really strong mission."īrown proposed a new assembly comprising members drawn from the UK's regions and countries - a "smaller, more representative and democratic" chamber, although details will be left to the consultation.The SNP’s new Westminster leader has undermined Nicola Sturgeon’s claims she is still weighing up whether to press ahead with a second independence referendum after arguing it was Scotland’s “insurance policy” against Brexit. Anybody who looks at the House of Lords would struggle to say that it should be kept," Starmer told BBC television. "I think the House of Lords is indefensible. The 40-point plan's centrepiece is to scrap the upper house of parliament in its current guise - which is a mixture of political appointees, hereditary peers and Church of England bishops. Tackling widespread public disgust with perceived malpractice in parliament, the proposals would clamp down on MPs holding second jobs and create a new anti-corruption commissioner. Starmer said he hoped to push through the eventual reforms within the first five years of a Labour government, possibly including the redeployment of 50,000 civil service jobs out of London. It now goes to a public consultation, with agreed changes set to be incorporated into the party's next election manifesto. The party's blueprint for reform, drafted by former prime minister Gordon Brown, envisions new devolution to the UK's regions and countries including Scotland, where the nationalist government is pressing for a new referendum on independence.īrown, who led the successful 2014 campaign for his fellow Scots to stay in the United Kingdom, proposed greater devolution, with the Edinburgh parliament included in international agreements that involve Scottish areas.Īddressing an audience in Leeds, northern England, Starmer said a "failure of economic growth over the past 12 years" under Conservative rule was caused in part by the UK failing as a whole to power growth, relying too much on London and southeast England. Labour leader Keir Starmer promised "the biggest ever transfer of power from (the UK parliament in) Westminster to the British people", arguing that many voters in 2016 opted to quit the European Union because of a sense of lack of democratic control. Labour looks set to take power in the next election, due by January 2025, streaking far ahead of the governing Conservatives in opinion polls after a tumultuous period politically and economically. Britain's opposition Labour party vowed on Monday to scrap the unelected and "indefensible" House of Lords as part of a constitutional revamp to redistribute economic growth after Brexit.
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