Harvie: Indyref should take place during this Parliament
Scottish Greens Parliamentary Co-Leader Patrick Harvie MSP today insisted that while the newly published Referendums Bill contains no specific commitment to an independence referendum during this parliament on the face of the Bill, such a referendum should take place on that timescale.
Patrick Harvie MSP said:
“We welcome the publication of the Referendums Bill today and look forward to scrutinising it in detail in the coming months. The Bill itself contains no specific commitment to an independence referendum during this parliament, but whether Brexit is eventually imposed on Scotland or not, we believe that such a referendum should take place on that timescale.
“The detail of the Bill needs scrutiny, like the inclusion of a citizenship requirement for the right to vote, despite repeated promises by the Scottish Government to ensure that voting rights are based on residency instead.
“The UK Government has fundamentally attacked the devolution settlement people voted for over 20 years ago by legislating in devolved areas without the consent of the Scottish Parliament, and they are threatening to further undermine devolved powers with right wing free trade agreements which would endanger our environment, food standards and public services.
“We respect the fact that some people don’t want to see this debate even take place. But those who oppose independence should at least have the willingness to come forward with positive alternatives. The status quo is broken and we should not ask Scotland to face the threat of a chaotic Brexit and a hard right Prime Minister, without the power to make our own choices about our own future."