Scottish Labour planned for independence referendum

by Dave Keating | May 6, 2008 at 01:43 am

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A leaked internal document from the Scottish Labour party reveals that as recently as nine months ago the party was considering calling for an immediate referendum on independence for Scotland in order to stymie the plans of newly elected Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond. The document reveals that Labour, who are opposed to Scottish independence, believe that Salmond's plan is to build up trust with the electorate over the next three years and then put an independence referendum on the table in 2010.

Salmond's Scottish National Party wants Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom.

LABOUR leader Wendy Alexander called for an independence referendum nine months ago, it was revealed yesterday.

An internal Labour Party document, prepared by her for "senior figures north and south of the Border" last August, called for her party to take on the SNP in a poll as a matter of urgency.

The document, exclusively revealed to the Record, warned that First Minister Alex Salmond wanted to wait until 2010 for a referendum.

It said he would then take maximum advantage from "three-and-a-half years of SNP engineered constitutional debate and having established himself and his party as a credible party practised in government".

She also warned that the SNP would accept a multioption referendum and would then "cherry pick" issues for the 2011 election campaign.

Alexander said: "Labour in Scotland can sit on the sidelines like a party of Victor Meldrews and moan for their country.

"Or Labour in Scotland can grasp the nettle and demand that the people of Scotland are given the opportunity to have their voice heard."

She added: "Scottish Labour believes that independence is both unnecessary and unwise. It is not that Scotland cannot go it alone - it is simply that we do not believe that is in the best interests of the Scottish people.