• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
  • Guest Content
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

Major: Johnson’s ‘hardline’ refusal of IndyRef2 could ‘provoke break-up of UK’

The Tory ex-leader said while Boris Johnson “probably” has the legal right to block a fresh independence ballot, he should be “wary how he uses that power”.

Henry Goodwin by Henry Goodwin
2021-03-27 13:52
in Politics
RETRANSMITTED CORRECTING BYLINE Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomes Prime Minister Boris Johnson outside Bute House in Edinburgh ahead of their meeting.

RETRANSMITTED CORRECTING BYLINE Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomes Prime Minister Boris Johnson outside Bute House in Edinburgh ahead of their meeting.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Delaying a second vote on Scottish independence may be “unwise”, former prime minister Sir John Major said, warning a “hardline” refusal to allow another vote on the matter for a generation was “more likely to provoke a break-up than prevent it”.

The Tory ex-leader said while Boris Johnson “probably” has the legal right to block a fresh independence ballot, he should be “wary how he uses that power”.

Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP is pushing for another vote, with former first minister Alex Salmond also now bidding to make a dramatic return to Holyrood as the leader of the new pro-independence Alba Party.

It is campaigning on the regional list section of the Scottish Parliament ballot, in the hopes that this will help create a “supermajority” of MSPs supporting Scotland coming out of the UK.

Sir John, writing in the Financial Times, stressed that Scotland “cannot be kept forever in an arrangement if her people wish to end it”.

Instead, he said: “To save the Union, Scots must be persuaded by hard facts that it is in their interest to do so.”

Major continued: “Prime Minister Boris Johnson probably has a legal right to refuse to sanction a second independence referendum. But he should be wary how he uses that power.

“It is unwise to dismiss Scottish ambitions, or to delay any vote, without action to expose the reality of separation — and remedy shortcomings in the UK’s devolution settlement.”

Johnson has so far rejected Sturgeon’s calls to give the go-ahead for another independence referendum, with the Prime Minister noting SNP leaders had said the 2014 vote would be a “once in a generation” event.

RelatedPosts

Ex-councillor jailed over £430k Eat Out to Help Out fraud

David Frost says Remainers are ‘about to be humiliated’ over trade deal that will boost UK economy by 0.08%

Petition calling on Govt to hold a Public Inquiry into impact of Brexit reaches 130k signatures

Sunak Zelensky snub among news items ‘leaked’ before Easter recess

Sir John cautioned: “A blunt refusal would be a still greater error if accompanied by the provocative assertion that Scots should wait another generation before voting again on the issue.

“Such a hardline approach is more likely to provoke a break-up than prevent it. Scotland is a definable and proud nation. She is perfectly capable of self-government and, whether or not it would be a wise decision, has a right to seek independence.”

He argued that “with facts and reason, it should be possible to persuade a majority of Scots that it is better to remain in the Union than to leave it”.

But Sir John stressed: “The debate must be about the lives and livelihoods of the Scottish people. It must not be decided by Scottish distaste for Conservative rule, or by a trivial popularity contest between the Prime Minister and Scotland’s First Minister.

“Fanciful promises did not persuade the Scots to back Brexit. Only facts will persuade them to rally to the Union. The Government must engage Scottish opinion so that every family and business is informed about what the Union does, and what would be lost by leaving it.”

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross argued against holding another referendum.

Ross said: “The fact is we are in the middle of a global pandemic, we are still seeing people in Scotland losing their lives, we are seeing people in Scotland worried about their livelihoods.

“We can not have another divisive independence referendum, that distracts the Government and the Parliament from what should be our key priority, which is rebuilding post-Covid.”

He added: “I want to see all the focus of Parliament, a laser focus, on the recovery for the next five years, not another referendum.”

Related: Sturgeon: ‘Significant questions’ about Salmond’s return to politics

Content Protection by DMCA.com

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending

Elevenses: Exposing the Tories’ Deepfake Illegal Immigration Bill

Elevenses: Rishi’s Finest Hour

Elevenses: Fear and Loathing in the New Conservatives

More from TLE

Spirit of the Week: 1800 Silver Tequila

Easy French Apple Tart

Starmer accuses Johnson of taking ‘wrecking ball’ to Anglo-Irish relations

6 Top Travel Tips for London

Windrush campaigners were barred from Tory conference

Controversial Shark House owner to get an award from the council that spent decades trying to get it removed

UK visa scheme for Nobel laureates receives no applications

UKIP Leadership Candidate Suffering From Suspected Bleeding of the Brain After Bust Up

Outrage as militant Mail goes to war with unions in a bid to get “hero” teachers working

Sajid Javid refuses to rule out Brexit Party pact – or breaking law by not delaying Brexit for a deal

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Commercial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.