ALBA PARTY Westminster Leader Neale Hanvey MP has urged the contenders in the SNP leadership race to back his parliamentary initiatives that seek to transfer powers to the Scottish Parliament to facilitate a referendum on independence.
Hanvey says that support by the SNP leadership candidates would “unite the independence movement in common cause”. He has today written to all three SNP leadership candidates urging them to support a united front against the UK Government in the House of Commons.
On St. Andrews Day 2022 Mr Hanvey led a Westminster Hall debate on UK Government policy on a further independence referendum for Scotland during which he set out the St. Andrew’s Day Declaration.
However, to date only two members of the SNP Westminster group have recorded their support for the ALBA motion.
Last month the ALBA Westminster leader introduced the Scotland (Self Determination) Bill as a Private Members’ Bill under the Ten-Minute Rule. Many members of the SNP Group at Westminster co-sponsored the Bill.
In his letter to the SNP leadership candidates ALBA Party Westminster Leader Neale Hanvey says:
“The Bill seeks to amend the Scotland Act 1998 to transfer the power to legislate for a Scottish independence referendum to the Scottish Parliament where the Scottish public has demonstrated its support for the holding of such a referendum in an election, but no sooner than seven years after any previous such vote. This would bring Scotland’s constitutional arrangements into line with the position already conceded by the UK Government in relation to a border poll on the island of Ireland. The Second reading of the Bill is currently scheduled to take place on Friday 24 March.
I therefore invite you to give each of these initiatives your personal support as I believe this would illustrate your intent to unite the independence movement in common cause making your commitment to delivering Scottish independence unequivocal.”
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Posted by Alba Party, March 07