Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has been challenged to distance himself from a motion at tomorrow’s conference urging the party to consider Scottish independence.
The motion, from organisation A Liberal Scotland in Europe, states Scotland should prioritise its relationship with Europe over the UK.
It adds that the party should back Nicola Sturgeon on her pledge to consider “all possible options” following Brexit, which would include a second independence referendum.
The move has been criticised by the Scottish Conservatives, who said it proved once again the Liberal Democrats could not be trusted when it came to Scotland’s place in the UK.
Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser has now written to Mr Rennie, urging him to back the two million people who voted No in 2014, rather than pandering to those sympathetic to separation.
The motion will be debated at tomorrow’s event in Dunfermline.
Scottish Conservative Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser said:
“The Liberal Democrats stood with us two years ago the campaign to keep the UK together.
“Now it seems one of the main themes of their conference will be to reverse that and get on board with the SNP.
“This is why Willie Rennie has to distance himself from this move, and ensure the party respects the decision made by two million Scots in 2014.
“This motion clearly suggests the EU market is more important to Scotland than the UK one, yet nothing could be further from the truth.
“We know Willie Rennie wanted the UK to remain part of the EU, but he needs to explain now if he thinks jeopardising Scotland’s place in Britain is a price worth paying for that.”
Below is the text of the letter from Murdo Fraser to Willie Rennie:
Dear Willie,
Just two years ago, two million Scots voted decisively for Scotland to stay as part of the United Kingdom, in what was the biggest democratic exercise in our nation’s history. I am proud that the Scottish Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats together formed an integral part of the cross-party Better Together campaign that helped to deliver that result. The vote, we were promised, was supposed to settle the issue of Scotland’s constitutional future for a generation.
Therefore, I was concerned to read in your autumn conference agenda that you will allow a motion, from A Liberal Scotland in Europe, to be debated that will endorse the “commitment made by the First Minister to explore all possible options to preserve the benefits Scotland presently enjoys as part of the UK’s EU membership”. As you will obviously be aware, Ms Sturgeon has repeatedly stressed that independence is one of the “options” that she will consider and supporting this motion will give your party’s endorsement for her to do so.
The motion would also commit your party to “prioritise integration” within the EU “at the expense” of the UK. This would be incredibly damaging to our country, as our membership of the UK is worth 13 per cent of all public spending in Scotland and more than four times to our exports than our relationship with the EU.
In addition, the motion would pledge your party to a “full and frank debate” on another independence referendum. As you should know, a clear majority of Scots see another referendum as divisive and unpopular and will not look kindly on any party that supports the SNP Government on pursuing their independence obsession.
Therefore, I ask you to confirm that you do not support the motion from A Liberal Scotland in Europe and will vote against it on Saturday. This will send a clear message that the 1.7 million votes for the UK to remain in the EU do not give the SNP the mandate to ignore the 2 million people who want Scotland to stay in a United Kingdom.
Yours sincerely,
Murdo Fraser MSP
Below is the motion which will be heard at this weekend’s Liberal Democrat conference:
‘There is a risk that significant elements of Scotland’s continuing
participation in the European community may no longer be
possible for as long as it remains in the United Kingdom, and
regretfully recognises that Scotland may eventually be forced to
prioritise integration with one of these Unions at the expense of
integration with the other.’