Election / ‘Deliverable’ or ‘overly ambitious’? Differing views on independence vote timeline
SNP leader John Swinney has visited Shetland ahead of the Scottish elections on 7 May
SNP leader John Swinney says a Scottish independence vote in 2028 is “perfectly deliverable” – despite his party’s Shetland candidate saying it is “overly ambitious”.
During a visit to Shetland today (Monday) Swinney said that following the last independence referendum in 2014 “we know what the legislation looks like” and added that it can be put in place by 2028.
However last week SNP’s Shetland election candidate Hannah Mary Goodlad said during a BBC hustings event that 2028 was ambitious.
She had said there was a “heck of a lot to be done within the current parliament term that’s coming up” but added that if there is a majority of SNP MSPs then Swinney will be “absolutely right” to take the independence question to Westminster.
Swinney was in Shetland for the third time in the Scottish election campaign, although this time he was solely on SNP duty rather than government as parliament has now dissolved.
As the party aims to oust the Lib Dems from the Shetland seat, he began his visit by helping out with a redd up of litter at the head of the Scalloway voe, before making his way to Lerwick.
Here Swinney visited local shops including COPE Ltd’s Shetland Soap Company and Ninian.
At one point he was questioned on the street by a member of the public on when funding will be given for new NorthLink passenger ferries.
Speaking to the media prior to his walk around Commercial Street, Swinney defended his belief that an independence referendum could come in 2028, despite Goodlad’s apparent scepticism.
His view is that if the SNP returns a majority of MSPs in Holyrood, this would give the party the mandate to bring the topic to the UK Government.
“I’ve made it quite clear that I think the way we break the logjam in Scottish politics is to secure an SNP majority at this election, which would enable us to do what we did in 2011, [by] taking forward a referendum on independence,” Swinney said when questioned by Shetland News.
“I think a vote in 2028 is perfectly deliverable. We know what the legislation looks like, and that can be put in place in that timescale.”
The SNP last achieved a majority in Holyrood in 2011, while they fell just short at the last election in 2021.
Meanwhile the topic of the local campaign’s ‘Seat at the Table’ slogan was raised too.
Labour candidate John Erskine said in a feature due to be published by Shetland News tomorrow (Tuesday) that he feels the slogan is “slightly disingenuous” given the SNP has had regional list MSPs representing the Highlands and Islands for years.
“We’ve had list MSPs,” Swinney responded, “but I think the proposition Hannah Mary puts forward as an incredibly strong, articulate voice for the people of Shetland is a really compelling argument.
“When I look at some of the issues that she’s raised about for example the peak fares on the NorthLink ferries – she’s put that forward, and the government has been able to respond to that positively.
“I think that’s just a vivid illustration of the effect of having such a strong voice as Hannah Mary Goodlad as the MSP for Shetland.”
Swinney was also asked to clarify his current stance on the Rosebank oil and gas development to the north west of Shetland.
Energy is a reserved matter to Westminster, but previous first ministers have voiced concern over Rosebank.
The proposed development received a licence under the previous Conservative government but following a successful legal challenge, developer Equinor has had to submit additional assessments on the environmental impacts of burning the oil and gas.
Recent comments from Swinney have suggested a possible softening in the stance against new development.
“My view on oil and gas developments is consistent with what the SNP has been saying for some time – that any new development must pass a climate compatibility assessment,” Swinney said.
“Increasingly that has now become the position that has been required by courts – the Finch judgement essentially makes that particular point.
“So that’s my view – that any development that is taken forward or is considered to be taken forward must be compatible with our climate objectives.
“The other issue which is relevant here is obviously the issue of energy security.
“If we were having this conversation three months ago we might have had fewer worries about energy security than the ones that we have today after events in Iran.
“So these are all considerations to be determined as part of any application.
“We face the reality that we will be using oil and gas resources for some years to come, and we have to make sure that climate compatibility assessment properly looks at what is the impact of any new developments and that we take the right decisions accordingly.”
When asked about Rosebank, Goodlad – who worked for Equinor prior to her election campaign – said she would not comment on specific fields or projects.
But she described the topic as a “challenging one”.
“I think as long as the UK is using oil and gas then with the UK’s record on health and safety, on human rights and our low carbon footprint, really the UK should be producing oil and gas.
“But on specific fields – Rosebank, Cambo, Jackdaw – I’m not going to give specific comment.
“But in general really on oil and gas I feel that if the UK is using it, we should be producing it.”
Meanwhile Goodlad also said a replacement Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick is a priority for her despite only refurbishment being mentioned in the SNP’s national manifesto.
She added that Swinney is “listening very, very carefully to what I’m saying, and he is making sure our island communities are served right when it comes to health is front and centre of the SNP’s ambitions”.
The full list of confirmed Shetland candidates for the election on 7 May, in alphabetical order, are as follows: Alex Armitage (Greens), Douglas Barnett (Conservatives), Vic Currie (Reform UK), John Erskine (Labour), Hannah Mary Goodlad (SNP), Emma Macdonald (Liberal Democrats), Brian Nugent (Alliance to Liberate Scotland), Peter Tait (independent).
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