SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has revealed she is considering defying her party’s wishes and refusing to put a second independence referendum in next year’s Holyrood manifesto.
In an interview with The Courier, the First Minister said the ultimate decision on another constitutional vote would be hers and it would be made on what she thinks Scots desire “not what the SNP wants, or what the SNP thinks is right”.
Ms Sturgeon, who defined the “once in a generation” promise made by the SNP leadership as around 15 years at a DundeeUniversity event last year, reiterated she was not planning a return to the polls unless there was a major shift in the country.
“And by something significant changing I’m not talking about the SNP winning the Westminster election. I have been very clear that votes for the SNP in this election I don’t take as mandate for another referendum,” she said.
“The decision that I have to make in future SNP manifestos is whether topropose another referendum. The decision of whether there will be another referendum then lies with the voters because they will have to decide whether or not to vote for our manifesto.”
Asked how difficult a decision that would be, she responded: “We are not at that point yet but I think I will know in my gut whether it’s the right thing or wrong thing to do and that will be down to not what the SNP wants, or what the SNP thinks is right but what I think is right for Scotland and what I think the people of Scotland want.
“When it comes to it, I think that decision will probably be pretty obvious one way or the other.”
Ms Sturgeon said talk of a multi-billion black hole caused by the SNP’s key policy of full fiscal autonomy are “meaningless”.
The Institute of Fiscal Studies predicts a £9.7 billion gap by the end of the decade if Scotland is given full control over its spending and the Barnet Formula is scrapped.
However, Ms Sturgeon claimed the idea of cuts by her rivals was gaining more traction than the potential difficulties with her own party’s policy, which former leader Alex Salmond had revealed.
She said: “I just think it’s prettyacademic, to be honest.These are academic projections for some point in the future. They are based on the assumption that nothing changes, that there is a fiscal status quo.
“If Scotland becomes financially responsible, our fiscal position at that point would depend firstly on when it is, our economic performance between now and then, the detail of the fiscal framework which would have to be put in place to govern that arrangement and that’s the reality.
“So, for the IFS to sit and project forward now is largely meaningless and actually it’s not the issue of importance in this election.”
She also insisted she was unmoved by reports branding her the “most dangerous woman in Britain” as the campaign heats up.
Ms Sturgeon added: “You should always worry when they’re not talking about you, not when they are. These kinds of things don’t bother me personally but what it says is that Scotland is much more central to this campaign than it has been before and that’s a good thing for Scotland.”