Dundee City Council’s SNP majority voted Monday for the local authority’s leader to ask the Prime Minister to “work urgently” towards a second independence referendum.
North East SNP councillor, Willie Sawers, sought support that John Alexander write to Rishi Sunak for cooperation on the issue between the UK and Scottish governments.
Opposition members roundly condemned the move as outside of the council’s remit and argued that urgency on local matters should be the priority.
Labour and Liberal Democrat groups along with the council’s only Conservative party member slammed the idea before the local authority’s first meeting of the year.
Mr Sawers defended the issue that he put on the policy and resources committee papers under the heading “Scotland’s Future.”
He said: “I thought all 29 of us here would have assumed we were democrats, elected on the basis of people’s votes and I would have thought that we felt that people being able to vote for things was quite important. But, perhaps not.”
Later in debate, Labour councillor, Jax Finnegan said: “The focus of the 29 of us, all being together, should be the work of the council. The bigger things, the referendum and things, we have voted for other people to do that; our MSPs and our MPs.
“We need to let them do that work. That is their focus.”
Three amendments against the SNP group’s motion were put to the vote; one each from Labour and Liberal Democrat groups.
The third, from Conservative councillor, Derek Scott was backed by Labour’s Dorothy McHugh. All were defeated by the 15 member SNP majority.
Debate and voting on the issue lasted more than an hour of a three-and-a-half hour session.
‘Democracy under threat’
SNP councillor for Lochee, Siobhan Tolland said: “The supreme court decision takes us to the point then, that we have literally a situation where Westminster are seriously running the risk of breaking our democracy, in precisely the same way, that they’ve broken our economy.
“Democracy is under threat, as it is across the globe.”
‘Hundred more pressing matters’
Labour councillor, Georgia Cruickshank said issues around the UK constitution are important but that there were a “hundred more pressing matters” that should be the council’s focus.
Labour group colleague, councillor Pete Shears said the Scottish government had decided that the next election will be a de facto referendum and that the SNP proposal was a “pointless request.”
‘Laughed at people of Dundee’
After listening to these and other arguments against, SNP member for the West End, Councillor Nadia El-Nakla said it was “disrespectful” for elected members to ignore the referendum result of 2014 when, she said, Dundee “voted yes.”
She added “It’s absolutely fine if you and your parties’ ethos do not agree with it (drive for a second referendum) that’s fine. And put forward your cases why. No problem; your reason why you think the union’s working.
“However, you’re not doing that. You’ve just dismissed and laughed. You’ve laughed at the people of Dundee.”
‘Concern for people of Dundee’
Labour councillor for Lochee, Charlie Malone said: “When councillor El-Nakla said we were being disrespectful to the people of Dundee, laughing at the people of Dundee, I took offence at that.
He added: “What we haven’t heard from a single SNP councillor is any concern expressed about the things and challenges facing the people of Dundee. And I think that’s disrespectful, Councillor El-Nakla.”
‘Not to be denied’
Summing up, council leader, John Alexander said: “Democracy is an inalienable right, it isn’t something to be bartered and it’s not something to be denied.”
Liberal Democrat councillor for Strathmartine, Daniel Coleman said: “We are all elected by our constituents and I do not think that one party can claim to represent the whole of the city.”
