Scottish Labour leadership candidate Joe Fagan has said he would never back indyref2 if he wins the contest next month. The MSP also said he would not support a cross-party agreement to produce a route map for a second referendum.
Leadership contest
Fagan, the former leader of South Lanarkshire Council, is going head-to-head with fellow MSP Michael Marra to succeed Anas Sarwar. Sarwar quit in July to join the House of Lords and take up a post in Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s Government.
A key issue in the contest is how to compete with the SNP after five Holyrood election defeats in a row. The SNP remain popular with pro-independence voters, unlike Scottish Labour which won 8% of Yes voters in the 2014 referendum.
Fagan's stance
Speaking to the Record, Fagan was asked if there are any circumstances in which he as party leader would support indyref2. “No,” he said. He added: “The issue is, what do I think about it?....I don't support independence and I don't support another independence referendum.
“The question I think you are really asking is are there circumstances in which another independence referendum is legitimate? That is up for the people who are proponents of independence and a referendum to set out their case.”
He continued: “I think there is a danger that we get distracted here by the process and the process around the politics of this. The reality is the country is divided on the subject and the question of mandates is one that is contested.”
Cross-party agreement rejected
One of Fagan’s allies, Labour MSP Paul Sweeney, also said recently that a cross-party convention could be set up to agree the trigger point for indyref2. Asked if there should be an agreed process on a cross-party basis for another vote on independence, Fagan said “no”.
He said: “I don't think it's the priority for voters right now, but I also just think that if, not when, if the issue of independence and another referendum were to re-emerge and it was obvious there was a demand for it, we wouldn’t be debating processes and opinion polls and mandates. It would be obvious.”
Fagan said of voters: “They want this next term of the parliament to be defined by the issues that are much more material and immediate to them. So public services, the NHS and the cost of living.”
SNP reaction
SNP MSP Kate Campbell said: “London Labour stitched this leadership contest up, blocking Monica Lennon to squash any debate about Scottish independence.
“Joe Fagan lapped up Tory votes to seize control of South Lanarkshire council so it’s no surprise to see him deny democracy to the Scottish people.
“The Labour Party in Scotland is in a doom loop - ignore the will of the majority, get destroyed in an election, appoint a new bloke to defend Westminster at all costs.”
