Flynn: Indyref2 Demands 'Perfectly Reasonable' with Pro-Independence Majority
Stephen Flynn, the newly elected SNP MSP, has declared that calls for a second independence referendum are “perfectly reasonable” following a record number of pro-independence MSPs entering Holyrood. Speaking on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News, Flynn emphasised that the people of Scotland should have the “opportunity to decide their own future.”
“I think it’s perfectly reasonable based upon the result of the election where, as you quite rightly highlighted, we now have more pro-independent MSPs coming into Holyrood than ever before,” he stated. “To make clear to Westminster that the people of Scotland should have the chance and the opportunity to decide their own future. To look at broken, Brexit Britain or look at a hopeful, aspirational, independent Scotland, which can grow its economy, use its energy wealth to the benefit of the people who live here, and be a prosperous place for our young people.”
Flynn, who won the constituency of Aberdeen Deeside and North Kincardine, will step down from his Westminster seat to take up his role at Holyrood. Throughout the election campaign, the SNP had pledged to call for a second independence referendum if it secured an overall majority. Although the SNP fell short of a majority, the combined pro-independence bloc, including the Scottish Greens, now stands at 73 MSPs — the highest ever.
Flynn urged Westminster to “wake up to the reality that they now face,” noting that nationalist parties have triumphed across Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. “It’s not just in Scotland where that is very much on the table. I was listening to Rhun ap Iorwerth, who’s the likely incoming first minister in Wales. We’re obviously aware of the fact that Michelle O’Neill is the First Minister in Northern Ireland too. The constitutional landscape within the UK has been shattered, and it’s time for Westminster to wake up to the reality that they now face,” he concluded.
