Keir Starmer (pictured) is “out of touch“with Scotland and his own party members – as polling reveals a clear majority of UK Labour Party members back an independence referendum.
The most recent polling by YouGov reveals 60% of Labour Party members support a referendum on Scottish independence in the next few years, rising to two-thirds (67%) of those expressing an opinion, and nearly one in three UK Labour Party members (31%) think Scotland should become an independent country.
The blow to Starmer comes ahead of a planned visit to Scotland this morning.
Commenting, SNP Depute Leader Keith Brown MSP said:
“Keir Starmer is completely out of touch with Scotland and his own party members, who overwhelmingly support Scotland’s right to choose our own future in a post-pandemic independence referendum.
“The Labour Party ruined its reputation in Scotland by backing Boris Johnson’s hard Brexit, supporting austerity cuts, imposing Trident nuclear weapons, and working hand-in-hand with the Tories in Better Together.
“It risks falling into terminal decline if it continues to side with Boris Johnson to deny democracy.
“As Keir Starmer visits Scotland today, he must explain why he is woefully failing to provide any real opposition to Boris Johnson, why he won’t speak out against Tory austerity cuts, why he wants to waste £200billion imposing nuclear weapons, and why he has turned Labour into a hard Brexit party – ruling out a return to the EU and voting for a hard Brexit, which has already cost Scotland’s economy billions of pounds.
“The Labour Party cannot credibly talk about securing the recovery when they have imposed a hard Brexit against Scotland’s will – destroying jobs, damaging businesses and costing our economy a fortune in long-term harm.
“Casting both votes for the SNP on 6th May is the only guaranteed way to re-elect Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister, deliver transformative policies for a strong, fair and green recovery, and put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands in a post-pandemic referendum.”
