The SNP has said that the Tory government’s democracy-denying stance is “unsustainable” after a former Downing Street chief of staff stated that the “democratic mandate” for an independence referendum is “clear.”
In his book, Gavin Barwell – the chief of staff to former Prime Minister Theresa May and now a Tory peer – also highlighted the pro-independence majority at Holyrood and the scale of the SNP’s election win at the Holyrood elections, stating that:
“Seventy-two of the 129 members of the Scottish Parliament elected in May 2021 stood on a manifesto promising a second independence referendum.
“If the Scottish parliament was elected using the Westminster system, the SNP would have won sixty-two of the seventy-three seats.”
Commenting, SNP MP Tommy Sheppard (pictured) said:
“The democratic mandate for an independence referendum is cast-iron and crystal clear – something that even Theresa May’s former chief of staff has now admitted he agrees with.
“The Tory government’s democracy-denying stance is unsustainable.
“Gavin Barwell’s admission may be uncomfortable for his fellow Tories, but it simply underlines the fact that, whatever their bluster, they know a referendum is coming.”
