Ian Blackford has said Boris Johnson must “respect the will of the Scottish people” – after the SNP’s landslide victory at the Scottish election with a mandate for a post-pandemic referendum.
Ahead of the Queen’s Speech, the SNP Westminster Leader said Scotland is “on a different path” to Westminster with different priorities for a strong, fair and equal recovery – instead of the long-term damage of Tory cuts, Brexit and power grabs.
The Scottish Parliament now has the biggest pro-independence majority in its history, with 72 SNP and Scottish Green MSPs.
The SNP won a record number of votes, a record share of the vote, and the biggest share of constituency seats of any party in UK history at 85%.
Commenting, SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford MP said:
“Boris Johnson must respect the will of the Scottish people – who voted overwhelmingly to re-elect the SNP with a cast-iron mandate for a post-pandemic independence referendum.
“Last week’s election results in both countries show England and Scotland are on different political paths.
“We have two governments and Parliament’s with different priorities.
“When it comes to recovery, Scotland voted for a parliament that will back transformative policies to create a fairer society but instead the Tories are repeating the same damaging mistakes of the last economic crisis, by imposing austerity cuts, a hard Brexit, a public sector pay freeze and slashing Universal Credit – pushing millions of people into poverty.
“People in Scotland roundly rejected the Tories and voted for a strong, fair, and equal recovery – instead of the long-term damage of Tory cuts, Brexit and power grabs.
“If we are to deliver an investment-led recovery and the long-term fundamental changes needed to tackle inequality and build a fairer society, Scotland needs the full powers of an independent country.
“Once this crisis is over there will be a referendum, so that Scotland’s future is in Scotland’s hands – not Boris Johnson’s.
“The Tories must not stand in the way of democracy.”
