New independence white paper due ‘in the coming weeks’, says minister

The newest in a line of papers forming the prospectus for an independent Scotland will be published “in the coming weeks”, the new minister for independence has said.

Nicola Sturgeon launched the series last year, with three papers unveiled in an effort to lay out the policies of an independent Scotland, focusing on the economy, democracy and comparisons with similar small, independent, European nations.

But the publications have stalled in recent months amid Ms Sturgeon’s resignation and Humza Yousaf’s election to the top job.

But speaking to the National’s Holyrood Weekly podcast, Jamie Hepburn – Mr Yousaf’s independence minister – said the next paper would be published soon, but refused to unveil the subject matter.

“Government is accountable and responsible to parliament and that’s a responsibility I take seriously,” he said.

“It’s incumbent on me to recognise that we should say to parliament what the next subject material of the forthcoming prospectus papers will be.

“But what I can say in terms of broad timescales, is we’re probably talking in the coming weeks we’ll publish the next one.”

The announcement comes after SNP MP and frequent critic of the party Joanna Cherry hit out at the prospectuses, telling the Holyrood Sources podcast last week the papers were “really lightweight stuff”.

She added: ““I know there are a lot of successful, small, independent countries in Europe and I think most of us know that, but what I think voters, what people in Scotland, want to know is how are we going to get from where we are now – enmeshed in the United Kingdom – to being one of those successful countries?

“That’s where the difficult questions lie in relation to questions to do with currency, to do with pension payments, to do with cross-border trade, to how long will it take us to get back into the EU? Do we sit in an association agreement while we do so?

“I think there’s answers to all these questions – in politics there’s never a right answer, there has to be an answer that can be justified and an argument that can be made, but the party’s not put enough energy into doing that.”

Scottish Tory constitution spokesman Donald Cameron said the First Minister should end the publication of the papers.

“Humza Yousaf should be ditching these Nicola Sturgeon-era PR stunts, which lack all credibility, and concentrating on the day job,” he said.

“But it’s a measure of how weak he is, that he’s doubling down on them, because independence is the only issue the feuding, scandal-ridden SNP can agree on.”

While Scottish Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie said the documents were a waste of trees.

“Never before will so many trees have been sacrificed in the pursuit of such a pointless exercise,” he said.

“With the party under police investigation and the government still incapable of even building a ferry you would think they’d have other things on their mind.”