Rachel Reeves rules out independence vote even if SNP wins Holyrood majority

Labour has been accused of an “astonishing display of arrogance” after a senior UK Cabinet minister said a second Scottish independence referendum will not be permitted even if the SNP wins a majority in next May’s Holyrood election.

Scottish First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney has been relying on what he said was a precedent established after his party’s 2011 victory, which led directly to the 2014 referendum.

But Chancellor Rachel Reeves said on Thursday that even if the SNP wins more than half the seats at Holyrood next year, there will not be another vote.

Ms Reeves told Radio Scotland’s Breakfast programme: “I’m going to be very clear, there won’t be another referendum.

“When there was a referendum just a few years ago it was said that this was a once-in-a-generation referendum.

“People gave their verdict then, we don’t need another one.

“The Scottish Government, whoever is in charge, should focus on the priorities of the Scottish people, bringing down NHS waiting lists, which are still far too high in Scotland, improving educational outcomes for people in Scotland, and investing in infrastructure in Scotland.”

Ms Reeves recalled it was “the SNP themselves who said this was a once-in-a-generation opportunity”, referring back to the commitment made by both then first minister Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon in the run-up to the 2014 vote.

Asked how long a generation is, Ms Reeves said: “Certainly not 12 years.”

Her Holyrood counterpart, Finance Secretary Shona Robison, accused Ms Reeves of “displaying an astonishing level of arrogance” as she insisted Labour’s stance will not hold if the SNP does win a majority.

“I don’t believe it will hold, it can’t hold,” Ms Robison said.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, she added: “This is a Labour Government that is now one of the most unpopular that we have seen in history and they are telling the Scottish people that they can’t decide their own future. That, I think, will drive Labour opinion polls even further down.

“It is an astonishing display of arrogance.”