Independence referendum question won’t go away

May 20 2008 by Murdo Fraser, North Tayside/Fife Tory MSP

EVENTS in Holyrood over the last couple of weeks have been dominated by the Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander’s remarkable swithering over the idea of a referendum on independence.

First ‘Bendy Wendy’ said that she supported such a referendum, with the memorable phrase ‘bring it on’. Then, as it became clear that she did not have Gordon Brown’s support, she tried to say that this only applied to a referendum held now, as opposed to 2010 which is when Alex Salmond and the SNP want it. We are still confused as to what exactly Labour policy on this issue now is.

For a party leader who claims to oppose separation, Wendy Alexander has handed a huge propaganda coup to the Nationalists. There was disbelief when Gordon Brown denied that Wendy Alexander’s “bring it on” call had ever been issued. His refusal to give Wendy Alexander even a shred of backing on the need for a referendum left Labour Government Ministers shaking their heads with disbelief. How could the PM’s protégé leave them in such a lose/lose situation?

Despite Wendy Alexander’s protestations, it is now clear this was not a thought-through strategy, carefully planned and skilfully executed. It was a desperate attempt to be relevant and to get headlines by picking a fight with the SNP and an admission that on domestic, devolved policy Scottish Labour is not at the races. Far from being fit to lead, Wendy Alexander seems barely fit for opposition.

All she has succeeded in doing is to rip her Party apart; hand game, set and match to the SNP; set Labour MP against Labour MSP and, most damagingly, taken us all one step closer to the break-up of Britain. This despite the fact that Labour’s latest flip has seen them adopt a position that looks suspiciously like the one they held several U-turns ago.

As for the Conservative position, I have never been convinced of the argument for a referendum on independence. I do not support Scotland becoming separate from the rest of the United Kingdom, and I am not convinced that there is substantial public support for it. I therefore cannot see what we would gain from a referendum, which would dominate the news agenda for months when there are other more pressing matters to be dealt with.

I would rather see us spending our time trying to help improve the Scottish economy; making sure that our public services such as education and health are effective, value for money and responsive to public need; and improving our environment. Every hour spent on endless constitutional navel-gazing is an hour less to spend on these much more important matters.

What is clear from all this is that the only Party which can be trusted to defend the United Kingdom is the Scottish Conservatives. Unlike Labour, we will not be taken in by the Nationalists and follow their agenda. With Annabel Goldie at the helm, we are delivering effective opposition in the Scottish Parliament that Labour can only dream of.