JACOB Rees-Mogg has branded an SNP MP the “Trump of Scotland” after he raised fears about the Tories potentially refusing to accept the result of next year’s Holyrood election.
Tommy Sheppard urged the UK Government to respect the final ballot. Holyrood ministers say a pro-independence majority would represent a clear mandate for a second plebiscite, with polls showing the majority of Scots agree.
However, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has claimed another referendum should be ruled out for a generation, which he suggested could be up to 40 years.
READ MORE: Conservative minister says SNP 'have to accept' there'll be no new independence referendum
Sheppard cited those comments today in the Commons as he put a question to Rees-Mogg.
The SNP MP said: “At least Donald Trump waited until after the election before denying the result. It seems the Scottish Secretary has gone one better – he is denying the result of the election even before it takes place.
“I agree with Joe Biden when he says it is not for one politician or another to decide the outcome, but the people themselves.
“So can we have a debate on whether the Government will respect the outcome of next May’s election in Scotland. For if it will not, what is the point of having one?”
Rees-Mogg claimed it is the SNP who are failing to respect the result of a vote.
He replied: “The honourable gentleman perhaps doesn’t see the irony of what he has just said. There was an election in 2014, and I am afraid it is the honourable gentleman who is the Trump of Scotland because he is denying that result.
“He is trying to pretend it didn’t happen. He is trying to say that the people of Scotland in their wisdom didn’t vote to remain in the United Kingdom.”
READ MORE: Philippa Whitford: Tories won’t allow indyref2 until ‘adults like me are dead’
The Leader of the House of Commons went on to parrot false Tory claims that SNP leaders promised the 2014 vote was a “once in a generation” event.
It came after Michael Gove insisted again that indyref2 must be blocked for a “generation” as he was probed about potential Unionist “chicanery” in the event of another vote.
The Cabinet Office minister was pressed in the Commons by the SNP's Kenny MacAskill about some senior Tories recognising the "inevitability" of another independence poll – after John Major came out in favour of indyref2.
READ MORE: Scottish independence: Pete Wishart warns John Major's plan is a Tory trick
MacAskill said: "Even senior Tories are accepting the inevitability of a second referendum. And as [Irish nationalist Charles Stewart] Parnell once said, 'no man has the right to fix the boundary to the march of a nation'.
"Scots have learned, as the Secretary of State will know from the trickery of 1979 when even the dead were counted against.
"Does the Secretary of State not then realise that the people of Scotland will not accept political chicanery on the number or nature of the question to be asked?"
Gove replied: "It's absolutely vital we have confidence in the integrity of our democratic institutions and that's why the Electoral Commission and other bodies play such an important role.
"But of course it's also important people can have confidence in the promises made by politicians.
"And it was the case in 2014 that Nicola Sturgeon and other leading Scottish nationalists made the point that that referendum was for a generation. Just six years later, I do not believe a generation has passed."
The Edinburgh Agreement did not commit to the referendum being a “once in a generation” event.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel