Astonishment as SNP claims ‘clear signs of Covid recovery’ pave way for second independence vote

Hospitality leaders have expressed astonishment after Nicola Sturgeon's deputy said preparation for a second independence referendum had restarted, despite pubs and restaurants still reeling from the pandemic.

John Swinney, the Deputy First Minister, said the SNP-Green coalition Government had started to prepare for a second independence vote, which it wanted to hold by the end of next year due to "clear signs of recovery" from coronavirus.

Pressed on whether the referendum campaign and vote would be held while Scotland was still trying to repair the damage caused by Covid, Mr Swinney admitted he did not know whether the recovery from the "deeply disruptive pandemic" would take years.

But he insisted that some sectors are "in a stronger position today" than before the pandemic, despite businesses having run up huge levels of debt to stay afloat and Scotland's high streets losing almost £6 billion in sales.

His intervention, in an interview with BBC Radio Scotland, came as the restrictions Ms Sturgeon imposed on the hospitality industry over the festive period were finally eased. They included one-metre social distancing and table service.

'Stability is what we need'

Stephen Montgomery, from the Scottish Hospitality Group of bars and pubs, said: "Hearing John Swinney's comments as I was driving, I nearly ended up on the central reservation.

"I think Mr Swinney just needs to take a walk down Glasgow high street on a Friday night at 6pm or 7pm, with shops that are still open but with no one in them, and come into restaurants that would normally be busy that are dead.

"If he's going to make a statement that the economy or many sectors are back to normal he's got to tell us what ones, because I certainly don't know what they are. It's certainly not hospitality and certainly not retail."

Mario Gizzi, owner of the DiMaggio's restaurant group and a Scottish Hospitality Group member, added: "Stability. That's what we need. We've gone through referendums, Brexit, pandemics - we just need to draw breath now. People and businesses just need to get back to normal."

The First Minister said at the weekend that Scotland passing the peak of the omicron wave "clears the way" for new legislation for a second independence referendum.

She said the timetable for introducing a Bill for another separation vote would be decided in “the coming weeks”, even though she admitted Scotland was “in the throes of a global pandemic that is still unpredictable”.

But Scotland's NHS is in the midst of a staffing crisis, with the worst accident and emergency waiting times on record. Official figures published last month showed literacy and numeracy levels nosedived when schools were shut during lockdown.

Donald Cameron, the Scottish Tories' shadow constitution secretary, said Mr Swinney's comments demonstrated "how warped and self-serving" the SNP's priorities were.

He said: "The Scottish people will be appalled at John Swinney’s indefensible admission that the SNP Government have already begun planning for another divisive independence referendum.

“It beggars belief that the SNP consider this appropriate when the country is still subject to their Covid restrictions and all the focus should be on rebuilding our public services and economy in the wake of the pandemic."

Row over face masks in classrooms

Ahead of Ms Sturgeon's weekly Covid update at Holyrood on Monday, the Tories also urged her to drop the requirement for face masks to be worn in classrooms.

They pointed to comments by a series of experts and advisers over the past week, including Professor Jason Leitch, the national clinical director, arguing that easing the restriction should be a priority. It was lifted in England last week.

Mr Swinney told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that international evidence indicates that "baseline measures", such as face coverings in public places, should be retained "for the foreseeable future".

But he defended civil servants restarting work on independence, saying ministers had always made clear this would happen "when we get out of the intensity of Covid".

The Covid Recovery Secretary said: "We now find ourselves in a position...that we are in a much, much improved situation. We have very modest measures left in place to protect against Covid, they are sensible and proportionate measures."

Pressed on when he wanted a referendum campaign to start, he said: "I'm not going to share that this morning. That's being worked on within government just now.

"We've just restarted the work on the independence preparations and as soon as that detail is formulated, that will be shared with the public and with parliament."

Mr Swinney insisted there were "clear signs of recovery", with unemployment at a historic low.

"We are seeing recovery in almost all sectors of the economy," he said, adding that many sectors are now in a position "equal to or in some cases stronger than we were in pre-pandemic".