Patrick Harvie questions SNP's independence strategy

SCOTTISH Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie has questioned the process of using a majority of seats at Westminster as a mandate for independence.

It is the method proposed by the SNP, with the party’s leader John Swinney pledging the result would give “democratic effect” to independence talks.

But speaking after the Greens launched their General Election manifesto on Thursday, Harvie said his party instead wants the power to hold constitutional referendums to be devolved to Holyrood.

The UK Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to hold a second independence referendum without Westminster’s approval.

Harvie said he is not convinced the Westminster electoral system – which uses first-past-the-post rather than a proportional representation method to decide results – could “genuinely” count as a mandate.

It was put to him that Labour could use the election as a mandate not to hold a referendum if it wins a majority of seats in Scotland – similar to the SNP’s approach.

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Harvie said: “I question whether a majority of seats under first-past-the-post genuinely reflects a mandate.

“If they were to win 50% of the votes in Scotland, you would have to respect that, you would have to recognise that that was the way the majority of people in Scotland, the majority people choosing to cast their vote.

“I don’t think that’s likely to happen, but if any political party was to get that level of 50%-plus support, other parties would have to respect that.

“But what I don’t think any political party can claim a mandate for is for the right of the UK Parliament to decide the timing of a future decision on Scottish independence because only 10% of the MPs in the UK Parliament have any mandate at all coming from Scotland.

“It has to be for Scottish voters to be able to determine that decision for themselves, not that decision being made in Whitehall for them.”

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However, he agreed with Swinney that the Scottish Parliament already secured a mandate in 2021 when pro-independence parties won a majority of seats.

Harvie also said he is “very confident” support for independence will grow beyond the current levels if there is a “clear period of campaigning”.

He said: "I think we're clearly at the point where if there was to be that sense of imminence of  a decision, if there was to be a clear period of campaigning on the issue, I am very confident that we could grow support for independence beyond where it's been stuck in the polls for quite a long time.

"I think it's the absence of that sense of an imminent campaign that's left it a little bit becalmed and left some people thinking 'we don't need to make a decision about that yet'."

In polls, independence support has fluctuated above and below the 50% mark.