THE leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Tavish Scott, has declared he "won't be the handmaiden of independence" by backing an immediate referendum on the union, as his leadership of the party goes on the line this week.
In an interview with Scotland on Sunday, Scott said there was no way he would support Alex Salmond's bill for a referendum, which is set to come before the Scottish Parliament next spring.
He was speaking ahead of a special conference of the party
next weekend where many party members are expected to argue that the Lib Dems should agree to a referendum.
In a compromise move, however, Scott's allies last night said they would "never say never" over the longer term, pointing out that if both the question and the circumstances were correct, they "would have to look" at whether to support a vote on the future of the country. As a result, the party may end up agreeing to a referendum in principle, but not that proposed by the SNP for next year.
Scott's position is crucial, because the SNP requires the backing of at least one of its opponents to pass a referendum bill through parliament. Labour and the Conservatives have already said they will block the bill, so if the Liberals oppose it too, Salmond's plans for a referendum on St Andrew's Day will fall.
Scott insisted his position had not changed, despite support from within his own party.
Scott said: "There is no way the Liberal Democrats will be voting for a referendum on independence two months before a general election. That is my idea of a very silly political campaign and one that Mr Salmond would be delighted with. I do not have any interest in playing his games."
"I am not going to be the handmaiden of independence. I won't personally and I know all my colleagues won't," he added.
"I find it despairing about all this, that when the country has real economic difficulties, and I have tried to talk about the disastrous banking failures, instead we end up talking endlessly about the constitution. That is the wrong priority."
The party leader said he "did not expect" to find anyone within his party this week who would back Salmond's referendum schedule. Asked whether he could be forced to resign over the matter, he replied: "I don't think it will get to that."
However, allies fleshed out a compromise plan last night, arguing that while the party would vote down the SNP's referendum plans in the short term, the longer-term case was a different matter. Alastair Carmichael, the leader of the Scottish party's Westminster group said: "You can never say never."
The Lib Dems were opposed to the current SNP plans because they were "biased", he said. He said the bias included the SNP's plan to hold a referendum on St Andrew's Day, and the phrasing of the question they want to ask.
"It should be a straight yes or no question about whether Scotland should remain part of the UK," he said, adding: "If Alex Salmond wants to come back with an honest question and an unbiased procedure then the party would have to look at that."
Writing in Scotland on Sunday today, Culture Minister Mike Russell – who is piloting the bill through parliament – raises the example of broadcaster Sir Ludovic Kennedy.
Russell writes: "While I would not expect all Lib Dem members to share Sir Ludovic's long-standing advocacy of Scottish independence, they would do well to adopt the free-thinking attitude he brought to his political contributions."
He adds: "With two-thirds of Scots and a majority of Lib Dem voters wanting a referendum, he (Scott] might do well to listen to his party's grassroots and support the government's Referendum Bill when it is introduced to parliament next year."
Murdo Fraser MSP, Scottish Conservative deputy leader, said: "Tavish Scott is against a referendum but he seems to have lost control of his party. He needs to prove he is a leader and start challenging Alex Salmond's independence agenda."
