Majority of Scots back ALBA Party Plan for Scottish Parliament Having Powers to Legislate for Independence

ALBA Party’s drive for the Scottish Parliament to hold a referendum on whether it should have the powers to negotiate and legislate for independence has been backed by a majority of Scots.

On Saint Andrew’s Day last year Alba Party’s Holyrood leader Ash Regan MSP launched a consultation on her plans that would see the Parliament hold a referendum on its powers in response to the UK Supreme Court’s decision that it did not have the competence to hold a second Scottish independence referendum.

Polling released today (Thursday), on the day the consultation closes, shows an overwhelming level of public support in favour of the Scottish Parliament having the power to legislate for independence.

In a survey carried out by Pollster FindOutNow on behalf of the Party, people across Scotland were asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed that the Scottish Parliament should have the power to negotiate for and legislate for Scottish independence.

Excluding don’t knows, a whopping 57.5% of Scots surveyed were in favour of the Scottish Parliament having independence powers, with 39.9% strongly agreeing and a further 17.6% agreeing. This was in stark contrast to only 22% strongly disagreeing with less than one third expressing their view that they did not support the Scottish Parliament having the powers to negotiate for and legislate for independence.

Alba Party’s Holyrood leader Ash Regan MSP says that the Scottish Parliament should hold a referendum on its powers as a means to unblocking the constitutional logjam and to remove any Westminster ability to veto Scotland’s right to self determination. Regan has received an expert legal opinion from one of Scotland’s leading Lawyers Aidan O’Neill KC that backs the competence of the Parliament holding the referendum.

Ms Regan has written to all MSPs asking them to support her proposal to hold a referendum but to date none have publicly backed her calls. She says that Humza Yousaf should take note of the level of public support in favour of the Scottish Parliament having the powers to legislate for independence as she urges the Scottish Government to now take the proposals forward.

Commenting Alba Party Holyrood leader Ash Regan MSP said:

“Scotland’s future should be in Scotland’s hands. Holding a referendum on whether or not the Scottish Parliament should have the powers to negotiate for and legislate for independence will allow us to unblock the constitutional logjam we’ve had in front of us for many years.

“It is clear that an overwhelming majority of the Scottish public would back the Parliament having these powers so I would be confident we would secure a Yes vote in a referendum. We know that Westminster will continue to say ‘no’ to agreeing to a referendum so it’s time to stop relying on the UK Government to progress the case for independence, we must use our own parliament to take Scotland forward to independence.

“Humza Yousaf and the Scottish Government should now embrace the proposal to hold a referendum on the powers of the parliament. I have set the plan out for them, showed them that it has the backing of the people of Scotland, and they should now help deliver the referendum by giving it their backing.”