"Don't allow independence debate to take place in a constitutional vacuum - proclaim Scotland's Claim of Right far and wide" says Salmond

Former First Minister, Alex Salmond, has said that independence should not be debated in a “constitutional vacuum” and called instead for “the articulation of the Scottish Government’s strategy to either bend Westminster to the will of the Scottish Parliament or to spell out another way of asserting the sovereignty of the Scottish people”

He said;

“Everyone across the YES movement is galvanised by the fact that the starting gun has been fired on another independence test.

It is welcome to see Government documents proclaiming the case for independence but it is also crucial that the SNP/Green coalition articulate a clear pathway and timetable towards that day of decision.

The energy of the independence debate of 2014 came from the setting of the date of the 18th September. The SNP/Green coalition have promised another referendum in 2023 with “no ifs or buts”.

The Yes movement will take them at their word, and they therefore should also explain the strategy by which they intend to bend Westminster to the will of the Scottish Parliament to agree a referendum or indeed spell out another way of asserting the sovereignty of the Scottish people.

Without that we run the risk of conducting a debate in a constitutional vacuum. Instead we need Scotland’s Claim of Right to resound far and wide.”