UK government rules out Scottish independence referendum for ‘generation’

The Scottish Secretary, Alister Jack, has thrown down the gauntlet at both the Scottish government and the Scottish independence movement writ large, by dismissing the possibility of an independence referendum “for a generation”.

Talking to the BBC, Jack defined a generation as lasting anywhere between “25 to 40 years”.

“It is certainly not six years nor ten”, Jack retorted.

In a gesture rich with symbolism, Jack spoke to the BBC from inside the UK government’s new Scottish headquarters in Edinburgh, which is set to house 3,000 civil servants from 10 different departments.

"It's a big statement from the UK government that we are absolutely embedded in Scotland", the Scottish Secretary boasted.

Jack, who was appointed Scottish Secretary in July 2019, has consistently staked out a hardline position on another Scottish independence referendum, popularly referred to as Indyref2.  

His latest remarks – which are the harshest to date – are possibly a reaction to the latest opinion polls which indicate that 58 percent of the Scottish people now back independence.

Opinion poll indicates significant surge in support for Scottish independence

The latest opinion survey on Scottish independence indicates the biggest lead in a poll ever recorded for the pro-independence side.

Criticism abounds 

Jack’s remarks have drawn rebukes and criticism from across the political spectrum.

Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, took to the social media platform Twitter to accuse Jack of a “rage against democracy”.

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) November 6, 2020 ">http://

As we’re seeing across the Atlantic just now, politicians who rage against democracy don’t prevail. Let’s not dignify this rubbish. Instead let’s keep making and winning the case for independence. Power doesn’t belong to politicians - it belongs to the people. #indyref2 https://t.co/roCXLAEBYj

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) November 6, 2020

Meanwhile, the deputy leader of the Scottish Labor Party, Jackie Baillie, poured cold water on the government’s ability to hold back the tide against the rising demand for a new referendum, and by extension Scottish independence.

Baillie claimed that unlike September 2014 (in the run-up to the first referendum), it is doubtful that a cross-party bulwark against Scottish independence could be formed.

Furthermore, Baillie accused Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, of becoming the “best recruiting sergeant” for the Scottish National Party, which is led by Sturgeon.

Tory vs Tory

But the most striking indirect criticism of Jack’s remarks came from the direction of a fellow senior Tory, Lord Andrew Dunlop, who was under-secretary of state for Scotland and Northern Ireland between 2015 and 2017.

Dunlop called on the PM to demonstrate “strong leadership and statesmanship” with a view to delivering a “clear, coherent and consistent strategy for the Union”.

Dunlop – who advised former PM David Cameron on sabotaging the first serious Scottish independence campaign in 2014 – has called for the creation of a new “forum” to align the positions of the central government in London with that of devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Most damagingly for the government, Dunlop criticized the PM’s Internal Market Bill – which was designed to complicate trade negotiations with the European Union – as an expression of a more “muscular unionism” that could potentially boost the Scottish independence movement even further.  

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