Davidson issues ‘neverendum’ warning

The possibility of Labour working with the SNP in government at Westminster will lead to “constant refighting” of the independence referendum, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has warned.

In a speech delivered in Glasgow, Davidson accused the Labour Party of failing to protect the Union since Scotland voted 'No' to independence last September.

“I look at the hollowed-out shell of Scottish Labour and I don’t even know what it stands for anymore," she said. "And I don’t think it knows itself either. And that’s what’s most worrying.

“Because the SNP do know what they’re about. They want independence. And they’re prepared to use Ed Miliband to get it,” she said.

The Conservatives, she argued, would “give a voice to Scotland’s silent majority” who had voted No in the referendum.

However, Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy criticised the SNP for failing to rule out another referendum at their manifesto launch today. 

“Scotland surely has higher priorities than thinking about another referendum,” he said.

But Nicola Sturgeon told the launch the General Election was not a vote on independence. “I have made very clear that if you vote SNP in this election, that is not a vote for independence, nor is it a vote for another referendum," the First Minister said in Edinburgh.

“I'm not planning another referendum. Why do I fall short of categorically ruling it out? Because I don't think as a single politician I have got a right to do that.

“Whether there is another referendum, and whether Scotland becomes independent is not a matter for me to decide. It is a matter for the Scottish people to decide.”