Scotland's Swinney seeks 'indyref2' talks with UK PM Burnham

Scotland's First Minister is seeking talks with Andy Burnham on the legal mechanism for a second independence referendum after a "big shift" in position from the prime minister.

John Swinney welcomed comments by the Labour leader when he suggested to MPs that such a vote could be held if public opinion shows there is demand for it.

Burnham had previously told the SNP leader another referendum would be "off the table".

Swinney has now said it is important for the issue of support for a fresh vote on Scotland's place in the UK to be "tested sooner rather than later".

His comments came after the prime minister had indicated that Scotland should be in "exactly the same situation" as Northern Ireland – where the Good Friday Agreement sets out that a border poll can be held when the Northern Ireland Secretary determines there is "a clear consensus in the country, when public opinion has changed to the point where the call has to be considered".

Swinney told the Press Association that marked a "significant shift" in the prime minister's position.

He said: "During the summer the prime minister indicated to me that the question of a referendum on Scottish independence was off the table.

"But yesterday in the House of Commons, he accepted that if the people of Scotland wished to have a referendum on independence there had to be a mechanism to enable that to happen."

The Scottish first minister has now written to Burnham calling for talks, saying he would be "very pleased to engage in discussions with the prime minister on the details of what a mechanism would look like to enable the people of Scotland to decide their own constitutional future".

Speaking about support for Scottish independence, the first minister added: "We have at this very moment the largest number of independence-supporting MSPs in the Scottish Parliament, the largest number of MSPs supporting the concept of a referendum on Scottish independence.

"We also have most of the opinion polls over the last few weeks and months indicating that the preferred constitutional option of people in Scotland is independence.

"So I think we have got a number of indicators of the mood of the people of Scotland, and I think it is important that question is tested and tested sooner rather than later."

Burnham's press secretary meanwhile has made clear that "Labour does not support independence or another referendum".

In his response to Swinney, the prime minister said he was "simply highlighting that there is no consensus for an independence referendum in Scotland".

He went on to tell the first minister: "As I made clear to you personally when we met recently in Glasgow, independence and a referendum are off limits as it would take our focus away from growing the economy and helping families with the cost of living."

But Swinney indicated the prime minister should not be allowed to backtrack on the issue.

"I think when a prime minister sets out his view to the House of Commons, I think that should be taken as the most authoritative statement of a prime minister," he said.

"The prime minister did that. He indicated just as there is a mechanism in Northern Ireland to enable the people of Northern Ireland to decide their own constitutional future, so there should be a process for Scotland doing the same.

"I welcome that, it is a big shift in Andy Burnham's position, a big and welcome shift to recognise the people of Scotland are the ones who should determine their own constitutional future."

In his letter to the prime minister, Swinney said previous UK leaders' refusal to consider the option of another referendum was "clearly unsustainable", and Burnham's remarks were a "long-overdue acceptance of the reality that the people of Scotland will decide their own future".

Elections expert Professor Sir John Curtice said the prime minister's comment "does read like something of a misstatement".

Curtice said opinion polls during this year's Holyrood election and afterwards "suggest there is at least a small majority in favour of independence".

But speaking on BBC Radio Scotland on Thursday, he said the 2014 referendum – when 55% of Scots backed staying in the UK – had "failed to resolve the issue of Scotland's constitutional status", with the expert saying "that is why we are where we are".

Curtice said: "At the end of the day, the real challenge the nationalists face is to get the numbers, which have been around 50/50 now for about seven years, up to something like the 60% mark, where it will begin to look indeed as if some kind of vote is going to be difficult to avoid."

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: "Andy Burnham has pulled the pin on a constitutional hand grenade – which John Swinney has now thrown back at him.

"The ex-Manchester mayor is dangerously naive about the SNP's relentless agitation to break up the UK.

"It was inevitable that John Swinney would pounce on Burnham's naive comparison between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

"Opening the door to another divisive referendum is further evidence that Labour can't be trusted to defend the union."

By Katrine Bussey, Press Association Scotland Political Editor

source: PA

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