The leader of the Scottish National party in Westminster has said the party should delay a planned conference to debate its strategy for winning independence for Scotland following Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation.
The SNP is due to hold a special congress next month to debate its strategy to secede from the UK, over which it is divided.
But Stephen Flynn, the party’s leader in the UK parliament, told the BBC on Wednesday: “I actually think the conference should be paused.”
“The party should give the new leader the opportunity to set out their stance, their vision at how they see us getting to that independent future,” he told Radio 4’s Today programme.
Sturgeon, who shocked colleagues on Wednesday by announcing her resignation as party leader and as Scotland’s first minister, had planned to use the next UK general election as a “de facto” referendum on independence.
Sturgeon’s stance follows a ruling from the UK Supreme Court last year that she did not have the legal authority to hold a plebiscite without London’s agreement.
Some of her MPs feared that turning the election into a single-issue vote could cost them their seats. In her resignation speech, Sturgeon acknowledged the disagreements, saying she wanted to “free” the party to make its own decision rather than go with her preferred position.
Flynn, who is not standing to replace Sturgeon, said he supported her position on the “de facto referendum” on independence as a way to break the stalemate after the UK government had consistently “defied” democracy by refusing to grant a second plebiscite.
London has consistently argued that not enough time has passed since Scots voted in 2014 by 55 per cent to 45 per cent in favour of sticking with the 1707 union with England.
Sturgeon has also been criticised by colleagues for failing to decisively boost support for independence, with polls consistently showing the country almost evenly divided on the subject.
In recent weeks, her leadership came under greater scrutiny over an attempt to pass a law to make it easier for people to change their gender.
The legislation, which would have reduced to 16 the age at which people can obtain a gender recognition certificate, was opposed by most Scots, while a significant minority of the SNP’s own members agreed with London’s decision to veto the Scottish bill.
Flynn declined to say if he thought the legislation should be reconsidered, although he conceded that the dispute over the potential placement of a convicted rapist in a female-only jail had caused “understandable” public concern.
The Scottish government has yet to announce whether it will launch a legal challenge against London’s decision.
“This legislation was put in place to protect some of the most vulnerable people in society, to offer them a better life and better opportunities,”
Flynn said.
“It’s incumbent upon a new leader to try and find a path that allows us to have that positive discussion as to why this legislation is necessary, whilst of course addressing the understandable concerns.”
