STEWART PATERSON

Political Correspondent

SCOTLAND doesn’t want to go back to the divisions of the 2014 referendum, the Labour leader has said.

Speaking at Westminster ahead of the two days of debate in Holyrood on calling for a second referendum, Kezia Dugdale said she would never support independence and would not back calls to hold another vote.

She said Labour MSPs would vote against asking the UK government for the powers to hold a vote because of the damage she said it did last time round.

Ms Dugdale said: “In 2014 this country was divided more than at any time in our recent history.

“Families argued; colleagues fell out; and communities were split down the middle.

“We don’t want to go back to that. Those who voted to leave the UK and the majority who voted to remain in the UK don’t want to back to the divisions of the past.

“Scottish Labour believes that together we’re stronger, and the party I lead will never support independence.”

Ms Dugdale accepted that with the support of the six Green MSPs there would be a majority in the Scottish Parliament on the issue.

She said however the SNP has chosen to ignore the will of the Parliament on several occasions.

The Labour leader said on banning fracking, scrapping the Offensive Behaviour at Football act, calling in NHS closures proposals, keeping Highlands and Island Enterprise board and keeping he Scottish Funding Council, Holyrood voted and the Scottish Government ignored it.

She added: “The will of the Scottish people was very clearly expressed in 2014.

“Eighty five per cent of our fellow citizens voted in the first referendum, and they voted by a very clear majority to remain in the United Kingdom.”

The Greens however have said Scotland deserves a vote in the wake of the EU referendum result.

The party has lodged an amendment to the SNP motion adding that a referendum is necessary given the UK Government’s decision to negotiate a ‘hard’ exit from the EU and its failure to take account of the strong Remain vote in Scotland.

Patrick Harvie MSP, Co-convener of the Scottish Greens, said: “The people of Scotland deserve to have a choice, and it’s appalling to see anti-democratic Tories trying to close down our options, while a feeble Labour party simply rolls over on what will be a devastating hard Brexit we did not vote for.”

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are also expected to vote against the referendum call.