The other parties must back Scotland’s right to decide

In 2014, the Better Together parties signed a pledge which read “Power lies with the Scottish people and we believe it is for the Scottish people to decide how we are governed.”

They promised that the people of Scotland – not Westminster politicians – would always have the right to decide how we are governed.

That wasn’t a promise to the SNP. It wasn’t even a promise to independence supporters. It was a promise to the people of Scotland.

But since then, the same parties seem to have ditched this principle – preferring instead to ignore Scottish election results and deny Scotland’s right to decide on independence.

I respect that people and politicians across Scotland have differing views on independence – that’s exactly how it should be.

But what we need to be clear on is that Scotland, like all nations, must have the right to decide our own future.

We can disagree on independence, but surely, we must agree on democracy.

That’s why I’ve written a letter to the leaders of the Better Together parties this morning, urging them to make public their support for Scotland’s right to decide, as they did in 2014.

To refuse to endorse such a basic principle would be deeply damaging – not just for the unionist parties, but for Scottish democracy itself.

Anas Sarwar, Russell Findlay, and Alex Cole-Hamilton must come clean – do they agree that Scotland has the right to decide our own future, or are they happy to continue to deny Scottish democracy just like their London bosses?

Next year’s election will be about a simple choice. Do you believe Scotland has the right to decide its own future or not?

The SNP will always trust the people of Scotland. Can Labour, the Tories or the Lib Dems say the same?

The Better Together pledge can be found here.