Do the Scottish Liberal Democrats still support the 'Claim of Right'?

Letter to the Editor
15/04/2007

Sir,

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have refused to countenance any referendum on independence, despite the fact that polls show a massive majority for a referendum being held.

The fundamental question they must ask themselves is, do they still support the Claim of Right for Scotland? This document, which was signed by Labour, the Liberal Democrats and various civil groups and individuals said clearly that sovereignty lies with the Scottish people and that they and only they have an absolute right to decide the future of their country.

In 1997, Tony Blair refused to endorse the Claim of Right, declaring "Sovereignty remains with me as an English MP and that is the way it will stay."

We also know that the British Government does not officially believe in the Scots right to self determination either. In answer to an official letter by our organisation, Independence First, calling for a referendum on independence, they wrote: "It is worth noting that in the UK political system the UK parliament is sovereign and it is for Parliament to decide whether or not to hold a referendum on any particular issue - and what the terms of any referendum should be."

The basic question for the Scottish Liberal Democrats is do they support the British Government's position? Do they also believe that only a parliament based in London can decide Scotland's constitutional future?

If they don't and they do still believe in the sovereignty of the Scottish people then they must also support giving the Scots a vote on independence when according to the most recent polls 60% of our people desire one.

If they refuse such a vote then they cannot in truth describe themselves as Democratic. Given the fact that their party is clearly controlled by London, and they are happy for our country to be denied any say on its future they can hardly claim to be Scottish either.

Yours faithfully,

Joe Middleton
Press Officer
Independence First
www.independence1st.org