LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE ON REFERENDUM

"The result of the election shows there is no demand or mandate for independence" said Nicol Stephen, the Liberal Democrats' leader in Scotland. "Therefore the group agreed unanimously that we will not support a referendum on independence."

There is a hell of a lot more evidence for enthusiasm for independence than there is for the union! Let's remember that a referendum on independence could go either way and the traditional unionists who are opposing a referendum are opposing asking the people of Scotland what their choice is.

If the case for the union is strong why are the unionist political parties unwilling to hold a referendum on it? The SNP have won the election while the Lib Dems have fell into fourth place behind the Tories. Clearly there is substantial interest in independence despite enormous negative campaigning against it.

Independence must be a question for the people of Scotland, not the political parties. The real question for the Liberal Democrats is do they support the sovereignty of the Scottish people or not? If they do and they still support the principles of the Claim of Right then they must support giving the Scottish people a choice on independence.