The SNP will have a mandate for independence talks even if it backs down and loses seats at the next general election, the party’s deputy leader has claimed.
Keith Brown said it was the “democratic norm” that the winner of an election is the party that wins the majority of seats.
The SNP yesterday agreed a new plan to secure Scottish independence. Holyrood would pursue independence talks with Westminster if the SNP wins a majority of seats north of the border.
The majority of seats would be at least 29, significantly lower than the 48 obtained by the SNP in 2019.
During an interview on BBC Good Morning Scotland Brown was asked how the loss of seats could be seen as a mandate for another referendum.
He said: “These are democratic norms: if you win an election, that is, if you win the majority of seats, you have won by popular consent…”
He added: “If in the UK, a government party, as has happened many times in the past, won the election again with fewer votes, are you saying it had no mandate? Of course, that is not the case.
“We would have that mandate because we would have won the election and I think people understand that.”
