Alex Salmond has told Sky News a second referendum on Scottish independence will happen sooner "if the Labour Party looks unelectable" under new leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The former head of the SNP said "the prospect of 10 years more of Tory rule" means another vote on splitting from the UK will be held "on a much, much shorter timescale".
He also warned "the Labour Party is now divided" and "divided parties don't win elections".
Scotland voted to reject independence by a margin of 55% to 45% in a referendum held last September.
However, the Scottish National Party won 56 out of 59 seats in Scotland at the last general election, fuelling speculation there will be a second referendum at a later date.
Mr Salmond told Sky News: "If the Labour Party looks unelectable there's the prospect of 10 years more of Tory rule and 50 years of nuclear weapons in Scotland.
"Those are all factors that are pushing Scotland towards a referendum on a much, much shorter timescale than I envisaged."
Speaking after Mr Corbyn's first Prime Minister's Questions as Labour leader, he added: "I've known Jeremy Corbyn for 30 years and I've liked him for 30 years.
"The great problem he's got isn't what he's facing from the Tories or the mainstream press.
"The great problem is what's hiding underneath and behind him in the Labour Party, and there's an immutable law of politics: divided parties don't win elections."
His comments echo SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who has previously said: "If Labour cannot quickly demonstrate that they have a credible chance of winning the next UK general election, many more people in Scotland are likely to conclude that independence is the only alternative to continued Tory government."
At the weekend, the ruling party revealed it will set out the timescale for such a referendum in its manifesto ahead of the Scottish Parliament election in 2016.
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق