Willie Rennie calls on Nicola Sturgeon to rule out independence referendum after election losses

Willie Rennie - credit: Holyrood

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has called on Nicola Sturgeon to rule out holding a referendum on independence during the current parliamentary term after the SNP lost 21 seats in the general election.

Rennie described the result as a “monumental result, after the SNP lost seats but remained as the largest party in Scotland with 35 MPs.

The Lib Dems won four seats in Scotland, retaining Alistair Carmichael’s seat and adding victories in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, Dunbartonshire East and Edinburgh East.

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Rennie said independence had been a central part of the campaign in Scotland and the result meant Sturgeon should hold an early vote in the Scottish Parliament to “sist, delay and stop any independence referendum in this parliamentary term”.

Rennie said: “The election result was a monumental event with the loss of colossal figures on the Scottish political scene. 

“The loss of 21 MPs including the former First Minister Alex Salmond and the SNP Deputy Leader Angus Robertson will leave a major hole in Scottish politics and the SNP.

“The SNP lost 13 percentage points which is more than any other political party in the United Kingdom. Such major losses require a major political response.

“The central issue of the election in Scotland was another independence referendum. The Scottish people have rejected that proposal. Nicola Sturgeon must respond immediately to this major event. 

“That's why they should hold an early vote in the Scottish Parliament to sist, delay and stop any independence referendum in this parliamentary term. I agree with the First Minister that now is the time to bring the country together again and there should be unanimity for this in the parliament. Only such a vote would be an appropriate response to give certainty and to put the divisions of the referendum behind us.”

The Lib Dems won 12 seats across the UK.