John Swinney says an SNP majority at Holyrood is needed for a second independence referendum
John Swinney has declared the SNP will need to win a Holyrood majority next year to secure a second independence referendum.
In a major shift, the First Minister has moved away from Nicola Sturgeon's position of claiming a majority of SNP and Green MSPs is enough for indyref2.
He will table a motion to his party's conference arguing that the SNP winning outright is the mechanism for triggering another referendum.
Sturgeon's SNP fell short of winning on their own in 2021, but she demanded indyref2 after her party and the pro-independence Greens won a majority of MSPs.
Westminster knocked back her call and the Supreme Court later ruled that indyref2 is outwith Holyrood's powers.
Swinney will now go back to the approach of former SNP First Minister Alex Salmond fourteen years ago.
Salmond secured an outright majority for the SNP at the 2011 Holyrood election, a result that led to a joint agreement with the UK Government on a referendum.
In his column for the Daily Record, Swinney wrote: 'For us to achieve that independence, the first step is to secure a legal referendum recognised by all. In 2011 we secured that reliable and dependable route when the SNP achieved a majority of seats at Holyrood.
'That is the only mechanism that has been proven to deliver such a vote - so that is what we need to deliver again.
'That is why I have submitted a motion to the SNP conference proposing that we work to deliver a majority of SNP MSPs in the Scottish Parliament to secure that referendum on Independence.
'The SNP has high ambitions for Scotland, and we must be bold to deliver on those ambitions. We must be ready to follow the path which we know can lead us to an independent state.'
Swinney has been under pressure to produce a route map and strategy for delivering independence.
Senior activists believe the Supreme Court decision created a vacuum that the Scottish Government has struggled to fill.
A senior SNP source said the Government still believed an SNP/Green majority 'should' be enough for indyref2, but the experience of the past four years showed 'this is not going to happen'.
The insider claimed the new position is a 'pragmatic' change based on an outcome the pro-UK parties could not ignore.
Swinney's Record column also underlines his personal commitment to a referendum as the route to independence.
Some independence activists believe an SNP majority at either Holyrood or Westminster is enough to deliver independence without another vote.
The source said Swinney is firmly of the view there must be a referendum.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "At last year's election the SNP took an all mighty beating because people were tired of them obsessing over one issue. It seems like John Swinney is a glutton for punishment.
"Perhaps rather than focusing on what the SNP membership cares about, he should focus on what the country needs. The health service and the state of our schools has been neglected for too long because all the SNP care about is breaking up the UK."
Scottish Tory Deputy Leader Rachael Hamilton said: ' John Swinney is like a broken record on this divisive issue. He should stop trying to placate the fanatics in his own party and accept the fact that most Scots firmly rejected the SNP 's plans to break up the UK and have no desire to revisit them.
'Instead, he should be trying to repair the immense damage his party's policies have inflicted on Scotland's economy and essential services such as our schools and NHS.'
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