Welsh might ‘feel like they could go’ if Scotland backed independence says Scottish Secretary

The Scottish Secretary has warned that the Welsh might “feel like they could go” too if Scotland voted for independence.

Conservative MP Alister Jack said that the Union could completely unravel following a successful Scottish independence referendum.

“If Scotland went, would Northern Ireland want a border poll? Would Wales feel that they could go? It certainly would not strengthen the UK,” he told the Express newspaper.

He said that Boris Johnson was willing to launch legal action to stop a vote on Scottish independence.

Any ballot that’s not signed off by Downing Street will be challenged in the courts, and the UK Government would encourage Unionists to boycott it, he said.

Asked if the UK Government would launch legal action against a so-called “wildcat” referendum, he said: “Yes. There are many reserved matters and the constitution is one of them. It’s entirely a matter for the UK Government.”

‘Unsustainable’

The SNP’s depute leader, Keith Brown, responded by saying that it was the people of Scotland, rather than Boris Johnson, that would decide their constitutional future.

“This attempt at Trump-style denial of democracy is completely unsustainable, and it is increasingly clear that the Tories know there will be an independence referendum if the people of Scotland vote for one in May,” he told the Scottish National.

“Boris Johnson wants a free hand to strip powers from the Scottish Parliament and impose his disastrous hard Brexit. In an independent Scotland, the people who live here – not Westminster governments we don’t vote for – will decide how we rebuild our country after the pandemic.

“Boris Johnson must not be allowed to decide Scotland’s future – that’s why it is vital that people give both votes to the SNP in the coming election.”