During the BBC Question Time Leaders Special on 22/11/2019 Nicola Sturgeon was asked a question from a gentlemen in the audience. His question was:
Who ever promised a Once in a Generation Referendum?
I think Nicola thought he was being contrary to her position, but I think he was actually being supportive of her. If you watch it on iPlayer (time 46:55 to 48:00) Nicola does not actually answer his question, and then the question turns to “promise” and that “Johnson and Corbyn use the word promise”. Nicola then talks about Democracy and that people should be able to change their mind and that the future of Scotland should not be left in the hands of Boris Johnson.
Well I am pleased to be able to answer the gentleman’s question and clarify Nicola’s position too.
In 2014 Nicola Sturgeon was Deputy Leader of the SNP and Deputy First Minister a the time of the Scottish Independence Referendum and although I do not know, I am quite sure that Nicola would have had a large part to play in writing, or if not writing, then at least in the reading and proofing of the document I am calling the Independent Scotland’s Road Map 2014, but who’s official title is Scotland’s Future – Your Guide to an Independent Scotland.
View Independent Scotland’s Road Map 2014.
The preface to this document is a 4 page letter from Alex Salmond who was the Leader of the SNP and Scotland’s First Minister at the time. On page 10 of the PDF, numbered viii, or the first page of the preface, 5th paragraph is as follows:
The debate we are engaged in as a nation is about the future of all of us lucky enough to live in this diverse and vibrant country. It is a rare and precious moment in the history of Scotland – a once in a generation opportunity to chart a better way.
So it would seem that Alex Salmond is the answer to the question “Who ever promised a Once in a Generation Referendum?” and for Nicola Sturgeon to say on the TV that nobody said it “to the best of her knowledge” is very disingenuous – and I am being polite by using that word.