Richard Leonard insists Labour would oppose an independence referendum despite the shadow chancellor saying otherwise.
Media playback is unsupported on your deviceRichard Leonard:"I am clear that the Labour Party's position at the moment is opposition to a second independence referendum."
His comments - which have been heavily criticised by several senior Scottish Labour figures - contradict the party's general election manifesto pledge to rule out a referendum, as well as previous public statements by Mr Leonard.Mr Leonard told BBC Scotland that Labour's official policy is still to oppose a referendum.
"So I think it's pretty clear where I stand, it's pretty clear where the membership of the Scottish Labour Party stand and that's the view that we'll be communicating. But Mr Leonard said his stance on a second referendum would only change if the will of the Scottish people was shown to be"demonstrably" different from 2014, when voters rejected independence by 55% to 45%.
However, Ms Sturgeon also stressed that she was"no great fan of Jeremy Corbyn" and said she"can't see the SNP going into formal coalition with Labour."Mr McDonnell has been interviewed in two separate Edinburgh Fringe events A Labour spokesman later insisted that Mr McDonnell was"clearly not advocating a second independence referendum" and had"made clear the huge benefit a UK Labour government will bring for the people of Scotland".
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Labour Government would not block second Scottish independence referendum, says John McDonnellJohn McDonnell has promised a future Labour Government would not block a second independence referendum after a poll showed most Scots now support leaving the UK.
Read more »
Labour government 'would not block' indyref2Shadow chancellor John McDonnell says any decision about a second vote would be up to Holyrood.
Read more »
Former Labour MP Fiona Onasanya struck off as a solicitorTribunal decision comes after conviction for perverting course of justice over speeding
Read more »
Labour 'prefers election to unity government' to stop hard BrexitSuggestion appears to stymie plans by Tory rebels to form national unity coalition
Read more »
Opinion: Brexit has made a Labour-SNP pact far too attractive for the Tories to brush asideWarning about a ‘coalition of chaos’ would look pretty rich to voters after the catastrophe of Conservative rule since 2016, and that includes the ‘regressive alliance’ with the Democratic Unionist Party
Read more »
Disgraced ex-Labour MP Fiona Onasanya is struck off after jail-term for lying to dodge speeding ticketDISGRACED ex-Labour MP Fiona Onasanya has been struck off as a solicitor after lying to dodge a speeding ticket. Onasanya, 35, failed to save her legal career during a hearing today despite telling…
Read more »