Alex Salmond implies Queen backs Scottish independence The First Minister says the monarch would be proud to be Queen of Scots as he adds it is right she make no public statement about Scottish independence The First Minister said he wanted the Queen to remain head of state in a separate Scotland “as her ancestors were” Alex Salmond today suggested the Queen backs Scottish independence, arguing she would be happy to be “Queen of Scots” after a Yes vote but it was proper she make no public statement. The First Minister said he wanted the Queen to remain head of state in a separate Scotland “as her ancestors were”, although many Nationalists are republicans who want to get rid of the monarchy. Rejecting reports she is worried about the break-up of Britain, he said: “I think Her Majesty the Queen, who has seen so many events in the course of her long reign, will be proud to be Queen of Scots as indeed we indeed have been proud to have her as the monarch.” Mr Salmond, who has regular private meetings with the Queen, was pressed whether she had expressed her views about separation. He said he met her at Balmoral a fortnight ago but it was right that she stayed out of the debate. “The proper position is that the Queen will not discuss these issues in public,” he said. Mr Salmond praised a statement from Buckingham Palace confirming the monarch was neutral as “perfectly satisfactory and perfectly as sensible.” He added: “One thing that the poll showed at the weekend in addition to the substantial move to the Yes campaign is the enthusiasm of the people of Scotland to have Her Majesty the Queen as our Queen of Scots.” Mr Salmond’s statement came as the Telegraph disclosed that David Cameron is coming under increasing pressure from MPs of all parties to ask the monarch to speak out, as she did in 1977 when Scotland and Wales were voting on devolved national assemblies. At the time, the Queen used one of her Silver Jubilee speeches to deliver a clear warning against breaking up the realm, saying she understood “aspirations” of devolved power but: “I cannot forget that I was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and of Northern Ireland. Perhaps this Jubilee is a time to remind ourselves of the benefits which union has conferred, at home and in our international dealings, on the inhabitants of all parts of the United Kingdom.” Vernon Bogdanor, the Emeritus Professor of Politics and Government at the University of Oxford — whose former students include David Cameron — said there was no constitutional reason why the Queen could not speak out but did not think it likely. The Scottish and English crowns were united in 1603 by James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England, more than a century before political union. Mr Salmond has tried to persuade Scots to back separation by arguing that the Union of the Crowns would be one of five alliances that would survive the break-up of the UK. But the First Minister’s enthusiasm for the monarch is not shared by some of his ministers, many SNP members and leading figures in the pro-UK Better Together campaign. In March Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Minister, became the latest high-profile figure to suggest there should be a second referendum on a separate Scotland’s head of state if there is a Yes vote on September 18. Dennis Canavan, the official Yes Scotland campaign’s chairman, has said Prince George should never be King of Scots. Despite the First Ministers claim that the SNP has supported the retention of the monarchy for decades, in 2002 the party published a draft written constitution for a separate Scotland that included a referendum on the issue. In 2007 SNP members endorsed a document that contained a promise the Queen would remain head of state in an independent Scotland but there was no debate or vote specifically on reversing their referendum policy.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 11:08:35 +0000
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