A second independence referendum should not be held until after the UK has agreed a deal to quit the European Union, one of Nicola Sturgeon’s former cabinet secretaries has said.
Alex Neil also proposed a two-question ballot paper, with Scots given the choice whether or not they want to apply to rejoin the Brussels bloc or go it completely alone if there is a Yes vote.
The former health secretary and social justice secretary’s public statement is at odds with his former boss, who wants to hold a rerun of September 2014 before Britain has negotiated its way out of Europe.
Mr Neil told The Times: “You cannot realistically maximise your chances of winning a referendum for independence unless and until you know what the final Brexit deal is.
“The reality is that after the statement by Michel Barnier [the European Commission’s chief negotiator] that the deal has got to be done in the next 18 months, physically it would be very difficult to get an independence referendum in that time.
“So realpolitik is kicking in anyway in terms of the timing, and realistically any referendum on independence is going to come after the deal is done.”
Mr Neil, who voted leave, added the best time for an independence referendum would be after the UK general election in 2020.
“There’s an argument that, with the likely result of an election in 2020, with a Tory government with an increased majority, that would be the best time to have a referendum,” he said.
“Let’s not have a premature referendum which we might not win because we don’t have all the answers.”
Ms Sturgeon, who has not committed herself to a date for a second vote, told delegates at the SNP conference in October that she would like to see it taking place before the UK left the EU.
It has been reported that the UK Government is considering granting Holyrood the power to hold another plebiscite, but only after Brexit.
Scottish Conservative chief whip John Lamont said: “(Alex Neil’s) ongoing commentary on Brexit is hugely embarrassing for the SNP, and while the party may not have ‘disciplined’ him, he’s more than likely had a word in his ear.
“This also reinforces that the SNP doesn’t care about the EU per se, it just wants to create divisions between Scotland and England which it believes will further its separation agenda.”
A Scottish government spokesman said: “We are determined that people across Scotland should have the ability to consider the question of independence and to do so before the UK leaves the EU if it becomes clear it is the best or only way to protect our country’s interests.”
