Scottish independence: Ex-Labour Defence minister backs ‘Yes’ vote

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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An ex-Labour defence minister has backed a ‘Yes’ vote in the Scottish independence referendum.

Peter Kilfoyle, who served as minister during Tony Blair’s government, met the Scotland’s First Minister on his visit to the Liverpool city on Thursday ahead of Alex Salmond’s speech at the International Festival for Business in Liverpool.

Mr Kilfoyle has said at the moment there was a “huge imbalance” in the U.K. between the “favoured” areas of London and the South East and the rest of the country. So tit was vital for Scotland and the English regions to loosen London’s grip on power.

Labour has argued earlier that Scots should vote against the independence and then help elect a Labour government in the Britain in general election 2015.

However, Mr Kilfoyle, who remained MP for Liverpool Walton for almost two decades, has suggested now that the Labour leadership’s opposition to independence was motivated by a desire to maintain Scottish Labour MPs at Westminster.

Mr Kilfoyle quit from his role of junior minister in the MoD during 2000, arguing that Labour was neglecting its roots.

While claiming that the ultimate decision would be of Scots, Mr Kilfoyle has told the “aspirational message” of the campaign for independence “was far more attractive than the negativity and scaremongering of the No lobby”.

Mr Kilfoyle has added: “I trust Scots will recall the wise words of Franklin D. Roosevelt – ‘the only thing we have to fear is fear itself’.

“As a Labour Party member for 50 years, hoping to do my bit to improve the lot of working people throughout the British Isles, it seems to me that a Scottish vote for independence will make Scots masters of their own destiny rather than dependent on the fiat of a London-based establishment. A Yes vote could also be the lever for a new constitutional settlement for the regions of England.”

Mr Salmond has hailed Mr Kilfoyle’s “significant endorsement” that was made just a couple of months before the vote on Scotland’s future to take place on September 18.

The SNP leader has stated: “It shows that a Yes vote is in line with traditional Labour values.

“Peter understands that what is happening in Scotland is a catalyst for change elsewhere.

“We’ve now had a range of key Labour figures endorsing Yes.

“There is a real feeling of how important this is for all – not just in Scotland.”

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