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Nicola Sturgeon urged to make SNP position on Scottish independence clear after Alex Salmond calls second referendum 'inevitable' Scottish independence: SNP asked for 'clarity' over talk of a fast-tracked second referendum
(about 3 hours later)
Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP have been urged to clarify their intentions for a possible repeat of the Scottish independence referendum, after Alex Salmond claimed a second vote was “inevitable”. The Scottish National Party should make clear if they are laying the foundations of a fast-tracked second referendum and intend to make another Yes-No on the union the highlight of their election manifesto next year, according to the Scottish Secretary and his Labour shadow.
David Mundell, who was appointed as David Cameron’s Scottish Secretary after winning the only Conservative seat north of the border, said he wanted “clarity on the SNP position”. David Mundell, Scotland’s sole Conservative MP, and Ian Murray, the only MP to survive the wipe-out of Labour’s seats in Scotland, have both demanded Nicola Sturgeon reveal any change in the SNP’s position. 
Last September, the Scottish public voted “No” to independence by 55 per cent to 45 per cent, and the Tory minister told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme that it was not for the SNP to call for the process to be repeated. Scotland’s former first minister, Alex Salmond, told the BBC that another in-out vote on Scotland remaining part of the United Kingdom was “inevitable” with the timing of that in the hands of Ms Sturgeon.
Mr Salmond’s claims that there will be a second vote were echoed on Monday by the SNP’s chair, Derek Mackay, who said independence would be discussed at the party’s conference in Aberdeen. The First Minister repeatedly stated throughout the general election campaign that another referendum was not being contemplated and said there were no plans  for its inclusion as a policy objective in 2016 Scottish elections.
And amid a growing debate, Mr Mundell accused Nicola Sturgeon of “not being very clear at all what her position is”. However that position shifted substantially when Derek Mackay, the SNP chairman, announced that “independence” and its place in the manifesto would be debated at the SNP conference this autumn.
“What I want to see is the clarity of the SNP position,” he said. Although Ms Sturgeon previously said a follow-up referendum would be down to the Scottish people, speaking to the BBC on a visit to China she said the option of a re-run  vote being part of her party’s 2016 manifesto would now be a decision taken by herself.
“They've said repeatedly that there isn't going to be a second referendum at official level; now we see all these MPs, Alex Salmond himself pushing for a second referendum,” Mr Mundell said. “Nicola Sturgeon needs to be absolutely clear. She said: “It will up to me or any future leader of the SNP to decide whether or not that [another referendum] goes in a manifesto for the Scottish election.”
“I don't think that it is for the SNP themselves to determine whether the people of Scotland are in favour of having another referendum.” Her statement is an effective U-turn on the promise that the referendum was a once-in-lifetime or a once-in-a-generation event.
The Scottish Secretary has said there are no contingency plans for the possibility of a further referendum on independence after next year's Holyrood elections, despite opinion polls pointing towards a landslide SNP victory. The Scottish Secretary, Mr Mundell, said he wanted “clarity” on the SNP’s position. “At the moment we’ve got Alex Salmond pushing for a second referendum, and we’ve got Nicola Sturgeon not being very clear at all. They’ve repeatedly said – at an official level - that there isn’t going to be a second referendum. I don’t think it is for the SNP to determine whether the people of Scotland are in favour of having another referendum, ” he said.
Shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray said: “Everyone agreed back in September when the referendum happened that this would be a once-in-a-generation opportunity, even a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Mr Mundell, in response to written parliamentary questions, said the government had made no contingency plans for a second Scottish in-out vote.
“So to suggest that this may be in the SNP manifesto in just a few months' time I think would be wrong.” The Shadow Scottish Secretary, Mr Murray said : “People will worried that Nicola Sturgeon isn’t keeping the promise she made before the referendum. We’ve gone from the ‘the people will decide’ to Nicola Sturgeon will decide. We can’t afford to put the country on pause for another two years again.”
He added: “What Derek Mackay didn't commit to was that it wouldn't be in the 2016 Scottish parliamentary election manifesto for the SNP.”
Additional reporting by agencies