SNP rejects using next election as ‘de facto’ referendum on independence

Published

2 years ago

October 15, 2023

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The SNP will not use the next general election as a de facto independence referendum, in a shift away from the strategy employed by Nicola Sturgeon.

Instead, the party has used its annual conference in Aberdeen to state that, should it win a majority of Scottish seats at the general election expected next year, it should begin negotiations with Westminster on how it can go about securing Scotland’s independence.

This was described by one SNP MP as seeking the mandate to secure independence, rather than a vote for independence itself.

Some MPs supported the approach previously championed by former leader Ms Sturgeon – in which securing 50% plus one of the vote in Scotland should be treated as the Scottish people declaring themselves independent.

Humza Yousaf, the SNP’s current leader and the first minister of Scotland, backed the switch away from his predecessor’s position.

He said using the next general election as a de facto referendum for independence is the “wrong approach” to take.

It is the first conference since Ms Sturgeon’s attempt to hold a referendum was defeated in the courts, her subsequent resignation, arrest and release, and the investigation into the party’s finances.

SNP MP Tommy Sheppard, who proposed one of the amendments which turned the party’s strategy away from a referendum, told the conference that 10% of those who support independence do not back the SNP for the next election – but also do not support other pro-independence parties.

“The truth of this is that there is 10% or more of the Scottish electorate who want Scotland to be an independent country, but it is not the main thing on their mind right now,” Mr Sheppard said.

He says the lack of support for other independence-backing outfits – like Alex Salmond’s Alba Party – shows voters are not going to support a party based on immediate independence.

Joanna Cherry, another MP, said that she backed not using the 2024 vote as a de facto referendum, but said the option should be kept open – including at the 2026 Scottish parliament election.

One MP who wanted to use the next general election as a referendum was the MP Pete Wishart.

He said the party needed a “credible and realistic route” to independence to be presented to the country in order to leave the United Kingdom.

“It’s time to stop asking and time to start asserting,” he added.

Mr Wishart said that every election should be treated as a de-facto referendum “and we keep on doing it – until they properly engage, or we win, which we will most definitely do”.

The conference itself has been overshadowed by the war in the Middle East – including the fact that the parents of SNP councillor Nadia El Nakla, who is also Mr Yousaf’s wife, are trapped in Gaza.

The event started with an emergency motion, which called for the condemnation of the “terrorist attacks” of Hamas and the release of all hostages.

It says “international law must be respected”, and reaffirms the party’s support for a two-state solution.

The party unanimously supported the motion.

Politics

US SEC’s Crenshaw takes aim at crypto in final weeks at the agency

Published

2 hours ago

December 11, 2025

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US SEC's Crenshaw takes aim at crypto in final weeks at the agency

SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, expected to leave the agency in less than a month, used one of her final public speaking engagements to address the regulator’s response to digital assets.

Speaking at a Brookings Institution event on Thursday, Crenshaw said standards at the SEC had “eroded” in the last year, with “markets [starting] to look like casinos,” and “chaos” as the agency dismissed many years-long enforcement cases, reduced civil penalties and filed fewer actions overall.

The commissioner, expected to depart in January after her term officially ended in June 2024, also criticized many crypto users and the agency’s response to the markets.

Cryptocurrencies, Politics, SEC, Policies, Enforcement — *SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw speaking at a Brookings Institution event on Thursday. Source:* *Brookings*

“People invest in crypto because they see some others getting rich overnight,” said Crenshaw. “Less visible are the more common stories of people losing their shirts. One thing that consistently puzzles me about crypto is what are cryptocurrency prices based on? Many, but not all, crypto purchasers are not trading based on economic fundamentals.”

She added:

“I think it’s safe to say [crypto purchasers are] speculating, reacting to hysteria from promoters, feeding a desire to gamble, wash trading to push up prices, or, as one Nobel laureate has posited, ‘betting on the popularity of the politicians who support or stand to benefit from the success of crypto.’”

In contrast to Crenshaw’s remarks, SEC Chair Paul Atkins, Commissioner Hester Peirce and Commissioner Mark Uyeda have all publicly expressed their support for the agency’s approach to digital assets and the Trump administration’s direction of policy.

Peirce and Atkins spoke at a Blockchain Association Policy Summit this week to discuss crypto regulation and a path forward on market structure under consideration in the Senate.

During the Thursday event’s question-and-answer session, Crenshaw expanded on her views of crypto, stating that it was a “tiny piece of the market,” and suggested that the SEC focus on other regulatory concerns. In addition, she expressed concern that the agency was heading toward giving crypto companies an exception from policies that applied to traditional finance.

“I do worry that as the crypto rules are perhaps implemented, or perhaps we just put out more guidance […] where we say they are not securities, where we loosen the basic fundamentals of the securities laws so that they can operate in our system, but without any of the guardrails that we have in place. I do worry that that can lead to more significant market contagion,” said Crenshaw.

The final throes of bipartisan financial regulators under Trump?

The departure of Crenshaw would leave the SEC with three Republican commissioners, two of whom were nominated by US President Donald Trump. As of Thursday, Trump had not made any announcements signaling that he ever planned to nominate another Democrat to the SEC, and Crenshaw said the agency’s staff had been reduced by about 20% in the last year.