The Scottish Greens have demanded the SNP Government protects spending on independence at next month’s Budget.
John Swinney must secure support from at least one other party in Holyrood if his Government’s spending plans for the year ahead are to pass.
The Lib Dems have already ruled out supporting any SNP Budget if it contains cash for work on ending the Union.
It is estimated the Scottish Government spent £3.44 million on independence research between September 2021 and December 2023. The vast majority was spent on the salaries of civil servants working in in the constitutional futures division.
Green MSP Ross Greer said cutting this spending would “destroy the wider independence movement’s trust in the Scottish Government.”
It comes after Alex Cole-Hamilton, the Scottish Lib Dems leader, said last week: “The public rendered a judgment of the SNP on July 4 that they are not willing to put up with the division caused by independence and as such there shouldn’t be any spending or parliamentary time on the constitution in any way.”
But the Greens insisted spending on independence must continue.
Greer said: “The Scottish Greens have always encouraged other parties to take budget negotiations seriously. The Lib Dems have at least entered the discussion this year and although their priorities are different to our own, we think this important debate is better off with a diverse range of proposals on the table.
:However, we would be deeply concerned if a pro-independence government axes entirely the already incredibly modest sum spent on independence preparations. If the SNP makes that choice, Green MSPs would find it impossible to support their budget.
:With a Labour government at Westminster continuing with cruel Tory policies like the two child benefit cap, supplying arms to Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza and refusing closer relations with the EU, it is vital that the Scottish Government continues to build a detailed and inspiring case for independence.
“The SNP must categorically rule out this cut. Conceding on this point would not only rule out the Scottish Greens’ voting for their budget proposals, it would destroy the wider independence movement’s trust in the Scottish Government.
“The Yes movement can always rely on the Scottish Greens’ support. I hope that the SNP is able to quickly reassure us all that the government’s work towards our shared goal of an independent Scotland at the heart of the European Union will continue.”
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here