SCOTTISH Labour leadership contenders have been mocked after floundering while trying to explain how Scots could secure another independence referendum, with one accused of “nonsense historical revisionism”.
Michael Marra and Joe Fagan were both questioned about their position during a Go Radio debate hosted by Bernard Ponsonby over the weekend, with both candidates asked whether they would back voters being given another say on Scotland’s constitutional future.
Marra said Labour would consider a further referendum only if independence became the “settled will of Scottish people”, while Fagan said it would be “obvious” when independence represented the settled view of Scottish voters.
When asked how voters move to independence, Marra said: "Well, they [the SNP] have to generate the settled will of the Scottish people and that will become an inevitability at that point if it becomes such."
He added: "I think you measure it in a variety of ways. I suppose you would look at opinion polls. You would look at election results. There are mechanisms and ways."
He went on to refuse to "set out a series of tests" and argued that in previous decades it became "apparent and obvious" that devolution was "the settled will" of Scots.
Ewan Gibbs, a historian of labour and energy, tore apart Marra's argument on Twitter/X, writing that the Scottish Labour leader candidate had shared "nonsense historical revisionism".
"It’s absolutely true that devolution became much more popular from the 70s-90s," Gibbs wrote, adding: "By the 90s, the trade union movement, the Labour Party, local government and civil society had decisively swung behind a Scottish Parliament where they had been divided before.
"But the ‘settled will’ of the Scottish people wasn’t recognised by the Tories under Thatcher or Major. It wasn’t, as Marra seems to say it was, ‘obvious’ that a Scottish parliament was popular therefore it would be delivered.
"Devolution was only delivered after the election of a British Labour government pledged to a referendum. Even then, the fact that Blair pledged a referendum, and another on tax raising powers, demonstrated how wary he was of devolution."
If you haven’t already. Watch this. Til the end. An absolute corker. I really hope that Joe or Michael wins. pic.twitter.com/QJebZZQjn1
— Stephen Flynn (@StephenFlynnSNP) September 1, 2026
He concluded: "It’s an oddly nationalist conception to imagine the ‘settled will’ of the nation simply becoming apparent and so then being affirmed. But it’s a convenient way around the substantive problem that some form of British state mechanism wound be needed for an independence referendum."
After Marra, Fagan was pressed on how it would be "obvious", to which he said: "Opinion polls. You wouldn't have to debate opinion polls, or constitutional mechanisms, or any of that".
When asked what the opinion polls would have to say, Fagan repeated: "It will just be obvious".
In a clip shared online, Ponsonby was seen laughing before he added: "See anybody who's listening to this, honestly, who left he Labour Party to go SNP is going to say, 'neither of these guys believe we have the right to decide.
"They are fundamentally anti-democratic. They are fundamentally unfit to lead."
Both exchanges sparked criticism from the SNP, which said the two candidates had aligned behind Labour’s continued refusal to recognise a democratic route to independence.
SNP MSP David Linden said: “It’s clear that whoever takes over as Labour Party Scottish branch office manager will continue to have their fingers in their ears and ignore what voters have told them time and time again.
“Anas Sarwar led Labour to its worst ever election result in Scotland in May with voters elected the most pro-independence MSPs in history but they have learned absolutely nothing from this defeat.
“It’s now obvious that whoever takes over from Lord Sarwar will continue to nod along with whatever he is told by their Westminster boss – who has already declared that Scottish independence is ‘off limits’ on his one and only visit to Scotland since moving into Number 10.
“The Labour Party establishment closed ranks to ensure that the only candidate open to giving Scots the right to decide was blocked from the ballot. While they can block democracy in their own party they have learned nothing if they think they can do the same to the people of Scotland.
“For as long as Scottish Labour refuse to engage with the reason of their defeat, they will continue to be punished at the ballot box – they cannot continue to deny democracy to Scotland and expect the trust of our people.”
