The party says the next UK election will either be a de facto referendum or a mandate for an indyref2 vote in 2026.
Image source, Getty ImagesSNP members are to be given the choice of using the next UK general election or the next Holyrood election as a de facto independence referendum.
The party says its first choice is still for the UK government to agree to a referendum.
But if that is not possible it could use the general election as a vote.
The second option would be to treat the UK election result as a mandate for the party to contest the 2026 Holyrood election as an independence vote.
The UK government said now was a time to focus on “shared challenges” such as the cost of living crisis.
The SNP’s national executive committee met on Saturday to agree the motion.
It will now be put to members at a special party conference in March.
Leader Nicola Sturgeon said the second option had been included in the motion in the interests of having a “full and open debate”.
She said: “Given the significance of this decision for both the party and the country, it is important that this debate is a full, free and open one – which is what the draft resolution seeks to enable.
“It sets out – as I did last June – the option of contesting the next Westminster election as a de facto referendum.
“However, in the interests of a full and open debate, it also sets out the alternative option of contesting the next Scottish Parliament election on this basis.”
She added: “While this will be a debate on the process of securing independence, it is one that will be guided by a fundamental principle – that the future of Scotland must and will be decided by the people of Scotland, not by Westminster politicians.”
Image source, Reuters
In November, the first minister announced the SNP intended to use the next general election as an attempt to show that a majority of people in Scotland supported independence.
She spoke after the Supreme Court unanimously ruled she did not have the power to hold a referendum this year.
Ms Sturgeon said she respected the ruling but admitted it was a “tough pill to swallow”.
She also said the independence movement would now have to find a new way forward.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had welcomed the “clear and definitive ruling” from the Supreme Court.
On Saturday, a UK government spokeswoman said: “People in Scotland want both their governments to be concentrating on the issues that matter most to them – like growing our economy, getting people the help they need with their energy bills, and supporting our NHS.
“As the prime minister has been clear, we will continue to work constructively with the Scottish government to tackle our shared challenges.”
When Nicola Sturgeon first raised the possibility of using an election as a substitute referendum last June, she clearly targeted the next UK general election.
When she returned to the idea in her SNP conference speech in October, she talked about using “an” election without specifying which one.
When I pointed this out on social media and raised the potential flexibility in her wording, a senior SNP source told me I was “over interpreting”. Maybe not.
While the SNP still describe using the next Westminster vote to test opinion on independence as the “principal” alternative to the referendum they really want, party members are to be given a choice.
They can either opt for Westminster in (presumably) 2024 or for the Holyrood election planned for 2026 or even suggest further possibilities of their own.
The SNP say using either election to judge support for independence would be “credible and deliverable” but their opponents refuse to accept this is a legitimate route to Scottish statehood.