Scot leaders divided over Prince George as future king

A distinct schism appeared in the ranks of the Scottish independence movement over the weekend as the leader of Yes Scotland, Dennis Canavan, insisted that the newly-born Prince George of Cambridge should never be King of Scots.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met while studying at St Andrews University and have given Prince George the Scottish-sounding middle name of Alexander.

In an outspoken attack on the monarchy that provoked a row with Unionists, Canavan said a breakaway country should scrap the monarchy through a second referendum if the Nationalists win next year's poll.

The former Labour MP and independent member of the Scottish parliament (MSP) said he was in favour of an elected head of state – putting him on a collision course with Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond.

Salmond has alienated republicans within his party by wanting to retain the Queen and her heirs even if Scotland votes to leave the UK.

Despite Salmond's claim that the Scottish National Party (SNP) has supported the retention of the monarchy for decades, in 2002 the party published a draft written constitution for a separate Scotland that included plans for a referendum on the issue.

Yes Scotland chairman Canavan yesterday congratulated the royal couple but added, ''As to the possibility of another King George, it is important to remember that true democracy is based on the sovereignty of the people rather than the sovereignty of any monarch.

''In an independent Scotland, the people of Scotland should therefore be given an early opportunity to decide whether they want to retain the monarchy or choose an elected head of state.''

He said he personally favoured the latter ''because a hereditary head of state is an affront to democracy and a complete anachronism in a modern 21st-century democracy''.

A spokesman for the pro-UK Better Together campaign said, ''Alex Salmond can try and kid people that the SNP supports the monarchy but Dennis Canavan represents the true views of the nationalists.''

Scottish Tory deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said, ''Making the future of the monarchy a central theme of the independence referendum seems to me to be foolhardy.

''That Dennis Canavan, as chair of Yes Scotland, should choose to do so smacks of desperation and illustrates just how unfocused and divided the parties supporting Yes Scotland are on the key messages underpinning their campaign.''

Although the SNP leadership reversed the referendum policy in 2007, the party cannot produce any evidence the decision was ratified in a conference vote. Christine Grahame, a senior SNP MSP and convener of Holyrood's justice committee, last year insisted a referendum remained official party policy.

Opinion polls suggest that the population of Scotland, as in the rest of the UK, support a monarchy over an elected head of state by a margin of four to one.

An SNP spokesman said party policy was to keep the monarchy, while Yes Scotland said it would remain in place ''until the people of Scotland decide otherwise''.

Canavan's views are shared by other parties who are part of the Yes Scotland campaign for independence, including the Scottish Greens, and a large number of SNP MSPs and members.