Protesters march for Scottish independence in Glasgow.
Photographer: Emily Macinnes / Bloomberg
Photographer: Emily Macinnes / Bloomberg
Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she remains committed to a legal referendum on independence after her party establishes an action plan should the British government continue to refuse to grant one.
The leader of the Scottish National Party said that if the party wins the May regional elections in Scotland, the UK’s position will be untenable as voters have demanded the right to make a decision about the country’s future. In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, she said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson “feared democracy”.
“I want a legal referendum, so I’m going to seek the authority of the Scottish people,” said Sturgeon when asked if her Edinburgh government would unilaterally hold an advisory referendum. And if they give me that authority, I intend to do it. To have a legal referendum to give people in Scotland the right to choose. “
The SNP set a roadmap for a referendum this weekend after the coronavirus pandemic ends, an escalation of a deadlock with the London government that will weigh on politics in the UK after leaving the European Union. The Scottish government, which has been led by the SNP for 14 years, is against Brexit and Scotland voted against it in 2016.
Critical voice
The Scots elections – which Sturgeon said she still expects to go ahead as planned – is framed as a vote on the right to a new independence referendum and Johnson’s conservatives are increasingly concerned about how it should be handled. Polls show the SNP is on track to win a majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament, and Sturgeon has pledged to hold a plebiscite in the “early part” of the next parliamentary session.
The SNPs The 11-point plan states that any new vote must be “out of the legal battle”. But the document leaves open the possibility that the Scottish Parliament could hold a referendum to force Westminster to subsequently block it in court.
Johnson has rejected calls for a vote on divorce, arguing that a 2014 referendum in which Scots voted to remain in the UK at 55% to 45% had resolved the issue for the foreseeable future. That vote was taken after then Prime Minister David Cameron issued an order transferring the necessary powers to Edinburgh.
Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said now is not the time for a referendum and that the SNP should focus on improving the economy, education and health care in Scotland.
“People across Scotland want the focus to be on recovery, not referendums,” Ross said on Times Radio on Sunday. “I don’t think there should be another referendum.”
Polls now consistently show more support for breaking the rest of the UK after Brexit. A Panelbase survey published in the Sunday Times found that support for independence leads the union camp at 49% to 44%, with 7% undecided. The research suggests the independence movement will benefit if Johnson remains prime minister.
Salmond research
Sturgeon is reluctant to proceed with votes that would not pass until international right. She also faces other political headwinds, such as ensuring that vaccine roll-out in Scotland does not lag behind, getting children back to school and an increase in drug-related deaths.
Read more: Vaccine Pledge Raises Stake in Scottish Leader Elections
There is also an ongoing investigation into her government’s handling of a harassment case against her predecessor Alex Salmond, which is growing increasingly bitter. Sturgeon will face a committee hearing in the coming weeks. The issue has already divided her party.
Salmond was acquitted by a court in March of sexually assaulting women during his tenure. In her BBC interview, Sturgeon said she had not misled parliament on the allegations of harassment. “I didn’t make any arrangements with Alex Salmond, nor did I conspire against him,” she said.
Meanwhile, the overriding theme in Scotland remains the right to hold a referendum on the abandonment of the three-century-old union with England and Wales.
Separately, a judge is considering a human-funded case brought by a Scottish independence activist to determine whether the Parliament in Edinburgh already has the legal means to take a vote without UK approval. Judge Ailsa Carmichael said on Friday that she will make a “very quick” decision and accept or decline the application – or choose not to express an opinion.
– With help from Joe Mayes
(Updates with comments from Douglas Ross in the eighth paragraph.)