Nicola Sturgeon demands permanent referendum power for Holyrood

The plan is included in a 40-page Scottish Government document, Scotland’s Right to Choose, which sets out the “democratic case” for Indyref2.

The First Minister later said she expected to win Indyref2, but refused to rule out Indyref3 if she lost, saying she could not bind her successors. 

The Tories said she wanted to trap Scotland in a "neverendum".

It came as the First Minister confirmed she would be writing to Boris Johnson formally asking for a transfer of power to hold Indyref2, citing her "unarguable" mandate in the wake of the SNP's emphatic general election win last week.

For the 2014 referendum, this was time-limited, but Ms Sturgeon said she wanted to discuss a permanent transfer as well.

Ms Sturgeon previously asked for a transfer of referendum powers in March 2017 in the wake of the Brexit referendum, but then PM Theresa May refused to agree.

Mr Johnson is under no legal obligation to agree either, so today's announcement and publication is part of an attritional fight for public opinion.

Ms Sturgeon also urged people to rally round her positions, suggesting they organise petitions or take to the streets in "peaceful demonstrations".

Tory cabinet secretary Michael Gove later said the No result of 2014 should be respected.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon urges public to back her in indyref2 fight 

Speaking at Bute House Ms Sturgeon said: “The alternative is a future that we have rejected being imposed upon us.

“Scotland made it very clear last week it does not want a Tory government led by Boris Johnson taking us out of the European Union.

“That is the future we face if we do not have the opportunity to consider the alternative of independence.”

She added: “It is a fundamental democratic principle that decisions on Scotland’s constitutional future should rest with the people who live here.

“As this document lays out, the Scottish Government has a clear democratic mandate to offer people a choice on that future in an independence referendum, and the UK Government has a democratic duty to recognise that. Last week’s general election has only strengthened that mandate.”

The SNP won 47 of the 59 seats up for grabs in Scotland, the party’s second-best ever result.

Meanwhile the Tories, whose campaign had focused on opposition to an independence referendum, saw their share of the vote slip in Scotland, losing more than half their seats.

In the wake of that, Ms Sturgeon said she was “publishing the constitutional and democratic case” for a referendum.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon sets out the case for a second referendum on Scottish independence, during a statement at Bute House in Edinburgh.

She said this was “rooted in the principle of self-determination, in the material change of circumstances since the 2014 exercise of that right, and in the democratic mandate that exists for offering the choice afresh”.

“The mandate we have, to offer the Scottish people a choice over their future, is by any normal standard of democracy, unarguable.

"We are therefore today calling for the UK Government to negotiate and agree the transfer of power that would put beyond doubt the Scottish Parliament’s right to legislate for a referendum on independence.

“Together with the constitutional and democratic case for that transfer of power, we are also publishing the draft legislation that would give effect to it.”

She conceded she expected the response from Westminster would be a “restatement of the UK Government’s opposition”.

But she continued: “They should be under no illusion that this will be an end of the matter.

“In this context, the question is often posed to me – ‘what will you do if the Prime Minister says no?’

“But the document we are publishing today turns the question on its head.

“It is for the Prime Minister to defend why he believes the UK is not a voluntary union of equal nations. It is for him to set out why he does not believe people in Scotland have the right to self-determination.

“And it is for the Prime Minister to explain why he believes it is acceptable to ignore election after election in Scotland and to over-ride a democratic mandate stronger than the one he claims for his Brexit deal.”

She added: “We live in a democracy, and ultimately democracy must and will prevail.”

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon: Scots can force U-turn on indyref2 

Ms Sturgeon has said she will ask Boris Johnson for a temporary transfer of power to hold a referendum, a so-called Section 30 order, by Christmas.

The idea of giving Holyrood permanent powers goes further - but may be a negotiating tactic designed to push Mr Johnson towards a compromise of temporary powers.

The Prime Minister has already said he will reject the Section 30 request.

Mr Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said the Scottish Government should concentrate on improving Scotland's hospitals and schools rather than trying to re-run an independence referendum they promised would be a "once in a generation" event.

He said: 'We had a referendum in 2014 and at the time everyone agreed that the result of that referendum would be agreed for a generation. Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond signed the Edinburgh Declaration on the basis that this referendum would be held and we wouldn’t have another one for a whole generation to come. 

'So I think on that basis we should respect the referendum result and politicians across the United Kingdom should be concentrating on the issues that really matter to people: improving the NHS, fighting crime and helping to improve education. 

'The Scottish Government have a lot on their plate. My friends and family in Scotland want them to concentrate on improving the NHS, making sure Scottish schools are better. I want to work with the Scottish Government to make sure that Scottish people’s lives are better.'

Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw said: “Nicola Sturgeon hasn’t said anything new here, and the fundamentals remain the same. Scotland voted No in 2014, and both sides agreed that would be a once-in-a-generation decision come what may.

“Ever since then Nicola Sturgeon has tried to bend the rules, and this latest stunt is another example of that.

“Now, more than ever, Scotland needs a government that cares about public services, jobs and the economy.

“Instead, it’s got an SNP First Minister who’s only serious about breaking up the country.

“Nicola Sturgeon has made it clear again if she doesn’t win indyref2, it’ll be straight onto indyref3 and indyref4.

“She wants to trap Scotland in a neverendum when most people simply want to move on.”

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “The Scottish Parliament has already voted to seek a section 30 order, and if Nicola Sturgeon feels the need to bring another vote to Holyrood, the Scottish Greens will back it again.

“If Boris Johnson ignores that mandate, as he is threatening to do, it will only strengthen the case for Scotland to break ties with a flawed democracy that denies us a say over our future.

"His reckless Brexit cuts our ties with Europe, rips up workers rights and environmental protections and pursues a right wing race to the bottom in order to get a US trade deal.

“It’s only right that Scotland gets the option to decide a different future during the transition period.”

Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: “It is clearer than ever that the SNP only cares about one thing: breaking up Britain.

“The SNP’s obsession with independence has come at the cost of our public services.  

“Every minute and every pound spent on pursuing another Scexit referendum is time and money taken away from fixing our public services, improving our economy and ultimately the quality of life of Scots. Scotland deserves better. 

“The SNP should drop its demand for a Section 30 order and instead focus exclusively on the current devolved responsibilities of the Scottish Government including health and education. It’s time for Nicola Sturgeon to do her job.”