NICOLA Sturgeon has said she is confident that Scotland can navigate towards a legal independence vote without permission from the UK Government.
The First Minister, who today launched a renewed case for Scottish independence, said she will update MSPs on her strategy “very soon” – with it looking unlikely that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will sanction a second vote.
David Cameron gave permission for the 2014 referendum to be held by granting a Section 30 Order to the Scotland Act – but Theresa May and Mr Johnson have not allowed a re-run of the poll to be held.
The Scottish Government was dealt a blow when the UK Supreme Court ruled that two Holyrood bills, including one embedding the UN Convention of the Right of the Child into Scots law fell outside the competence of the Scottish Parliament – with judges ruling that Westminster’s authority over the Scottish Parliament was unquestionable.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon launches renewed case for Scottish independence
The Scottish Government is set to bring forward Holyrood legislation for a referendum to be held, with Ms Sturgeon insisting her “intention” remains for the vote to be held by the end of 2023.
As she launched her first papers setting out the renewed case for Scottish independence, the First Minister said she has made it clear to the Prime Minister today that she is “ready to discuss the terms” of Section 30 Oreder “at any time”.
She added that Scotland “must forge a way forward if necessary, without a section 30 order” - but refused to say what her strategy would be.
But with some in the independence movement calling for a wildcat referendum to be held in absence of UK Government approval, Ms Sturgeon insisted that “we must do so in a lawful manner” and will “give a significant update” to Holyrood on her plans “very soon”.
Read more: How to read full independence document as Scottish Government sets out strategy
The First Minister’s comments came as she made clear it was “time now to set out and debate” the case for Scotland to leave the UK.
The First Minister stated: “After everything that has happened – Brexit, Covid, Boris Johnson – it is time to set out a different and better vision.
“It is time to talk about making Scotland wealthier and fairer. It is time to talk about independence and then make that choice.”
And she added: “The case for Scotland charting our own course, a better course, is strong and compelling.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel