NICOLA Sturgeon has said the cost-of-living crisis “starkly” highlights the need for independence, as she was criticised for planning a second referendum during it.
The First Minister said that if the UK Supreme Court ruled Holyrood could hold a vote under its existing powers, a Bill would come to parliament within months.
It led to criticism from Unionist parties at Holyrood, who said it was a waste of time and energy amid the crisis, while the £20million involved could be better spent.
Unveiling her Programme for Government, Ms Sturgeon said it would provide for a “Scottish Independence Referendum Bill” by the end of the parliamentary year.
She said: “This current crisis highlights - starkly - the pressing need for independence.
“We are being reminded every day that where, and in whose hands, power lies really matters.
“This crisis is much worse in the UK than in other developed countries because of a Brexit that Scotland voted against but was powerless to stop.
“Under the current devolution settlement, powers over borrowing, taxation and energy regulation - the key powers needed to address the crisis - are reserved to Westminster.
“And yet the exercise of these powers - by a UK government Scotland did not vote for - has been woefully inadequate.
“As a consequence, and despite the obvious and urgent need to provide help to millions of households and businesses, people are suffering.
“This parliament, by contrast, stands ready, willing and eager to act.
“But we lack the powers and resources we need to do so in all the ways necessary.
Independence would give us - like it does other independent countries - the levers we desperately need to respond to a crisis like this.
“But more than that, independence would give us the wherewithal to build a better, wealthier, fairer future. That is the prize we should now grasp.”
The Supreme Court is due to hear arguments next month on whether Holyrood can hold its own referendum, despite the Union being a reserved matter, without Westminster’s consent.
If the Court rules it does not, Ms Sturgeon has said she will fight the next general election, expected in 2024, as a “de facto referendum” on the single issue of independence.
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said: “When Scottish people are struggling with their bills, instead of the right level of help, they’ll get another unwanted bill from the SNP Government – an Indyref2 Bill.
“This SNP Government are giving precedence to planning for a vote on separation, which they know will divide Scotland at exactly the point we should be coming together and uniting. A vote that is the wrong priority at the worst possible time.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “After 15 years it is hard to give this government the benefit of the doubt.
Change will only come when the First Minister decides to end the culture where every failure comes with a ready-made excuse. It is always someone else's fault.
“No one will be surprised by the inclusion of a Referendum Bill today, but they will be frustrated by the waste of money and resources.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “It continues to astonish me that the SNP have used this summer to focus solely on their efforts break up the United Kingdom
“Meanwhile, wasteful spending continues. The First Minister should abandon the costly ministerial power grab of social care, scrap national testing and stop spending her time and our money on a referendum that is not wanted by the people of Scotland.
Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: “Despite everything that’s going on, Nicola Sturgeon couldn’t resist concluding her Programme for Government with the only thing her party really cares about.
“She conceded during her speech that for her this was the ‘prize’ and no-one who’s followed her time as First Minister would be surprised by that admission.
“People listening to the First Minister today wanted her to put the constitutional grievances to one side to address the many severe issues developing on her watch.
“Perhaps, she may even have repurposed the £20 million she has set aside for another divisive vote on things that really matter.
“Instead, she confirmed that all her government will really be focused on over the next year is the break-up of the United Kingdom.
“That is not what people and businesses in Scotland want.
“Scotland’s positive future is together with the UK, tackling the cost-of-living crisis and working hard to ensure a bright future.”
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