LONDON (Reuters) – Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s top politician, suggested on Tuesday that a new referendum on Scottish independence be held in October 2023 in a maneuver he hoped could circumvent Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s refusal to allow such a vote. Sturgeon, the leader of the semi-autonomous government of Scotland and the Scottish National Party, backed the new referendum as she addressed her parliament in Edinburgh. Revealed the question on the ballot: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” The question was met with applause and applause. Sterzon stressed the importance of holding a “legal” referendum, a result that will be recognized internationally. Nearly eight years after voters rejected the same question about independence, he said he would write to Johnson asking for permission to hold another vote. Assuming she refuses – Johnson has long said there will be no second referendum in view of him – then Sterzon said he would push by referring a referendum bill to Britain’s highest court. “What I am not prepared to do, what I will never do, is to allow the Scottish Republic to be a prisoner of Boris Johnson or any prime minister,” he said. Scotland leader pushes for independence vote, disapproved of by Boris Johnson There has been some debate in legal circles about Scotland’s power to hold its own vote without the permission of the British government. Sterzon has long signaled that Scotland will not follow in the footsteps of the region of Catalonia in Spain – holding a referendum without the support of the Spanish government. Sturgeon says Scotland’s top legal official will ask the Supreme Court on Tuesday if Scotland had the power to hold a consultative referendum without first getting the green light from the British Prime Minister. Skeptics say the court is unlikely to rule in her favor. David Torrance, a constitutional expert at the House of Commons Library, wrote in a blog post that the prevailing legal perception was that conducting the vote would be outside the remit of the Scottish Parliament. The role of the United Kingdom Supreme Court is much narrower than that of the United States Supreme Court. Experts say they will look at Scottish Law 1988, which was set up by the Scottish Parliament, and subsequent case law, to decide whether the referendum law falls within the remit of the Scottish Parliament. Scottish history or political arguments would not matter. Writing to Spectator, Alex Massie, the magazine’s editor in Scotland, said Sturgeon’s statement “quietly accepted that it was very unlikely that a referendum would be held on October 19 next year”. Sturgeon, on the other hand, “hopes to use Westminster and judicial stubbornness as a lever to push for independence harder.” For its part, the British government said “now is not the time” for a new referendum. He says the issue was settled in 2014, when the Scots rejected independence by 55 to 45 percent. Sturgeon says much has changed in recent years, including Britain leaving the European Union. A majority of Scots voted in favor of staying in the bloc. He says he has a “clear mandate” to hold a second referendum because a majority in the Scottish Parliament is in favor of independence. However, its side has no guarantee that it will win a vote. Support for Scottish independence and trade unionism remains divided. With Irn-Bru commitments and climate funding, the Scottish leader made a role for herself at COP26 Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, has suggested his party will not run in a new referendum. “We will not take part in a fake poll when there is real work to be done,” he said. If the Supreme Court rules against her, Sturgeon said her party would run in the next British general election on the sole issue of independence. The issue of Scottish independence could be part of the arithmetic in the next British general election, according to analysts. Elections are scheduled for January 2025, but could be called earlier. Current opinion polls suggest that if the election were held today, no party would win outright – forcing negotiations to form a government. Support from the Scottish National Party could depend on the promise of a second referendum. Sturgeon said it hoped its plans would allow people in Scotland to “have the right to decide”. But if that is not possible, the next general election “will be a de facto referendum,” he said. “In any case, the people of Scotland will have their say,” he said.
