Sturgeon, who leads Scotland’s National Party and Decentralized Government in Scotland, said it was time to reconsider leaving Scotland for the UK. “After everything that has happened – Brexit, COVID, Boris Johnson – it is time to set a different and better vision,” he said as he published the first of a series of government documents outlining his arguments for independence. Scotland rejected independence in a 2014 referendum, with 55 per cent of voters saying they wanted to remain part of the UK. Sturgeon said it wanted a new independence vote before the end of 2023. It said on Tuesday that the Scottish Parliament had an “unquestionable democratic mandate” to vote, after the Scottish National Party won last year’s election after pledging to holding a new referendum. Sturgeon’s party leads a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament, along with the Scottish Green Party. However, the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson across Britain opposes a new referendum, saying the issue was settled in a 2014 vote.
Landscape after Brexit
But Sturgeon says the landscape has changed since then, largely due to Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, a move opposed by the majority of people in Scotland. “If we knew in 2014 everything we know now about the course that the United Kingdom would have taken, then I have no doubt that Scotland would have voted yes then,” Sturgeon told the BBC. Sturgeon said that when she was re-elected as Prime Minister last year, she was “clearly committed to giving the people of Scotland the choice to become an independent country”. He said on Tuesday that the Scottish Parliament had an “unquestionable democratic mandate” to vote. Sturgeon’s party leads a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament, along with the Scottish Green Party. He urged the Johnson administration to issue a special mandate allowing a legally binding independence referendum to be held. She is ready to discuss the terms with Johnson, he said.
The UK opposes the second ballot
Johnson’s office again rejected the offer. “The position of the United Kingdom Government is that now is not the time to talk about another referendum,” said Johnson’s spokesman. “We are confident that the people of Scotland want and expect their governments to work together to focus on issues such as the global cost of living, such as the war in Europe and issues of importance to their families and communities.” Like Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland has its own parliament and decentralized government and formulates its own public health, education and other policies. But the London government across the UK controls issues such as defense and fiscal policy. Sturgeon has unveiled the first of the Scottish Government’s newspapers “Building a New Scotland”, which argues that neighboring, independent European countries the size of Scotland are richer and fairer.
“No democratic power”
He argued that decision-making in London was limiting Scotland’s potential, saying: “We have a prime minister without democratic authority in Scotland and without moral authority anywhere in the United Kingdom.” Opposition parties have blamed Sturgeon for focusing on independence and neglecting other issues such as the coronavirus recovery and the cost-of-living crisis. They say another referendum will be divisive and counterproductive to what Scotland needs. “The distraction and the upset of another bitter debate on the referendum is the last thing Scotland needs right now,” said Donald Cameron, a Scottish Conservative.
