Nicolas Sturgeon plans to hold a new vote for Scottish independence at the end of next year without permission from the government of Boris Johnson, which is likely to provoke long legal battles.
The prime minister said on Tuesday that she would update Holyrood on her plans “very soon” as she published a report saying Scotland should strive to reach the levels of prosperity of small European countries such as Denmark and Ireland since independence. .
Sturgeon said she had an electoral mandate to hold a referendum with or without Westminster’s consent, and said her government had devised a legally certain alternative way to hold a referendum, despite that approval.
The law created by the Scottish Parliament stipulates that Westminster must allow any referendum affecting the UK constitution under the so-called Section 30 Order.
The 2014 referendum, which the country won by 55% to 45%, was called after then-Prime Minister David Cameron agreed to issue a Section 30 order, as Alex Salmond, then-Prime Minister, won a landslide victory in the election. Holyrood in 2011.
Many constitutional lawyers and pro-British parties believe this is the only legal way. Former Prime Ministers Theresa May and Johnson have repeatedly refused to allow a new referendum, saying the 2014 result is final.
Standing with Patrick Harvey, a supporter of the Scottish Green Party, along with her at Bute House, her official residence in Edinburgh, Sturgeon declined to give any further details about her alternative strategy. But she agreed she would face obstacles, which she declined to specify.
“We are dealing with a prime minister who does not respect democracy, the law or any of the norms that underpin democracy in the UK,” she said, alluding to Johnson’s attempts to rewrite the Northern Ireland Protocol and his refusal to resign. because of the Partygate Scandal. “I have to deal with this reality. Does this create challenges? I will expose them. And the ability of the Scottish Parliament to pass laws without an order under Section 30 has been challenged. I believe we can move forward, but I will do it responsibly, I will do it right. “
Sturgeon faces the significant prospect of an unorthodox route being challenged in the UK Supreme Court. It may propose that the governments of the United Kingdom and Scotland jointly apply to the court for a decision. This poses clear risks for Johnson to refuse to do so or for the court to declare her proposals illegal.
The UK government and pro-British parties could boycott a referendum without section 30, undermining its political legitimacy. Sturgeon has given priority to organizing a legitimate and legitimate event to ensure international approval, especially within the EU. EU accession is presented by Sturgeon as one of the main advantages of independence.
Tuesday’s “Independence in the Modern World – Richer, Happier, Fairer: Why Not Scotland?” and reversing the decline in the vote for.
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The document was described as a “cherry and sweet tomorrow” by opposition parties, after comparing the UK’s poor economic performance and higher poverty levels to only the records of 10 high-performing small countries such as Norway, Austria and Belgium. He ignores larger countries or those with weaker economies.
Sturgeon declined to say how long it would take for an independent Scotland to rebuild its economy. She said economic crises were the reason for the need for independence. “The sooner we take this path, the sooner we will make our way to success as they are. [other countries] enjoy, “she said.
Conservatives, Labor and the Liberal Democrats have said it is disastrous to hold a referendum on independence in the midst of an economic crisis when the UK faces a recession, a new Brexit crisis and so soon after the Covid pandemic. Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labor Party, said: “You can’t play politics as long as people’s lives and livelihoods are in balance.
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