However, she told lawmakers she would not “allow Scottish democracy to be a prisoner of Boris Johnson” and revealed her bill on the referendum, which includes her preferred date and the people’s question of whether “Scotland should be an independent country”.
This is the same issue on the ballot in the 2014 referendum, but the Electoral Commission changed the format of Stay / Leave for the Brexit vote in 2016, as it was seen to bring too much of an advantage to the Yes campaign.
However, Ms Sturgeon does not want to change the issue, with opinion polls showing that fewer Scots are regaining their independence if asked if they want to leave the UK.
Even if Ms Bain agreed to certify the legislation as part of Holyrood’s powers, Ms Sturgeon acknowledged that she would face a legal challenge from the UK Government once it was adopted.
She said this would delay the referendum, “continue to cloud the water” and allow unionist parties to focus on the process instead of engaging with “the essence of the independence debate”.
Surprisingly, Ms. Sturgeon argued that “we must strive now to speed up to the point where we have legal clarity” and the Lord Advocate agreed to “refer to the provisions of the Supreme Court bill” for a speedy decision.
If her government wins, she said there would be no doubt that the referendum was legal and the bill would be submitted to Holyrood immediately.
“The defeat of the Supreme Court would be the fault of Westminster”
But she insisted that “it will not be the end of the issue” if she loses, as she promised that “the general election will be a de facto referendum”, with the SNP fighting its “single issue” campaign for secession.
Ms Sturgeon said the defeat of the Supreme Court would be the fault of Westminster and would explain that “any image of the United Kingdom as a voluntary union of nations is a fiction. Any assumption that the United Kingdom is a partnership of equals is false. “
Rehearsing her central theme for the election campaign, she added: “There are no slightly stronger or stronger arguments for independence than that.”
But Mr Johnson said: “The country’s focus needs to be on building a stronger economy, that’s what we’re doing with our plan for a stronger economy, and I certainly think we can have a stronger economy and stronger economy. country together. “
A high-ranking insider in Whitehall: “If she lost in the Supreme Court, what chance does she have to fight in a general election on the same issue with one ticket?” This is madness. ”
They said Ms Sturgeon would not be able to achieve a propaganda victory, arguing that “the great, bad government of the United Kingdom” had brought her administration to justice because “they had gone to court”.
“This is not really for the Scots”
Anas Sarvar, the leader of the Scottish Labor Party, said: It’s not really about the Scots. “
He recalled that in last year’s Holyrood election, Ms Sturgeon called on Scots who opposed her referendum plan to still vote for the SNP and reminded her of her promise to prioritize Scotland’s recovery from Covid.
“The pandemic Nicholas, who said he wanted to get us out, is gone, and the guerrilla Nicola Sturgeon, who wants to divide our country, is back – chasing a referendum that two-thirds of Scots do not want now,” he said.
Worse, doesn’t she use the gratitude she was given and the promise she made to lead us through the recovery, instead of pitting Scotsman against Scotsman and focusing on her priority, her obsession, her goal? “
Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Tories, said: “We will not play the Nicolas Sturgeon games. We will not take part in a sham survey when there is real work to be done. “
A spokesman for the UK government said: “The Prime Minister has decided to publish a bill and the Lord Advocate has referred the matter to the UK Supreme Court. UK government officials will now consider their response. “
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