HOW REFERENDUM MADE IT BACK ON TO TABLE
May 2016: Nicola sturgeon is re-elected to lead a minority snp administration. she says holyrood should have the right to call another referendum if there is a “material change” in circumstances.
June 2016: the shock Brexit vote provides the change many in the snp hoped for. within hours of the result, sturgeon says
a second referendum is “highly likely”.
October 2016: she confirms a consultation will get under way within days on her proposed independence Referendum Bill.
January 2017: sturgeon says a vote on breaking up Britain is even “more likely” as theresa May rules out membership of the european single market. March 2017: First Minister confirms she will ask the UK Government for permission to hold a referendum.
One week later: the snp and Greens vote for her timetable. it commits sturgeon to seeking a vote some time between autumn 2018 and spring 2019. But theresa May says: “Now is not the time” in response
to sturgeon’s indyRef2 demand.
June 2017: the snp lose 21 seats in general election. tories make gains in scotland. sturgeon pledges to “reflect” on the result.
Autumn 2018: sturgeon’s prediction for the Brexit picture set to become clearer. she plans to return to Parliament to set out her judgment on the “best way forward”. May 2021: the next holyrood election. a fourth term for the snp, let alone a majority, may be tough to achieve. sturgeon needs to have wrapped up independence by now – or go into the election explicitly seeking a split from the UK.