NEW BID TO SPL IT UK ‘IN WEEKS’

Sturgeon unveils ‘fast-track’ plan to seek powers to hold Indyref 2

NICOLA Sturgeon will formally request the power to hold another independence vote within weeks, she announced yesterday.

The First Minister said she had also instructed an army of civil servants to draw up a new separation blueprint.

Miss Sturgeon will ‘seek agreement’ for the power to hold another vote on Scotland’s future – a so-called section 30 order from the Westminster Government – before her Referendums Bill completes its progress through Holyrood.

Her programme for government, the Holyrood equivalent of the Queen’s Speech, confirmed that civil servants will ‘update’ the prospectus for a separate Scotland before a referendum has even been approved.

She has already torn up key sections of the 2014 White Paper on independence, titled Scotland’s Future, including plans to keep the pound, lower corporation tax and a cut air passenger duty. Projected oil tax revenues in the document – which cost around £1.25million to produce and distribute – were several billions of pounds higher than proved to be the case.

Miss Sturgeon also unveiled a raft of measures to tackle the ‘climate emergency’.

In yesterday’s speech setting out her priorities for the next year, she took only 60 seconds to mention independence. She said: ‘Most importantly of all, we intend to offer the people of Scotland the choice of a better and more positive future as an independent nation.

‘The Referendums Bill introduced before recess is about to resume its parliamentary progress. I can confirm today that, during the passage of the Bill, we will seek agreement to the transfer of power that will put the referendum beyond legal challenge.

‘We have a clear democratic mandate to offer the choice of independence within this term of parliament – and we intend to do so.’

The Bill will face its first vote by November 8, then is expected to finish its route through parliament by Christmas.

SNP sources confirmed that proposals to request a section 30 order ‘within weeks’ were ‘fast-tracking’ a previous intention to demand one after the Bill passes.

It is understood that updating the 2014 White Paper will be a key part of the work of the strategy and constitution department, which has more than 100 staff.

Scottish Tory interim leader Jackson Carlaw said: ‘It’s typical of the First Minister that her statement both began and ended with independence. It really is the be-alland-end-all for her Nationalist Government.

‘Not only did she confirm her plan to push ahead with an unnecessary and unwanted Referendum Bill, but we also learned the utterly discredited White Paper from 2014 is finally set to be binned.

‘Perhaps... she should apologise to the people of Scotland for the deceit contained within it. The people of Scotland have had enough of this. They simply want Nicola Sturgeon to give it a rest.’

Miss Sturgeon confirmed that Scotland’s first low-emission zones will be introduced in Glasgow next year, to be followed by Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee.

She will consult on measures to bring about ‘zero emission city centres’ – with a total ban on diesel and petrol vehicles – by 2030.

The First Minister also unveiled plans to spend £500million on new bus lanes, in addition to designs to ‘reallocate road space to high occupancy vehicles such as buses’ on parts of the motorways around Glasgow from next year.

David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said he would have liked to see ‘a far greater emphasis on policies to reduce the cost of doing business’ in Miss Sturgeon’s programme.

Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said businesses needed ‘certainty and stability’ but both were ‘sorely lacking’ at present.

‘People simply want her to give it a rest’

IT took only 60 seconds of her Programme for Government speech for Nicola Sturgeon to mention independence yesterday.

It is no surprise that her dominant priority over the next 12 months will be desperately agitating for a rerun of the 2014 referendum.

She failed to outline measures to boost the economy or help businesses. Instead, she wants them to face another layer of uncertainty.

Some of her proposals to tackle the ‘climate emergency’, such as banning petrol and diesel cars from city centres within a decade and installing bus lanes on motorways, are alarming.

However, her failure at fully delivering on dozens of previous commitments suggests they may never see the light of day.