Sturgeon vows to go on and on
She invokes her inner Mrs T and says she’s going nowhere
NICOLA Sturgeon last night insisted she has ‘no intention of going anywhere’ as she prepares a fresh push for an independence referendum next year.
The First Minister said she plans to ‘be around a lot longer’ as she dismissed speculation about her political future.
In a BBC interview reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher’s pre-election vow in 1987 to ‘go on and on’, Miss Sturgeon said she intends to stay in her role as head of the Scottish Government.
She also said she would move ahead with her plans for a divisive referendum to be held in 2023.
Speaking ahead of the annual SNP conference, Miss Sturgeon revealed she will publish legislation on an independence vote next year and will step up the campaign for separation.
She also said that work is under way in the Government as part of a drive to persuade Scots to back her independence bid. But Miss Sturgeon admitted she has not yet persuaded the majority of Scots that leaving the UK is the right way to go.
Earlier this month, she told Vogue magazine that she was considering fostering children with her husband, Peter Murrell, when she steps down from politics.
It sparked speculation that the SNP leader was looking to stand down before the next Holyrood election.
But yesterday she told the BBC: ‘It is almost as if my opponents have concluded they can’t beat me or remove me from office themselves, so they’re kind of crossing their fingers and hoping that I’ll remove myself from office.
‘But they are going to be really disappointed because I’m going to be around a lot longer. I was elected seven months ago, having asked people in Scotland to put their trust in me for a five-year term as First Minister.’
Miss Sturgeon, 51, added: ‘I have no intentions of going anywhere right now as First Minister, but I hope I’ll still be relatively young when I get to the point of contemplating other things.’
The SNP manifesto for the Holyrood election pledged an independence referendum by the end of 2023 despite the pandemic. Miss Sturgeon said she would take the ‘necessary steps’ to ensure that happens.
Boris Johnson has repeatedly rejected any bid for a fresh vote. For a legally binding referendum to be held, the UK Government would have to approve a section 30 order.
Miss Sturgeon said she would press ahead and publish a referendum Bill, which could see the Scottish and UK Governments forced to argue over the constitution in court. She said: ‘We intend to take the steps that enable a referendum to happen before the end of 2023.
‘But equally importantly, and perhaps more importantly, actually, what will also happen and step up in earnest next year is the setting out of the substantive case for Scotland becoming independent.
‘That’s work that has begun again in the Scottish Government and we will set that out – the advantages and opportunities of independence – but also how we’ll navigate some of the more difficult issues.’
Miss Sturgeon told the BBC that she hopes Scotland will move out of the ‘acute’ stage of the pandemic early next year. She insisted she does not want an independence referendum to be held ‘while we are still worrying about face coverings and testing ourselves every day’.
Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed she is going to
‘Around a lot longer’ ‘Self-indulgent distraction’
spend the next four years obsessing about breaking up the UK and failing Scotland, just as she has done for the last 14 years.’
Scottish Labour business manager Neil Bibby said: ‘The First Minister’s interview today is a self-indulgent distraction from the challenges facing this country.
‘Frankly, this is merely a desperate attempt by the First Minister to drum up some interest ahead of SNP conference.’