Sturgeon says indyref2 ‘must happen’ next year

● First Minister tells party conference Westminster has ‘no right’ to block vote

Nicola Sturgeon says a second referendum on Scottish independence “must happen next year” and issued a rallying call to supporters, insisting: “We are getting ready.”

The SNP leader confirmed that she will seek the legal power from the UK government by the end of the year to stage a repeat of the 2014 vote on leaving the UK.

In her flagship address to her party’s autumn conference in Aberdeen yesterday, Ms Sturgeon said chaos of Brexit had rendered the union “unsustainable”.

She added: “Its time is coming to an end.”

But the claims were rejected by her pro-union opponents who warned independence will be divisive and mean more austerity and tax rises for Scots. The SNP leader also fired the opening salvo in the 2021 Holyrood election as she unveiled radical new police powers to remove domestic abusers from family homes and proposals to extend state childcare into the summer holidays.

In a 45-minute speech dominated by independence Ms Sturgeon insisted that she has a “duty” to stage

a second referendum next year to give Scots an alternative to Brexit. “My call is that the referendum must happen next year,” she added.

“And we are getting ready. By the new year, we will have completed our legislative preparations. We are already working to update the independence prospectus.

“And I can confirm today that before the end of this year, I will demand the transfer of power that puts the legality of a referendum beyond any doubt.

“And when I do, the question should not be to the SNP – what will we do if Westminster refuses?

“The question should be demanded of the Westminster parties – what gives you any right to deny people in Scotland our ability to choose our own future?”

Westminster has control over the constitution and an agreement must be struck to transfer power to Holyrood to stage such a vote, similar to the Edinburgh Agreement reached between Alex Salmond and David Cameron in 2014. This has been refused by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and the Queen’s Speech at Westminster this week effectively rejecting another referendum. The speech prompted the Scottish Government’s constitution secretary Mike Russell to warn that a court challenge to secure Scotland’s right to stage a second referendum “cannot be ruled out”.

But the First Minister insisted yesterday that the problem is the current constitutional set-up.

She said: “That problem is the Westminster political union. For Scotland, Brexit shows that the Westminster system is broken. And it is broken utterly beyond repair.”

Ms Sturgeon insisted her government had a “cast-iron mandate for an independence referendum”.

She added: “That fact is beyond doubt. But we don’t just have a right to offer the people of Scotland a choice over their future. In the circumstances now Scotland faces, we have a duty to do so. And it is what we intend to do.”

The fallout of the 2016 Brexit referendum, which saw Scots vote to remain in the UK, was branded a “disaster” by Ms Sturgeon.

She added: “We don’t yet know whether the UK will leave with a deal or without. But we do know that neither of these outcomes is in Scotland’s interests.”

While she said a no-deal Brexit would be “unthinkable” she added that “a deal of the type Boris Johnson is proposing would not be much better”.

The First Minister said: “His plans would take Scotland out of the EU, out of the single market and out of the customs union.”

She added: “Let me make this absolutely clear today, SNP MPS will not vote for that – not now, not ever.”

With a general election widely expected in the coming months Ms Sturgeon said it “can’t some soon enough”.

She added: “When it does our message will be clear, simple and unambiguous – vote SNP to demand independence and secure Scotland’s right to choose.

Ms Sturgeon said: “Some polls suggest that an election might result in a hung parliament. The SNP will never put the Tories into power. But I have a message for any Westminster party that wants SNP support. If you don’t respect Scotland’s right to choose our own future at a time of our own choosing, don’t even bother picking up the phone.”

Tory interim leader Jackson Car law said the speech showed that Ms Sturgeon’s priorities were not the domestic issues for which her government is responsible. Nicola Sturgeon wants to be judged on health and education, yet she couldn’t spare a single sentence for either during this lengthy and divisive speech,” he said.

Welcome former No voters on a political journey ‘with open arms’, says Keith Brown

The independence movement must win over wavering Scots with “open arms and understanding” as one fifth of voters are still undecided on the constitutional question, SNP delegates have heard.

Deputy leader Keith Brown, who is heading up the revised campaign for independence, says this will be “the key” to delivering a Yes vote in a future referendum.

Former Westminster leader Angus Robertson had earlier said that 20 per cent of voters in Scotland are wavering on the issue of independence and echoed the appeal for a “sensitive and respectful” approach on the doorsteps.

There have been concerns about an abusive element among the proindependence movement, particularly online, where

By Scott Macnab

so-called “cybernats” have unleashed a vitriolic broadside against pro-union opponents.

Mr Brown insisted that a growing number of Scots are “on a journey” towards independence as an alternative to the Brexit chaos engulfing the UK as he issued a rallying call yesterday, with recent polling showing 50 per cent support for leaving the UK.

“We need to get out there, we need to be chapping doors, we need make the case and gather support for the cause,” he told delegates at the party’s autumn conference in Aberdeen.

A rising tranche of Scots who voted No in 2014 have shifted to Yes, Mr Brown added.

“It’s people like that that we have to reach – people out there who are currently making a journey in their political opinions and currently re-assessing the nation’s future prospects. It’s really important to listen and listen respectfully.”

The key to success in the next referendum campaign will not be appealing to those who voted Yes in 2014, he added.

“We have to convince others who will be more reluctant to come across. The reason we have to do that is because we don’t win independence without them. If we think very carefully about the approach we take, I’m sure we can get further support for independence.

“We have to provide the reason and the context for people to make that choice; we have to persuade them with patience and understanding and with open arms.

“There’s no point in saying you got it wrong in 2014… We have to make sure that we make it as easy possible to come on board with our arguments. This is the key to building further support for independence.”

Mr Robertson now heads up polling organisation Progress Scotland which is seeking to produce research which will help make the case for independence.

A fringe event staged by the organisation yesterday heard one fifth Scots are “up for grabs” on the issue of independence.

Older voters, people born elsewhere in the UK and EU citizens in Scotland are the key groups which are most sceptical about independence.