PM cannot stop new referendum, insists Sturgeon
‘We face many years of Brexitobsessed Tory governments that we didn’t vote for’
‘There is no justification for Boris Johnson to block the right of the people of Scotland to choose their future’
NICOLA STURGEON yesterday claimed there was “simply no democratic justification” for Boris Johnson refusing a second independence referendum despite the SNP falling short of a majority in the Holyrood election.
Speaking before a lectern bearing the slogan “Scotland’s Choice”, Ms Sturgeon said there was “a fundamental democratic principle” that a referendum should be staged after the SNP and proindependence Greens together won most of Holyrood’s 129 seats.
She said that the Prime Minister blocking a vote would mean the UK was no longer “a voluntary union of nations” and concluded: “That in itself would be a very powerful argument for independence.”
Ms Sturgeon also took aim at Mr Johnson, saying: “We are facing many more years of Right-wing Brexitobsessed Tory governments that we don’t vote for, taking us in a direction we haven’t chosen.”
But constitutional affairs are reserved to Westminster and David Cameron only agreed the 2014 referendum after Alex Salmond led the SNP to an outright majority in the 2011 Holyrood election. UK Government insiders said Ms Sturgeon’s failure to emulate this achievement made it much easier politically to reject another vote.
Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tory leader, said people were “watching in disbelief ” Ms Sturgeon’s demand after she reassured them only a few days ago in a TV debate that their SNP votes would not be used to endorse a second independence referendum.
Ms Sturgeon wants to hold a referendum by the end of 2023 and plans to press ahead with her own vote if the PM refuses to grant her the powers and challenge him to block it in court. Any “wildcat” referendum organised by Ms Sturgeon faces a boycott by Unionist voters, undermining the result.
The SNP won 64 of 129 seats, giving them clear victory and a fourth term in power. However, this was one short of a majority and one more than in the 2016 election following mass tactical voting by Unionists.
In a major boost for Mr Johnson and Mr Ross, the Conservatives achieved the same total of 31 seats they got under Ruth Davidson. Holyrood’s pro-independence majority rose slightly after the Greens increased their seats from six to eight. The First Minister insisted that a “majority was a long shot as we have a PR system” and she was “thrilled” with the result, with the most votes and highest share recorded in Holyrood election history.
Despite the popular vote splitting almost evenly between pro and antiindependence parties, she said the SNP had “emphatically” won the contest and accused the Unionist parties of “trying to redefine what constitutes” a victory.
Referring to her referendum pledge, she concluded: “All of that is what I promised and all of that is what I intend to deliver.” She said: “It is a commitment