Scotland’s leader raises heat on separation bid
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she remains committed to holding a legal referendum on independence after her party set out a plan of action should the U.K. government continue to refuse to grant one.
The Scottish National Party leader said that if the party wins May’s regional election in Scotland, the U.K.’s position will be untenable because voters will have demanded the right to make a decision on the country’s future. In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, she said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was “frightened of democracy.”
“I want to have a legal referendum. That’s what I’m going to seek the authority of the Scottish people for,” Ms. Sturgeon said when asked about whether her administration in Edinburgh would unilaterally hold an advisory one.
“And if they give me that authority, that’s what I intend to do: to have a legal referendum to give people in Scotland the right to choose.”
The SNP set out a road map this weekend for a referendum after the coronavirus pandemic is over, an escalation of a standoff with the government in London that’s set to weigh on politics in the U.K. following its departure from the European Union. The Scottish government, led by the SNP for 14 years, is opposed to Brexit, and Scotland voted against it in 2016.
The Scottish election — which Ms. Sturgeon said she still expects to go ahead as scheduled — is being framed as a vote on the right to another independence referendum, and Mr. Johnson’s Conservatives are increasingly concerned about how to tackle it.
Polls show the SNP is on track to win a majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament, and Ms. Sturgeon has pledged to hold a plebiscite in the “early part” of the next parliamentary session.
The SNP’s 11-point plan states that any new vote must be “beyond legal challenge.” But the document leaves open the possibility that the Scottish Parliament could back holding a referendum to force Westminster to then block it in the courts.
Mr. Johnson has rebuffed calls for a vote on separation, arguing that a 2014 referendum, in which Scots voted to remain in the U.K. by 55% to 45%, had settled the matter for now. That vote was held after thenPrime Minister David Cameron granted an order that transferred the necessary powers to Edinburgh.
Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said now is not the time for a referendum, and the SNP should be focused on improving Scotland’s economy, education and health care systems.
“People across Scotland want the focus to be on recovery, not referendums,” Mr. Ross said on Times Radio on Sunday. “I don’t believe there should be another referendum.”
But opinion polls now consistently show higher support for breaking away from the rest of the U.K. following Brexit. A Panelbase survey published in the Sunday Times shows support for independence leading the union camp by 49% to 44%, with 7% undecided. The survey suggests that the independence movement will benefit if Mr. Johnson remains prime minister.