Sturgeon: Ban is reminder of Thatcher
THERESA May ruling out a second referendum is like going back to the days of Margaret Thatcher, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
On the eve of the SNP conference the First Minister said the Tories attempting to block a second referendum was a “democratic outrage.”
Ms Sturgeon said: “This is like winding the clock back to the bad old days of Margaret Thatcher.
“It is an argument for independence really in a nutshell, that Westminster thinks it has got the democratically elected mandate of the Scottish Government and the majority in the Scottish Parliament.
“History may look back on today and see it as the day the fate of the union was sealed.”
The SNP spring conference kicks off in Aberdeen today with the row over a second referendum set to dominate the event.
Ms Sturgeon who will address the conference on Saturday said the decision to hold a referendum is for the Scottish Parliament.
She said: “If the Prime Minister refuses to engage on the terms of a referendum before Brexit takes place, she is effectively trying to block the people of Scotland having a choice over their future. That would be a democratic outrage.
“It is for the Scottish Parliament, not Downing Street, to determine the timing of a referendum, and the decision of the Scottish Parliament must be respected.
“It would be outrageous for the Scottish Parliament to be frozen out of the process.
“The Scottish Government has a cast-iron democratic mandate to offer people a choice and that mandate must be fulfilled.”