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19th December 2019
11:21am GMT
Nicola Sturgeon has called on the UK government to negotiate a transfer of powers to the Scottish parliament to allow another referendum on Scottish independence.
Sturgeon said there was an "unarguable" mandate for a new vote after the SNP won 48 of Scotland's 59 seats in last week's general election. In comparison, the Conservatives lost seven of their 13 seats. If successful, it's reported that the first minister plans on holding the second referendum on independence in the second half of 2020, and believes the election result has made the case for this "overwhelmingly clear". Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains opposed to holding another referendum on Scottish independence. In a statement, Sturgeon said: "We are therefore today calling for the UK government to negotiate and agree the transfer of power that would put beyond doubt the Scottish Parliament's right to legislate for a referendum on independence. "I anticipate that in the short term we will simply hear a restatement of the UK government's opposition. But they should be under no illusion that this will be an end of the matter. Scotland made it very clear last week it does not want a Tory Government led by Boris Johnson taking us out of the European Union. “That is the future we face if we do not have the opportunity to consider the alternative of independence.” “The document we are publishing today turns the question on its head. It is for the prime minister to defend why he believes the UK is not a voluntary union of equal nations. It is for him to set out why he does not believe people in Scotland have the right to self-determination. “And it is for the Prime Minister to explain why he believes it is acceptable to ignore election after election in Scotland and to override a democratic mandate stronger than the one he claims for his Brexit deal. We live in a democracy, and ultimately democracy must and will prevail.” Sturgeon will send a document to Westminster this afternoon which outlines her arguments and draft legislation for the proposed referendum. In 2014, Scottish voters backed remaining in the UK by 55% to 45%.Explore more on these topics:
