If Boris Johnson refuses to return more power to Scotland on Tuesday, the Prime Minister is set to provide a second stage or “route map” of her plan in a second referendum in Scotland. Ms. Sturgeon vowed to hold a second referendum in October 2023, despite polls suggesting that there is a clear majority denying independence.
Prior to her statement on Tuesday, she said:
“Westminster is making a big mistake in Britain’s idea of a voluntary partnership between nations.”
As a result of the 2014 referendum, 44.7% of Scottish people voted independently and 55.3% voted against it.
The Prime Minister said Scottish people must be able to make “democratic choices they voted for” in IndyRef 2.
Despite Westminster’s potential to thwart the sturgeon’s “route map,” the Prime Minister has vowed to continue her plans even if the government rejects them.
She said Westminster would “weaken the position of the British government” in Scotland and around the world if it tried to thwart her plans.
She added: “Frankly, the UK Government is not in a position to teach other countries the need to respect democracy norms when trying to stop democracy in the country.
“Westminster’s control over Scotland can only be based on an agreed voluntary partnership.
“Now is the time to give people the democratic choices they have voted for, and to independently build a more prosperous and fairer country in true partnerships with friends in Scotland and other parts of the UK. “
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The SNP’s power-sharing arrangements with the Scottish Green Party after the last failure to gain control of the Scottish Parliament mean that there is a majority in Indyref 2’s Holyrood.
Prior to her statement to Westminster, the Prime Minister said:
“It may be an inconvenient truth for our political opponents, but it is still a simple and unavoidable truth.”