According to the Scottish National Party, when will the second Scottish independence referendum be held?
What is the opinion of the UK government regarding holding the second Scottish independence referendum?
What policy does the Scottish National Party intend to adopt if the UK government opposes the Scottish independence referendum?
What has the local Government of Scotland requested from the UK Supreme Court regarding the Scottish independence referendum?
UK’s Supreme Court says it will hold hearings on the possibility of Scottish independence without London’s consent. UK’s Supreme Court announced on Thursday that it would hold hearings in October on whether Scotland can hold an independence referendum without the permission of the UK government.
October 2023, when SNP will hold the Scottish independence referendum
Nicola Sturgeon, the pro-independence First Minister of Scotland, has said that she plans to hold another referendum on separation from the UK on October 19, 2023. On Tuesday, June 28, Nicola Sturgeon announced the plan of the Government under her administration to hold the second independence referendum in October next year. The First Minister of Scotland announced that the Scottish independence referendum would be held on October 19, 2023. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Government says it has not and will not allow the referendum because Scots last rejected independence in a 2014 referendum. At any stage, a vote is not legally possible without the approval of the London government.
The request of the Scottish Government to the Supreme Court of the UK
Scotland’s local government has now asked the UK’s Supreme Court for an answer on whether it can decide to hold a statutory vote if London disagrees. The court said on Thursday it would hear the issue of the Scottish independence referendum on October 11 and 12, hearing arguments from both sides. Sturgeon and the SNP argue that UK’s exit from the EU and the Covid-19 pandemic have disrupted politics and the economy, and it is time to revisit the case for independence.
Scottish opposition to Brexit
England voters approved Brexit in the 2016 referendum, but Scottish voters overwhelmingly voted to remain in the EU. Like Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland has its parliament and Government and sets its policies on public health, education and other matters. But the UK government controls Scotland in defence and financial policy matters. Even if the referendum goes ahead as proposed, a majority vote will not make Scotland independent from the rest of the UK. Sturgeon has said that for Scotland to become independent after a yes vote, legislation must be passed simultaneously in the UK and Scottish Parliament. Sturgeon said that for Scottish independence, after a yes vote, laws must be given by the British and Scottish parliaments.
Sturgeon’s verdict on the Scottish independence poll
The Scottish National Party, led by Nicola Sturgeon, won a decisive victory in the May 2021 parliamentary election, with an increased vote share and just one seat short of an overall majority. They also won the 2022 Scottish local council elections with the largest share of the vote and an increase in the number of seats. A remarkable result for a party that has been in power since 2007. They now govern in a pro-independence coalition with the Scottish Greens, who are part of the Government for the first time.
Sturgeon believes the continued success of the Scottish National Party will allow her to hold a new independence referendum. Sturgeon has said that the Conservative Government in London took Scotland out of the EU against our wishes, creating the worst cost-of-living crisis in the G7, and the second-worst economic growth in the G20 – except for Russia.
Nicola Sturgeon’s plan for Scottish independence
The leader of the Scottish National Party announced the plan of the Government under his administration to hold the second independence referendum in October next year and announced that the vote would be held on October 19, 2023. Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), announced that she would write a letter to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to hold a referendum. Still, before this letter, she will put plans to obtain legal authorization in the event of London’s obstruction on the agenda.
Sturgeon and her supporters have been calling for Scottish independence from the UK for years. However, their desire for autonomy intensified again after UK’s exit from the EU. In introducing the referendum plan in the Scottish Parliament, Sturgeon said that “Scottish democracy cannot be a prisoner to Boris Johnson or any UK Prime Minister. The people of Scotland must have a right to choose.”
The first Scottish independence referendum did not reach the desired result of the independence supporters in 2014, with 5.5 million people voting against it. However, Sturgeon and her supporters say that Brexit is a solid reason to hold a second referendum.
London says that in 2014, the independence referendum ended with a margin of 10% in favor of its opponents, and there is no reason to hold it again. Nicola Sturgeon previously asked the Chief Legal Commissioner of Scotland to refer such a question to the UK Supreme Court due to the UK government’s objections that the referendum was illegal. Johnson and other senior leaders of the UK Conservative Party criticized the second independence referendum, calling it unreasonable and illegitimate.
