Scotland will hold a referendum on independence (Image: Reproduction/Twitter)
Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced plans on Tuesday to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence in October next year, vowing to take legal steps to secure a vote if the British government tries to block its realization.
Sturgeon after the Scottish government, led by the pro-independence Scottish National Party, has published a referendum bill outlining plans for the independence vote scheduled for October 19, 2023.
She also said she would write to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking for permission to hold an advisory referendum, but had already made plans to gain legal authority if he decided not to authorize the vote.
“The cause of independence cannot be suppressed,” Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament. “It must be resolved democratically.”
“What I am not willing to do, and what I will never do, is to allow Scottish democracy to be the captive of Boris Johnson or any other prime minister.”
Voters in Scotland, which has a population of about 5.5 million, rejected independence in 2014. But the semi-autonomous Scotland government says Brexit, which most Scots opposed, leaves the issue needing a vote again.
Pro-independence parties won a majority in last year’s election and Sturgeon, under pressure from some in his party, has pledged to hold a vote by the end of 2023. Opinion polls suggest the vote will be very close.
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