Never mind London's refusal and the failure of a previous consultation: the Scottish Prime Minister reaffirmed on Tuesday her determination to organize a new referendum on the independence of the British nation in the fall of 2023.
“I can announce that the Scottish Government proposes that the independence referendum be held on October 19, 2023,” Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told local parliament.
To organize this referendum, Mrs. Sturgeon, leader of the independence party SNP, must obtain the agreement of the British government, which is firmly opposed to it.
The Scots had already been consulted on the subject in 2014 and had voted 55% to remain within the United Kingdom and based on this vote, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson argues that such a referendum cannot happen " only once per generation.
The SNP, however, believes that Brexit has been a game-changer, with Scots opposing it by 62%. The SNP's aim is for Scotland to join the European Union as an independent state.
Nicola Sturgeon said she was ready to negotiate with the British Prime Minister but warned she would not allow "Scottish democracy to be a prisoner of Boris Johnson".
Expecting a legal standoff, she took the lead and announced that the Supreme Court had been asked to determine whether the Scottish Parliament had the power to legislate to organize this referendum without the agreement of the British government.
Supreme Court opinion
If the court decides in his favor, the leader of the separatists will have won his bet. In the event of a defeat in court, Nicola Sturgeon has warned that she will use the next legislative elections, scheduled for 2024, as a "de facto referendum". His party would then campaign on only one question: "Should Scotland become an independent country?".
"Whatever the way, the people of Scotland will have their say," she said.
If the polls show that Scottish opinion remains divided on the question of independence, the popular leader of the independentists relies on her fourth mandate - obtained last year - to justify her approach, as she explained in a letter to Boris Johnson.
“You and I will never agree on the merits of independence for Scotland. But I would expect a Democrat to find it unacceptable that the people of Scotland would be prevented from making that choice given the clear majority for a referendum in the Scottish Parliament,” she wrote to him.
Reacting to his plan as he was on his way to the NATO summit in Madrid, Boris Johnson promised to study it “very carefully” and respond “appropriately”.
However, he said that "this country's priority should be to build a stronger economy" after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has slammed Nicola Sturgeon's 'selfish obsession' with a 'dividing' referendum, saying Scots care more about the cost of living crisis or waiting times to vote. get treated.
Nicola Sturgeon's determined speech coincides with the presence in Scotland this week of Queen Elizabeth II.
The 96-year-old sovereign has been taking part in a week of royal events in Scotland since Monday, alongside members of her family.
The Queen, who has had trouble getting around for months, appeared smiling on Tuesday watching a military parade in the gardens of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
Although as monarch, Elizabeth II must observe strict political neutrality, The Telegraph considered that her unannounced visit to Scotland "had a political impact as always polite".
"Without speaking - and almost without moving in public - she launched into the kind of display of soft diplomacy that she has spent 70 years perfecting," the conservative newspaper said.
