UPDATE - Scotland plans 2nd independence referendum next year

UPDATES WITH MORE INFORMATION, BACKGROUND; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Tuesday proposed Oct. 19, 2023 as the date for a second independence referendum.

Sturgeon’s announcement came as the government published a new bill on the second vote.

The purpose of the referendum is “to ascertain the views of the people of Scotland on whether or not Scotland should be an independent country,” Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament.

Sturgeon said she has written to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for formal consent, a step necessary to ensure the legality of the vote.

Johnson and previous Tory governments have repeatedly said the first referendum in 2014 was a “once in a generation” event and Scots spoke their mind when they voted to remain part of the UK.

Sturgeon, however, clarified she will press on with her plan even if the central government if is not on board.

She also said the referendum must be lawful, and the Scottish government will reveal what it is going to do if Westminster blocks the vote.

She said the Supreme Court has been asked to rule on the possible legal issues if a vote is held without the UK government’s approval.

A Downing Street spokesman said the central government will “carefully study the details of the proposal,” stressing that Johnson “continues to think it’s not the time to be talking about a referendum.”

The first referendum that asked Scottish voters whether they want to break free from the UK was a mere two years before the historic Brexit vote.

The government under then-Prime Minister David Cameron pledged better understanding for Scots from Westminster and “extensive new powers” for the Scottish Parliament.

Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party had full confidence that the country would survive, and even be better off, outside the UK, strengthened by the nation’s oil fields in the North Sea, world-famous malt whiskey, textiles, jet engines, and various banking and financial services.

The idea, however, was rejected by Scots, as just over 2 million votes (55.3%) were cast to remain part of the UK, while 1.62 million (44.7%) people voted for independence.