LONDON- On Thursday, Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish nationalist leader, said that she is willing to consider “all reasonable options” if British PM Boris Johnson will try to stop her from holding a Scottish independence referendum.
Sturgeon’s SNP won 48 out of 59 of Scotland’s parliamentary seats in the UK-wide election last week and she believes that this overwhelming support is a step in the right direction for such a referendum.
As of now, UK government consent is mandatory for a referendum. Sturgeon says she will write to Johnson to negotiate the power transfer from London to Edinburgh to hold a referendum.
“The question is often posed to me: ‘what will you do if Boris Johnson says no?’ As I’ve said before, I will consider all reasonable options to secure Scotland’s right to self-determination,” she said in a speech.
She has refused to elaborate on the options but she certainly does not envisage a referendum similar to a Catalonia-style, one without recognition or consent from the national government.
“In line with our values, we acknowledge that a referendum must be legal and that it must be accepted as legitimate here in Scotland and the rest of the UK, as well as in the European Union, and the wider international community,” she said.
Independence was rejected by the Scots in a 2014 referendum by 55% to 45%. This time, Sturgeon claims to have framed the right strategy to fight for Scotland’s self-determination right.
In the election last week, while Johnson did win a landslide victory in England, the Conservatives performed quite poorly in Scotland. They won only 6 of the seats on the basis of rejecting a second referendum from happening.
In Johnson’s opinion, the 2014 vote settled the question of independence and reopening the argument may be divisive and unpleasant for the economy.
On the other hand, Sturgeon believes that circumstances have evolved since the 2014 vote; especially considering that a Scot majority voted to remain in the EU while the UK as a whole voted to leave. Britain’s Brexit is scheduled for Jan 31st and the removal of Scottish people from the EU against their will is not mandated.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.