Defying PM Johnson, Scottish leader steps up battle for independence referendum

Scottish National Party (SNP) leader and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks during a statement at Bute House in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain December 19, 2019 - REUTERS 

London (Reuters): Scotland’s nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon will consider “all reasonable options” if Prime Minister Boris Johnson tries to stop her from holding a referendum on Scottish independence, she said on Thursday.

Sturgeon’s pro-independence, anti-Brexit Scottish National Party (SNP) won 48 of Scotland’s 59 parliamentary seats in last week’s UK-wide election, which she said showed overwhelming support for her agenda to hold such a referendum.

As things stand, a referendum cannot take place without UK government consent. Sturgeon, who heads Scotland’s semi-autonomous government, said she would write to Johnson on Thursday asking him to enter negotiations on transferring the power to hold a referendum from London to Edinburgh.

“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. Sturgeon refused to be drawn on exactly what those options could be, although she signalled that she did not envisage a Catalonia-style referendum, organised without consent or recognition by 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.

Scots rejected independence by 55% to 45% in a 2014 referendum and Sturgeon said the case for Scotland to break away from the rest of the United Kingdom had not yet been won. She framed her strategy as a fight for Scotland’s right to self-determination.

Johnson, whose Conservative Party won a landslide in England in last week’s election but performed poorly in Scotland, winning only six seats there, has said he would not allow a second referendum to take place.