Nicola Sturgeon has declared she will turn the next general election as a de facto Scottish referendum if she is denied legal powers to hold a second independence vote.
The First Minister made it clear if, as is thought likely, the UK Supreme Court rules that Holyrood does not have the legal right to stage its own referendum the question will be put to voters in another way.
Sturgeon told MSPs in Holyrood: “If it does transpire that there is no lawful way to give the people of Scotland a choice of independence in a referendum, and if the UK Government continues to deny a section 30 order, the SNP party will fight the UK General Election on this single question - should Scotland be an independent country?"
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Sturgeon told the parliament she was proposing a “consultative” referendum on Scottish independence which, she claimed, would have the same legal status as the Brexit referendum and the previous Scottish vote.
The SNP leader said the she is instructing the Lord Advocate, Scotland’s chief legal officer, to go to the UK Supreme Court for clarification that Holyrood has powers under the Scotland Act for consultative referendum should be held on 19th October 2023.
Sturgeon said this process was under way “as I speak” saying that this “will be filed with the Supreme Court this afternoon”.
She said it was better to have clarity “sooner rather than later” and if the law court goes against her it would prove that “Westminster has the final say” but that would not be the end of the matter.
Outlining her bid to have an "indisputably legal referendum" she told MSPs at Holyrood: "The Scottish Government is today publishing the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill."
She said the vote would be held "to ascertain the views of the people of Scotland as to whether or not Scotland should be an independent country."
She said this would be a consultative referendum as the vote on Brexit was in 2016.
As a result she explained a majority vote would not by itself make Scotland independent, adding: "For Scotland to become independent following a yes vote, legislation would have to be passed by the UK and Scottish Parliaments."
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