Nicola Sturgeon has insisted there is an “indisputable mandate” for a second independence referendum as she launched a fresh campaign for Scotland to leave the UK.
The first minister said there was a “strong and compelling case” for Scotland to break from the Union as she launched the first of a series of new papers arguing for independence.
Speaking at a press conference in Edinburgh on Tuesday, she promised a “significant update” in the near future on how such a vote could be held if Westminster continues to resist efforts to hold a ballot.
Boris Johnson has repeatedly denied that he will permit a second vote, though Ms Sturgeon said the prime minister had “no democratic authority in Scotland and no moral authority anywhere in the UK”.
In order to grant a second referendum, UK ministers would have to grant a Section 30 order. This would allow a legally binding referendum to be held, as happened in 2014.
Ms Sturgeon recalled that when she was re-elected as First Minister last May it was on a “clear commitment to give the people of Scotland the choice of becoming an independent country”.
She said: “My duty, as the democratically elected First Minister, is to the people of Scotland, it is not to Boris Johnson or to any Tory prime minister. This is a UK Government that has no respect for democracy.
“That means if we are to uphold democracy here in Scotland we must forge a way forward, if necessary, without a section 30 order.”
While she accepted Holyrood’s competence to legislate for a referendum was “contested”, she added that "is the situation we must navigate to give people the choice of independence".
Ms Sturgeon said work on this was “well under way”, pledging to make a “significant update” about this to Holyrood “very soon indeed”.
Downing Street swiftly rejected Ms Sturgeon’s call for a second referendum.
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said: “The UK Government’s position is that now is not the time to be talking about another referendum.
“We are confident that the people of Scotland want and expect their governments to be working together to focus on issues like the global cost-of-living challenges, like war in Europe and the issues that matter to their families and their communities.”
Scottish Tory spokesman Donald Cameron said that pushing for a referendum during a cost-of-living crisis was “nothing short of shameful”.
Sarah Boyack, Scottish Labour’s constitution spokeswoman, said: “Far from making us wealthier, happier and fairer, the SNP and the Greens are putting our future at risk with plans that would make Brexit look like a walk in the park.”
