Scotland’s First Minister is to launch the first in a new series of papers that she says will form an “updated independence prospectus”. Nicola Sturgeon is due to unveil the first of documents in the Scottish Government’s Building a New Scotland series at Bute House in Edinburgh on Tuesday.
And while she said the papers – seen as update of the independence white paper published in the run-up to the 2014 referendum – would “set out openly the challenges a newly independent Scotland would face”, she also stressed they would also “point the way” to a wealthier, fairer and more resilient nation. The launch comes after Ms Sturgeon’s SNP won the 2021 Holyrood election on a manifesto which included a commitment to hold another referendum on Scotland’s place in the UK once the Covid crisis had abated.
The SNP did not win a majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament in that election, but voters having also returned a record number of Green MSPs created a pro-independence majority within Holyrood. Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie will join Ms Sturgeon in Bute House – the First Minister’s official residence – for Tuesday’s launch event.
