Scotland’s leader announced plans Tuesday for a referendum next year on independence from the United Kingdom.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party, proposed Oct. 19, 2023, as the date for an independence vote and announced she will submit the proposal to the British Supreme Court for review in remarks Tuesday.
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“This parliament has a clear, democratic mandate to offer Scotland that choice. The U.K. government, regrettably, however, is refusing to respect Scottish democracy,” Sturgeon said. “The U.K. and Scottish governments should be sitting down together, responsibly agreeing [to] a process, including a Section 30 order that allows the Scottish people to decide. That would be the democratic way to proceed.”
Sturgeon, a proponent of Scottish independence, has pushed for another independence vote in the aftermath of the 2016 Brexit vote. In the 2016 referendum, Britain as a whole voted to leave the European Union, but Scotland voted to remain.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stated he will look at Sturgeon’s plan but is focused on other issues such as the economy, according to the Associated Press.
“We will study it very carefully and we will respond properly. … I certainly think that we’ll be able to have a stronger economy and a stronger country together,” Johnson said.
Johnson has been a longtime critic of Scottish independence, with a spokesperson telling the National that the prime minister’s view has not changed.
“Our position remains unchanged that both ours and the Scottish government’s priority should be working together with a relentless focus on the issues that we know matter to people up and down the country,” a spokesperson said.
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The most recent independence referendum was held in September 2014, in which voters elected to remain a part of the U.K., with a 55% majority voting to not become independent.
