Sturgeon 'determined' about Scotland vote

Any move to block a second Scottish independence referendum would be a "democratic outrage", First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says.

Nicola Sturgeon

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Source: AP

Scotland's first minister is "determined" to have a second independence referendum despite British Prime Minister Theresa May vowing to block one.

Nicola Sturgeon said a move to stop a second referendum would be a "democratic outrage" after Downing Street announced it would reject calls for another vote before Brexit.

May's position was confirmed by Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who said Sturgeon's timetable for a referendum - between autumn 2018 and spring 2019 - would be "rejected conclusively".

Ms Sturgeon wants a referendum to coincide with the end of Brexit talks, when she says the terms of the UK's deal to leave the EU will become clear.

"I am determined that I will have one on my timescale because the will of the Scottish Parliament will be respected," Ms Sturgeon told BBC Scotland on Thursday.

"I accept that the prime minister has said what she has said today. What I don't accept is that that position is an acceptable one, a democratic one or a sustainable one."

MSPs will vote next week on whether to support Ms Sturgeon's request for a section 30 order from Westminster, which would be needed to hold a legally binding ballot.

Sturgeon said earlier on Thursday: "If the prime minister refuses to engage on the terms of a referendum before Brexit takes place then she is effectively trying to block the people of Scotland having a choice over their future. That would be a democratic outrage."

But in an interview for ITV news, Mrs May said: "Right now we should be working together, not pulling apart.

"We should be working together to get that right deal for Scotland, that right deal for the UK, as I say that's my job as prime minister and so for that reason I say to the SNP: now is not the time."

A spokesman said May hoped the Scottish parliament would back away from staging a vote.

The call for an independence referendum comes just two-and-a-half years after Scots voted to keep the union.

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Source: AAP



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