Scotland Seeks a Second Vote on Independence

The First Minister refused to say if a Bill paving the way for another vote would be part of her programme for government to be unveiled at Holyrood on Tuesday.

The claims come after Ms Sturgeon launched a “new conversation” on Scottish independence on Friday, with the aim of targeting up to two million voters before the end of November.

“Do we control our own destiny as a country or will we always be at the mercy of decisions taken elsewhere?”

The Scottish Government has already set up a new business information service to provide advice and support for firms anxious about Brexit while a post-referendum business network is being set up with the Scotland Office, Scottish Trades Union Congress and business organisations to help shape future policy and support.

Uphill battle A second referendum could be a few years away.

“We do not look back at the referendum on independence with much in the way of nostalgia”.

The Scottish economy is struggling amid a global crunch in the oil market.

She said: “There can be no doubt that Brexit raises afresh the issue of independence. and second, important that the issue of European Union membership is, the case for independence is about much more than that”.

A YouGov poll of more than 1,000 Scots found 46% of respondents would vote for Scottish independence, while 54% want to remain in the United Kingdom, a change of 1% in favour of independence since the 2014 referendum result of 45% Yes voters and 55% No.

In the book, Ms Sturgeon said she lost her baby shortly before the 2011 Scottish parliamentary election campaign when she was deputy SNP leader. But support for independence has yet to top 50 percent.

Her speech in Stirling on Friday morning took place nearly two years after the September 2014 referendum, which saw Scots vote by 55% to 45% in favour of remaining in the United Kingdom.

The Scottish economy was, by some distance, the biggest issue for voters in 2014. Opinion polls taken since that 2014 vote have showed that public opinion in Scotland has remained largely unchanged.

After the June vote, Sturgeon said a second independence vote was “highly likely”. The UK government is responsible for Scotland’s membership of the European Union and for foreign affairs so obviously the UK government is going to take the lead in the negotiations in relation to our position in the EU.

Her pitch today is that the case for independence has changed, and that she will not be seeking to win people over with the same lines used two years ago.

In any case, a second referendum would probably have to be agreed to by the British government, which has given no sign that it is willing to do so.

Sturgeon, 46, told author Mandy Rhodes that the loss of a child was not something she wanted to be defined by but that she was now prepared to discuss the circumstances because she did not want young girls who consider her a role model to conclude that she had deliberately sacrificed parenthood for success as a politician.

He continued: ” I am someone who is fundamentally, deeply a unionist because I believe in socialism for everybody across Britain and I want every family, no matter where they are in Britain, to have maximum chance to achieve their potential.

“The current Labour Party shows little sign of providing that voice so Liberal Democrats must speak up”.