Last week, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced plans to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence in October next year if her government secures the legal approval to stage it.
The announcement comes eight years after the question ‘should Scotland be an independent country?’ was first put to the Scottish people through a referendum. The referendum, which was described as a “once in a generation opportunity to chart a better way”, lost to 55 per cent of votes on the ‘no’ side.
Ms Sturgeon has now told MPs that the Scottish government wants to put the same question to the Scottish people next year on October 19th, 2023, and has asked the supreme court to rule on whether she can hold a non-binding referendum on independence.
She also wrote to British prime minister Boris Johnson formally requesting that Westminster gives Holyrood the legal powers to legislate for another vote under section 30 of the Scotland Act. However, Ms Sturgeon has made it clear she will push ahead, with or without the prime minister’s agreement.
Holding a second referendum is shrouded in legal problems, however, and there’s no certainty it will even happen. While many of the same issues which swayed voters in 2014 are expected to resurface – such as the economy, currency and the question of identity – the real issue on the table for 2023 is the fallout from Brexit.
In today’s episode of In the News, London Editor Denis Staunton reflects on the Scottish National Party’s renewed calls for an independence referendum and on what has changed since the last vote, and examines whether the Scottish public really wants another chance to vote on leaving the UK.
Today: Will Scotland get another chance to vote on its independence?
In The News is presented by Sorcha Pollak and Conor Pope and produced by Declan Conlan, Suzanne Brennan and Jennifer Ryan.
