Scotland leader builds case for independence vote

The separatist leader of the devolved Parliament in Scotland has vowed to try again to secure the grassroots support she needs for her nation to break away from the United Kingdom.

Nicola Sturgeon, who heads the pro-independence Scottish National Party, or SNP, has already presided over one referendum on the issue, which she narrowly lost in 2014. She said on Tuesday in an address to the Scottish Parliament that draft legislation for a second referendum will be made public ahead of elections in May.

Sturgeon had been planning to hold a referendum back in March, but shelved the idea because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

She now believes the UK's exit from the European Union－something Scottish voters largely opposed－coupled with Scotland's perception that it has not been able to fight the pandemic in the way it wants will tip the balance in favor of breaking away from the UK.

"That is why, before the end of this (Scottish) Parliament, we will publish a draft bill for an independence referendum－setting out the terms of a future referendum clearly and unambiguously to the people of Scotland," she said.

The Financial Times noted that recent opinion polls suggest Sturgeon and her party have, for the first time, secured a sustained majority of Scottish voters supporting an exit from the UK.

The UK's central government in Westminster gave permission for the 2014 vote and vowed to respect its outcome, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said such a referendum should be a "once in a generation" event, which suggests any future vote could be a plebiscite, rather than a legally-binding referendum.

Sturgeon, however, believes a landslide win for the SNP in May's Scottish elections would put massive pressure on Johnson to reconsider and approve a binding referendum.

"At next year's election, we will make the case for Scotland to become an independent country, and seek a clear endorsement of Scotland's right to choose our own future," she told members of the Scottish Parliament.

The Scotsman newspaper noted that the Court of Session in Edinburgh is also considering whether the Scottish Parliament, which is called Holyrood, can legally hold a second referendum without authorization from Westminster.

The Evening Standard newspaper said the draft legislation is likely to include the exact wording of the referendum question.

The BBC said opposition parties in Scotland have attacked Sturgeon's plans, with the Scottish Conservatives saying she is putting independence "front and center" while delaying a commitment to provide free childcare.

The party's leader, Douglas Ross, said: "We need to take Scotland forward and recover from this crisis together, not go back to the divisions of the past."