Nicola Sturgeon is to publish a draft bill next week calling for a second Scottish independence referendum in a direct challenge to Theresa May’s hardline stance on Britain leaving the EU.
The first minister told the Scottish National party conference in Glasgow she had a powerful political mandate to defend Scotland’s vote in favour of remaining in the EU in June’s vote. But the UK government’s recent rhetoric and policies on immigration and remaining within the EU single market made it clear the Tory party had now been taken over by its “rampant” and xenophobic right wing.
To applause, Sturgeon told the prime minister: “Hear this: if you think for one single second that I’m not serious about doing what it takes to protect Scotland’s interests, then think again.”
Sturgeon then won a standing ovation when she announced that the draft Scottish independence referendum bill would be published next week – earlier than her officials had previously signalled.
The first minister said she wanted the legislation in place to trigger a second independence vote before the UK is expected to formally leave the EU in March 2019 – a stance she had recently backed away from.
She said: “I am determined that Scotland will have the ability to reconsider the question of independence – and to do so before the UK leaves the EU – if that is necessary to protect our country’s interests.”
Her official spokesman cautioned that this was designed to give the Scottish government a full range of options: its immediate goal was to get the strongest powers possible for Holyrood in the Brexit deal. He said Sturgeon needed to see exactly what was on the table.
He said the Tories were fighting a “blue on blue civil war on what they think Brexit will be. We need the UK government to give much needed clarity on what they have in mind before we can be reasonably expected to come up with a package for Scotland.”
Speeding up the referendum bill process opens up a deepening and increasingly significant political divide between the Scottish and UK governments, showing Sturgeon’s increasing confidence that the Tories’ shift to a harder line on Brexit has strengthened her hand.
Sturgeon faces clear short-term obstacles to staging a second vote on leaving the UK. Scottish voters are still not convinced of the case for a fast second referendum and Holyrood requires Westminster’s legal authority to stage one.