Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants her compatriots to vote again next autumn on whether Scotland should become an independent state. A corresponding referendum on secession from the United Kingdom should take place on October 19, 2023, Sturgeon announced on Tuesday in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. “The time has come to put Scotland on the right track. The time for independence has come,” said the politician.
In a 2014 referendum, a majority of Scots (55 percent) voted to remain in the UK. However, that was before Brexit, which the northernmost part of Britain had rejected with a clear majority (62 percent). The supporters of independence therefore hope that the situation will change if there is another vote.
The British government’s approval is actually required for such a vote, which it has so far refused to do. If necessary, however, Sturgeon intends to arrange the vote in such a way that it can be held lawfully without this consent. Experts expect lawsuits and legal hurdles.
