Nicola Sturgeon is set to relaunch her campaign for a second independence referendum next month.
The SNP’s party conference includes a series of proposals for another vote and policies for a separate Scotland. Motions put forward include preparing for an independence campaign that puts “recovery at its heart” and bringing forward a draft referendum bill at the earliest opportunity, The Daily Telegraph reported.
If they are agreed by party members at the online event on September 10-13, it will mean that plans for another ballot would be put to Holyrood “at the earliest moment” after a “clear end” to the public health crisis.
Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that he will not countenance agreeing to a second referendum while he is prime minister. At the weekend Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, said that another contest would occur only when there was clear public support for one. Polls have shown that the majority of Scots do not want another vote on Sturgeon’s timetable, which would involve people going back to the polls before the end of 2023.
Pamela Nash, chief executive of the anti-independence group Scotland in Union, said it was “grossly irresponsible” to debate the future of the UK during the recovery from the pandemic.
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Other proposals for the conference include removing the Trident nuclear deterrent from the Clyde within three years of independence, lowering the state pension age to 65 and legally entitling everyone to a job. There is no detail on how these latter policies would be paid for, with recent figures showing that Scotland has a deficit of £15.1 billion and benefits substantially from fiscal transfers from the UK Treasury.
