Scotland is inching closer to a new independence referendum after Nicola Sturgeon warned any attempt to block a vote would be “outrageous”.
The First Minister demanded the right to hold a new separation vote after pro-independence parties won a Scottish Parliament majority – despite the SNP falling one seat short.
UK minister Michael Gove today repeatedly refused to rule out trying to block a referendum bid – which could tear apart the Union of the UK – in the Supreme Court.
He signalled the UK government would not do so, saying “of course” Scotland is allowed to leave the UK, but refused to clarify.
Ms Sturgeon said she “heard him say” that the UK government would not fight a legal bid for a referendum in the courts.
(Image: Getty Images)
She intends to press ahead with legislation for a new independence vote, seven years after losing the last one in 2014.
Ms Sturgeon said: “There is a fundamental issue of democracy here. We have just won a landslide.
“I am being asked to answer the question ‘what do you do if a UK Government refuses point blank to accept democracy’. That is just an absurd position for anybody to be put into.”
She told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “I think it would be absurd and completely outrageous if it ever got to that point – if it ever got anywhere close to that point.
“Because remember, for this to end up in court – which is not something I ever want to see – it would mean a Conservative government had refused to respect the democratic wishes of the Scottish people and the outcome of a democratic election, and tried to go to the Supreme Court to overturn Scottish democracy.”
She added any attempt to block a referendum would be “a grave and serious and undemocratic situation” and accused the UK government of showing a “lack of respect for Scottish democracy”.
The SNP won 64 out of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and the pro-independence Greens also won eight seats.
Today the triumphant First Minister said there was a clear mandate for an independence vote in the next four years.
And SNP deputy leader Keith Brown even signalled Scotland could trigger a wildcat vote.
He said if No10 scuppered another independence vote, “I believe the referendum will still happen”.
Mr Gove repeatedly refused to say if Boris Johnson will try to block a second independence vote in the courts.
The Cabinet Office minister was asked three times by Sky News if the Prime Minister could go to court to halt any bid from the Scottish Parliament.
But rather than ruling it out he said “we’re not going to go there” and “we’re not even going there at the moment.”
He also refused to say if there were any circumstances in which Boris Johnson would agree to a second referendum.
Instead he replied: “It’s not an issue for the moment.
“Of course, the people of Scotland, as we saw in the referendum in 2014, they have that right, but it is absolutely important that we concentrate now on the issues in front of us.
“Of course, one of the things to bear in mind is that while Nicola Sturgeon obviously secured a good result, the SNP did not get a majority in this election as they did in 2011.
“In 2011 the SNP under Alex Salmond got a majority, a referendum then followed. It’s important to remember that at that time every party in the Scottish Parliament thought that it was appropriate to hold a referendum then.”
Mr Gove was also asked on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show and gave similar answers.
Asked if Scotland was allowed to leave the UK, he replied: “Of course it is”.
Asked how, he replied: “Through a legal referendum that would allow people to make that choice.”
The Prime Minister has invited SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon for crisis talks on the Union after the First Minister warned he would be standing in the way of democracy if he denies Scotland a second independence referendum.
The SNP fell one seat short of an overall majority in the Scottish parliament elections, securing 64 seats, but the final result still leaves Holyrood with a pro-independence majority.
In her victory speech, Ms Sturgeon told supporters the result proved a second independence vote was the “will of the country” and said any Westminster politician who stood in the way was “picking a fight with the democratic wishes of the Scottish people”.
But Boris Johnson , in a letter to Ms Sturgeon, argued the UK was “best served when we work together” and called for a conversation about “our shared challenges” in recovering from the pandemic.
In a letter shared by No 10, the Prime Minister congratulated Ms Sturgeon on her re-election and said: “I would like to invite you to join me, UK Government colleagues and others at a summit meeting to discuss our shared challenges and how we can work together in the coming months and years to overcome them.
“We will all have our own perspectives and ideas – and we will not always agree – but I am confident that by learning from each other we will be able to build back better, in the interests of the people we serve.”
