For Nicola Sturgeon, every step counts. And the Scottish Prime Minister intends, Saturday November 28, at the Congress of the Scottish Independence Party (SNP) of which she is also the leader, to continue to advance in the quest for independence of the British province.
“Independence is clearly in sight: with a common goal, humility and a lot of work, I have never been so certain that we will achieve it”, will declare the leader of the SNP in front of its members, according to the British press agency PA. Even if “Our main objective must remain the elimination of Covid-19 from our territory, Scotland must be ready for what comes after”, she added, in Glasgow.
Demands for an independent Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon’s hobbyhorse, are coming back in force after London’s much criticized management of the novel coronavirus epidemic.
“Sustained and majority opinion in public opinion”
It is now a “Sustained and majority opinion in public opinion”, according to the independence leader, that a poll conducted in early October by Ipsos Mori credited with ” very strong “ public support, satisfied 72% with its handling of the pandemic.
Its formation therefore appears in a position of strength ahead of the local elections in May. The SNP could win many seats in the decentralized Parliament of Holyrood, which is responsible for making its own decisions about education, health and transport. Mme Sturgeon had promised in September to fix before this ballot the terms and the date of a second referendum on the independence of the British province, in spite of the refusal of London.
Such an election was already organized in 2014 and the Scots had then voted 55% to stay in the United Kingdom. Since then, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly ruled out allowing Scotland to hold a new referendum, arguing it was a coming vote “Once per generation”.
Brexit has changed the game
But Nicola Sturgeon maintains that Brexit has changed the game for the Scots. The British province voted overwhelmingly in 2016 against leaving the European Union, adopted nationally and effective since the end of January.
“The Scottish people have the right to choose their future”, she will declare on Saturday, “The question facing everyone in the May election is: who should make the decisions that shape our future? “
She will encourage her troops to “Demonstrate with coolness and patience that Scotland is ready to take its place in the great family of independent nations”.
