Nicola Sturgeon blames “aggressive unionism” for undermining devolution and says independence for Scotland is the only way to secure a partnership of equals between the nations that make up the UK.
Scotland’s first minister, whose government has asked the UK Supreme Court to rule on whether the parliament in Edinburgh has a legal right to hold a “consultative” referendum on breaking away from the UK, will tell supporters of her Scottish National party on Monday that separation would reset the country’s relationship with the rest of the UK.
But excerpts of her speech, released ahead of her closing address to the SNP’s first in-person national conference since the Covid-19 outbreak, did not directly deal with the economic questions that have dominated the independence debate, such as which currency an independent Scotland would use or the creation of a trade border with England in the event of an independent Scotland joining the EU.
Sturgeon has argued that Scotland has suffered from a “democracy deficit” as the UK government encroached on powers of the devolved government since Brexit, taking unilateral decisions over matters that should fall under the jurisdiction of Edinburgh.
This undermined the idea of the UK as a voluntary union of nations, she has argued. Sturgeon and other SNP leaders have also said that the party’s victory in the 2021 elections for the Scottish parliament was a mandate for another independence vote.
“There is a point here that at first glance might seem curious, but it is in my view, becoming increasingly true,” Sturgeon will say in Aberdeen on Monday. “Independence is actually the best way to protect the partnership on which the UK was founded — a voluntary partnership of nations.”
Sturgeon’s campaign for a second plebiscite on ending Scotland’s 315-year union with England has stalled, with the UK government refusing to allow it, and the country split roughly in the middle, according to opinion surveys. The Supreme Court’s hearing on whether she can hold a referendum next year without the agreement of the Westminster government starts on Tuesday.
Opposition parties have accused her of neglecting governance and said, eight years after Scots voted 55 per cent to 45 per cent in favour of the union, that she should have come up with answers to concerns over the economy, trade and pensions that ultimately decided the 2014 vote in favour of the union.
Sturgeon will say on Monday that the economic case for independence will be made in the latest papers to be released by the Scottish government in the next week.
“Our economic prospectus will make the economic case for independence,” she will say. “It will set out how we can build a new, sustainable economy based on our massive renewable energy resources, and it will show how in an independent Scotland, we can deliver lower energy prices and stronger security of supply.”
