The Scottish government wants an independence referendum on its own

Edinburgh Sturgeon announced that she would soon present plans on how to circumvent the virtually necessary approval of another independence referendum by London. Sturgeon said the Scottish parliament had an “undeniable democratic mandate”. The headwinds from London came immediately: a spokesman for the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said he believed “now is not the time for talks about a second independence referendum”. The regional government on Tuesday published the first of several documents in which it intends to promote Scottish independence. The part of the country with a population of about 5.5 million could be more economically successful outside of the UK, so the argument was. Other documents on currency, taxation, spending, defence, social affairs, EU membership and trade are expected to be issued soon. According to Sturgeon’s current plans, a second independence referendum is scheduled for the end of 2023 at the latest. In the first referendum in 2014, a majority of 55% of voters opposed secession from the United Kingdom. However, the Scottish National Party and its partner in the Scottish Green Alliance argue that leaving the EU has fundamentally changed the situation. A majority of Scots (62 per cent) voted against Brexit. The Scottish Government is therefore committed to bringing Scotland back into the European Union.