Sturgeon calls plan to sink Scottish independence 'desperate'

MADRID, 4 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called the idea of ​​new British legislation that would limit hopes of Scottish independence "desperate".

"Only those who fear losing feel the need to change the democratic goals. This desperate suggestion is proof positive that the independence arguments are winning," the Scottish first minister said on her Twitter account.

Sturgeon has thus reacted to a plan by senior UK government officials to introduce legislation that would require more than half of the Scottish electorate to vote for independence, rather than a majority.

Thus, the ministers would be trying to introduce new barriers to block the independence movement, as the Sunday Times has learned.

This new law would require evidence for at least a year that at least 60 per cent of Scottish voters want a new referendum to take place before the central government will consider it.

In the event that a new vote is agreed, it would be necessary for at least 50 percent of the entire electorate to vote to leave the union, instead of a majority of more than half of those who voted, as happened in the 2014 independence referendum and in the 2016 Brexit vote.

In 2014, 85 per cent of the Scottish electorate voted and 55 per cent supported remaining in the union.

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, one of whom will be appointed as the new prime minister on Monday, have voiced their opposition to a new vote. For its part, the Scottish Government has indicated its intention to hold another referendum on 19 October 2023.