Scotland’s Sturgeon to Request Right to Hold Independence Vote

(Bloomberg) -- Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon reiterated her plan to demand the right to hold another independence referendum.

Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh that she will submit a so-called Section 30 request for the transfer of power with the aim of holding a referendum in 2020. After her Scottish National Party won 48 of the 59 seats in Scotland in last week’s election, Sturgeon has said she has the mandate for another vote on breaking away from the rest of the U.K. in the wake of Brexit.

“This is a watershed moment for Scotland,” Sturgeon told lawmakers in Edinburgh on Tuesday. “So this week I will take the next steps to secure Scotland’s right to choose.”

The election set up a renewed standoff over the future of the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he won’t allow another vote and that Scotland should stand by the result of the last referendum in 2014, when Scots chose 55% to 45% to remain in the U.K. Sturgeon says it’s undemocratic to deny permission because of Scotland’s rejection of Brexit.

Sturgeon’s semi-autonomous government sent a Section 30 demand in March 2017 following the U.K.s decision to trigger the process of leaving the European Union.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alastair Reed in Edinburgh at areed12@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rodney Jefferson at r.jefferson@bloomberg.net

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