Scottish First Minister To Push On Campaign To Take Scotland Out Of The UK

The leader of the Scottish government said on Sunday that she will push on with her campaign to take Scotland out of the United Kingdom.

She stated that she would go ahead with her plan even if she loses a Supreme Court case seeking authorization to call a new independence referendum.

The Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants to hold a referendum in October 2023, but the Conservative U.K. government in London has said no.

Britain’s top court is due to hear arguments starting next Tuesday on whether Scotland’s semi-autonomous administration can organize an independence vote without the London government’s consent.

The Daily Sabah added that Sturgeon, who leads the Scottish National Party, said that if her Edinburgh-based government loses the court case, she will make the next U.K. national election a de facto plebiscite on ending Scotland’s three-century-old union with England.

Sturgeon stated that if the courts blocked a referendum, "we put our case to people in an election or we give up on Scottish democracy.”

Scotland and England have been politically united since 1707.

Scotland has had its own parliament and government since 1999 and makes its own policies on public health, education and other matters.

The U.K.-wide government in London controls matters such as defense and fiscal policy.