Scottish independence: Sturgeon wants indyref2 by 2021
(about 5 hours later)
Nicola Sturgeon is to update MSPs on Brexit and her plans for a possible Scottish independence referendum in a long-awaited speech at Holyrood.
Nicola Sturgeon has said she wants to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence by 2021 if the country is taken out of the EU.
The Scottish first minister will make a statement on "Brexit and Scotland's future" at Holyrood from 13:30.
The first minister told Holyrood that she would introduce legislation soon to set the rules for another vote.
BBC Scotland understands that she will not announce a specific date for a further vote on independence.
But she indicated that she would need the agreement of the UK government before actually holding a referendum.
Her spokesman said she would "strike an inclusive tone" while "setting out a path forward for Scotland".
Downing Street has previously said it will not grant a new Section 30 order, which underpinned the 2014 referendum.
But the Scottish Conservatives said Ms Sturgeon was "obsessed" by independence and was neglecting other issues.
But Ms Sturgeon said this position was "unsustainable" and challenged her party to increase support and demand for independence.
Labour and the Lib Dems also hit out in advance of the statement, while the Greens urged Ms Sturgeon to "fire the starting gun" on a new independence vote as an "escape route from Brexit".
She told MSPs: "A choice between Brexit and a future for Scotland as an independent European nation should be offered in the lifetime of this parliament.
The statement comes days before the SNP conference, which is set to be dominated by discussion of the party's "growth commission" paper of plans for independence.
"I can confirm that the Scottish government will act to ensure that the option of giving people a choice on independence later in this term of parliament is progressed."
Ms Sturgeon called for a second referendum on Scotland's relationship with the EU immediately after the Brexit vote in 2016, but put her plans on hold after the snap general election the following year.
The next Scottish Parliament election is due to be held in 2021.
At that point, she said she would come back and update MSPs on the "precise timescale" for the new vote - known as "indyref2" - once there was more clarity about the outcome of Brexit negotiations.
Ms Sturgeon said she hoped legislation for a referendum will be in place by the end of this year, which would allow a vote to be held once a Section 30 order is granted by the UK government.
But BBC Scotland's political editor Brian Taylor understands she will not set out a specific referendum date in her latest statement.
She insisted: "If we are successful in further growing the support and the demand for independence, then no UK government will be able to stop the will of the people or stop that will being expressed."
"Instead, she'll set out steps to protect her existing referendum mandate, leaving open the prospect of a ballot before the next Holyrood elections in 2021," he said.
The first minister added: "The immediate opportunity we now have is to help stop Brexit for the whole UK - and we should seize that opportunity. But if that cannot be achieved, dealing with the consequences of Brexit and facing up to its challenges will be unavoidable.
"The first minister hopes her statement will content SNP activists ahead of the party conference this coming weekend."
"I believe that the case for independence is stronger than ever. I will make that case, but I know others take a different view.
The first minister's official spokesman said Wednesday's 30 minute statement would "explore some of the issues that have arisen as a result of the ongoing Brexit situation and Scotland's constitutional future".
"So, as we take the necessary legislative steps over the next few months, I will also seek to open up space for us to come together and find areas of agreement as mature politicians should."
He said: "It will be a detailed and substantive statement setting out a path forward for Scotland amid the ongoing Brexit confusion at Westminster.
But she warned that if the only alternative was a "failed and damaging status quo", then "the process of change will pass them by and support for independence will grow".
"The first minister will take time to set out her thoughts on that front and in doing so she will seek to strike an inclusive tone."
Analysis by Scotland correspondent Sarah Smith
Analysis by Brian Taylor, BBC Scotland political editor
Nicola Sturgeon knows that the Westminster government will almost certainly refuse to allow another referendum within the next two year - so she needs to find a way to keep the constitutional argument alive while there is little prospect of an imminent vote.
Of course the SNP conference at the weekend is concentrating minds. There is a restlessness in the independence movement more generally, and there is a restlessness in the SNP.
The SNP know that by proposing another referendum they will be accused by those who do not support independence of introducing a divisive political issue at the worst possible time.
I was consulting various folk yesterday at Holyrood about their views, and one very senior figure in the party said that the way to placate the conference would be to announce a referendum and announce a date. There's just one snag - you might not win that particular referendum.
So the first minister is challenging other parties who do not support Scottish independence to come forward with their own ideas for constitutional change, promising that the SNP will engage fully and in good faith.
I think the argument here is that Brexit is the potential trigger for a further referendum because Scotland was told in the 2014 independence referendum that the way to stay in the EU was to stay in the UK. That proved not to be the case.
Ms Sturgeon is very deliberately talking of trying to find compromise and consensus amongst politicians - saying Scotland can do things differently from Westminster.
But the offer of independence has always in Scotland been predicated upon having the confidence to take charge of one's own affairs, and the other thing that Brexit does is it knocks the confidence of the nation.
It is an appeal that is clearly meant to reach beyond other party leaders and straight to voters who may not welcome independence, but might well appreciate the approach the first minister is proposing.
There is a pro-independence majority at Holyrood, between the Greens and the SNP, which saw the parliament back calls for a new referendum in March 2017.
The first minister also announced plans to establish a Citizens Assembly to consider Scotland's future, which she said had been done in Ireland to "help find consensus on issues where people have sharply divided opinions".
Green co-convener Patrick Harvie said it would be "hugely disappointing" if the SNP let the mandate to hold a second referendum within the current Holyrood term expire "in the face of Tory obstructionism".
She said this would bring together a representative cross-section of Scotland with an independent chair, and be tasked with considering:
He added: "Scotland needs an escape route from a Brexit it didn't vote for and the Scottish Greens stand ready to campaign hard for an independent Scotland in the EU."
Ms Sturgeon initially called for a second independence referendum after the Brexit vote in 2016, but put her plans on hold after the SNP lost 21 seats in the general election the following year.
The UK government has said it would not give its backing to a new referendum via a "section 30 order" like the one which underpinned the 2014 vote.
A Number 10 spokesman said on Tuesday that Theresa May's stance on the issue of a second independence referendum "has not changed" - with the prime minister having previously made clear her opposition.
Ms Sturgeon told MSPs in March that "the legal basis of any future referendum should be the same as the referendum in 2014, which is the transfer of power under a section 30 order", but said the "anti-democratic" Conservatives were "running scared of the will of the Scottish people".
Scottish Conservative interim leader Jackson Carlaw said Ms Sturgeon's latest statement was "inherently divisive" and "not what the majority of Scotland want".
Holyrood's other parties all oppose independence, and spoke out ahead of the first minister's statement.
He added: "Astonishingly, the way Nicola Sturgeon thinks we can come together is for Scotland to be plunged into another divisive referendum within the next 18 months.
Scottish Conservative interim leader Jackson Carlaw said Ms Sturgeon was "passing up the opportunity" to talk about topics such as education to instead focus on "her real priority - her plan for a divisive second referendum on independence".
"The SNP's plan is clearly to divide families, workplaces and communities all over again, and for the foreseeable future."
He said: "The only reason this statement is happening at all is because Nicola Sturgeon put a second independence referendum back on the table following the EU vote - and she has obsessed about it ever since.
"All this keeps open the divisions from the 2014 referendum - and leaves us with less time spent focusing on getting Scotland's economy growing again."
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said there was "no evidence that the people of Scotland want another independence referendum".
He added: "The mess of Brexit throws into sharp relief the challenges of leaving a political and economic union. The answer to challenges of the UK leaving the EU is not and never will be Scotland leaving the UK."
And Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie urged Ms Sturgeon to "tell parliament she has learned the lesson of Brexit, that breaking up long-term economic partnerships is damaging and divisive and that she does not want to inflict that on Scotland with independence".
