EDINBURGH, (MILLAT/APP/AFP) – Scotland’s leader Nicola
Sturgeon is expected to win a vote in the Scottish parliament on Wednesday in support of a new independence referendum, despite opposition from London.
Lawmakers are due to back Sturgeon’s call for a second referendum when they vote in Edinburgh on Wednesday evening, following a two-day debate in the devolved parliament.
“For the UK Government to stand in the way of Scotland even having a choice would be, in my view, wrong, unfair and utterly unsustainable,” Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said on Tuesday.
As head of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP), Sturgeon has been a champion of independence although she needs approval from London to forge ahead with a referendum.
Winning the Scottish parliament’s approval would pave the way for her to ask the British government for the power to call another vote.
Scotland rejected independence in 2014, although the SNP argues Britain’s decision last June to leave the European Union warrants a fresh referendum as Scotland voted to remain within the bloc.
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday accused the SNP of “divisive and obsessive nationalism” and defended the “precious, precious union” of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.