Scotland wants fresh vote on independence – just look at election results, says first minister

After a landslide win north of the border in last week’s UK-wide election, Nicola Sturgeon said the case for another referendum was ‘unarguable’

Scots voted against independence by 55 per cent in 2014 in what was described as a ‘once-in-a-generation’ vote to determine the country’s future

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Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon sets out the case for a second referendum on Scottish independence on Thursday. Photo: AP

Published: 7:30pm, 19 Dec 2019Updated: 7:30pm, 19 Dec 2019

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Thursday outlined plans for a new independence referendum, arguing there was now a clear “constitutional and democratic case” for a fresh vote.

Her Scottish National Party won a landslide north of the border with England in last week’s UK-wide election, securing 48 of the 59 seats and nearly half the vote.

Scottish National Party Westminster leader Ian Blackford celebrates with party members following their general election win. Photo: AFP

That result, and previous SNP majorities at previous general elections in 2015 and 2017, made the case for another referendum “unarguable”, she told a news conference in Edinburgh.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives won a sweeping majority countrywide but lost more than half their seats in Scotland after campaigning against a new independence vote.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, centre, attends the launch of the Conservative Party Scottish Manifesto on November 26. Photo: Reuters

“Scotland made it very clear last week it does not want a Tory government led by Boris Johnson, taking us out of the European Union,” Sturgeon told reporters.