NICOLA Sturgeon explained why Scotland should be independent to a global audience last night as she was interviewed by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
With a No-Deal Brexit looking increasingly likely the presenter spoke to the First Minister about Scotland’s future and the state of the Union.
The First Minister told the programme – the broadcaster’s flagship global affairs show – that Scotland’s “democratic wishes are being completely ignored”.
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Sturgeon went on: “Now, obviously we all want to make the best of a very, very bad situation, but increasingly for Scotland, the question is, are we going to continue to allow ourselves to be dragged down the wrong path by people like Boris Johnson -- and the majority of people in Scotland also didn’t vote for Boris Johnson to be prime minister -- or do we now decide to take our future into our own hands, so that Scotland can chart its own path, and as part of that be a close and cooperative partner with our friends, yes in other parts of the U.K., but also across Europe and the wider world.
“And that’s a really big decision for Scotland and -- given that we -- you mentioned opinion polls; the majority of people in Scotland according to all recent opinion polls now favour Scotland becoming an independent country.”
Presenter Amanpour questioned whether the 2014 referendum was “once-in-a-generation” and asked Sturgeon to explain her plan for holding the next one given the Tory Government’s opposition.
The First Minister told her the plan is to win the 2021 Holyrood elections, and rejected the idea that there can be no future vote on independence because it was “once-in-a-generation”.
“Yes, we had a referendum in 2014,” she said. “But circumstances have changed very dramatically since then, as we see with Brexit. And of course, democracy is not a single moment in time. People in any democracy have the right to change their minds. So I intend to fight in election on that basis.
“And if we win that election, then I don’t think it would be sustainable and certainly not democratic for any prime minister to stand in the way of Scotland’s right to choose.
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“It is entirely legitimate for Boris Johnson or whoever is prime minister to argue against Scottish independence, but it’s not legitimate to say that people in Scotland shouldn’t be the ones to make that choice.
“And you know, I think most people in Scotland believe that there is going to be another independence referendum and that the Prime Minister and UK Government simply cannot stand in the way of democracy.”
The lengthy interview on CNN International also saw the First Minister discuss the coronavirus pandemic, the threat of a No-Deal Brexit and women in politics.
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