Ireland shows independence can work, Sturgeon tells SNP conference

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned that Boris Johnson's government will use Brexit to weaken the case for independence. But she cited Ireland and other small European Union member states as evidence that independence can work for a country like Scotland.

"Our neighbours in northwest Europe are wealthier than the UK. All of them. They are more equal than the UK. They have lower levels of poverty. They have higher productivity, which drives better living standards. And, of course, they all get the governments they vote for," she told the Scottish National Party's (SNP) annual conference.  "In measure after measure the evidence is overwhelming and conclusive – independence works. It works for Denmark, for Ireland, for Austria, for Norway, for Finland – and for so many others beside."

Ahead of this year's Scottish parliamentary elections, Ms Sturgeon promised a second independence referendum by the end of 2023, with the prospect of independence by 2026. However, she has ruled out a referendum before all coronavirus restrictions are removed, telling the party conference that her overriding priority was keeping Scotland as safe as possible.

The 2014 independence referendum was held with the consent of Westminster after the Conservative government temporarily devolved to Holyrood the power to call the vote. Mr Johnson has ruled out agreeing to a second referendum, but Ms Sturgeon said she hoped he would recognise that last May's election gave her a mandate to put the independence question to the Scottish people again.

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"Democracy must – and will – prevail. The United Kingdom is after all a voluntary union of nations. Until recently no one seriously challenged the right of the people in Scotland to choose whether or not they wished to become independent.

“Frankly it is not up to a Westminster government which has just six MPs in Scotland to decide our future without the consent of the people who live here,” she said.

Westminster control

Public opinion in Scotland is almost evenly split on independence, and although Brexit has boosted support for leaving the UK it has also raised new questions about the relationship between an independent Scotland and its neighbours. Ms Sturgeon said Brexit would make Scotland poorer but warned that unionists would use the damage it inflicts as an argument for continued Westminster control.

“By making us poorer they’ll say we can’t afford to be independent. By cutting our trade with the EU they’ll say we are too dependent on the rest of the UK. By causing our working population to fall they’ll say the country is aging too fast.

“They want us to believe we are powerless in the face of the disastrous decisions they have taken for us, and the damage those decisions is doing,” she said.

“No one is saying there won’t be challenges to overcome. We will set those out openly and honestly. Nothing will fall into our laps. But, like all countries, we face challenges whatever path we take. The question is this: which option – becoming independent or being governed by Westminster – equips us best to meet these challenges?”