Referendum in scotland | A showdown between London and Edinburgh takes shape

(LondonEidenberg) The British government has started a standoff between Conservative Boris Johnson and the Prime Minister of Scotland, the independent Nicola Sturgeon, who urges a self-determination referendum, supporting his party’s victory in the election.

Pauline Frisert
France Media Agency

Boris Johnson, who has the last word on whether or not to authorize this referendum, strongly opposes it. If M of the Scottish National Party (SNP)^{to me} Sturgeon tried to legislate for a referendum but if the British government did not cooperate, the conflict could be settled in justice.

“It would be absurd and completely malicious,” said M.^{to me} Sturgeon on BBC Sunday. If that happens, “it would mean that a Conservative government has refused to respect the democratic will of the Scottish people,” he warned.

For Boris Johnson, a referendum is “irresponsible”. The Tory leader believes the priority is to tackle the economic recovery following the coronovirus epidemic that has killed more than 127,000 people in Britain and brought the country to its knees.

He invited m^{to me} Sturgeon to “work together” in the face of their “common challenges”, inviting them to a meeting with other heads of local governments.

On Tuesday, during the traditional speech of Queen Elizabeth II, who will present the program of government’s national policy in Parliament, “We will go further [le pays] And move up a gear, ”the Conservative leader announced on Twitter.

“Instead of focusing on what splits, let’s focus on uniting,” said Michael Gove, who was interviewed Sunday on SkyNews by the minister responsible for coordinating the government’s action.

“Choose your future”

Nicola Sturgeon agreed with Boris Johnson on one point: the end of the epidemic is a priority. But he told the BBC on Sunday that he intended “after the crisis” to “give Scottish people a chance to choose their future in a referendum”.

Such a consultation took place in 2014 itself. At the time, 55% of Scots opted to remain in the UK. Building on this recent vote, Boris Johnson argues that such a referendum can only happen “once in a generation”.

However, the SNP believe Brexit was a game-changer, with 62% of the Scots opposed. The SNP aims to join the European Union as an independent state for Scotland.

Michael Gov argued that unlike the 2011 local elections, which saw major victories by separatists and a referendum 3 years later, this time “the SNP did not get a majority”.

According to the final results announced on Saturday, two days after the elections, the SNP actually lacked one seat, gaining 64 out of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament. However, she could ally herself with the Greens, in favor of splitting from the United Kingdom, which gained eight seats.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, whose party has polled 31 MPs, congratulated himself on Twitter for “stopping an SNP majority”.

For election expert John Curtis, “one of the reasons” for the “failed targets of separatists” is that Conservative and Labor voters worried about the future of the UK to try to stop the independence SNP to win locally Have shown themselves ready to vote. .

For this professor, “polls have shown the extent to which Scotland is politically divided”, he explained to the BBC.

However, the SNP may ally with the Greens, also in favor of seceding from the United Kingdom, which gained eight seats.

“It gives us two sides in the parliament that support independence, which will take this result as a mandate for another referendum. Lynn Benny of the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Aberdeen told AFP.

“The problem is, the Conservative government in Westminster will refuse in the short term. Our debate is therefore on the demand for a democratic referendum, but the legal position that prevents the referendum from happening because it is up to the British government to give it at the end of the day, “said Lynn Benny,” very difficult . Predict how this can be resolved.