Scotland: victorious, separatists demand referendum on self-determination

Building on her party’s victory in local elections, Scottish Independence First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Saturday urged Boris Johnson not to oppose the Scottish people’s “will” in favor of a self-determination referendum.

The vote for Holyrood’s parliament in Edinburgh was a key issue in the British local election ‘Super Thursday’, with major implications for the unity of the United Kingdom, which had been weakened by Brexit.

Missing out on one seat with an absolute majority, the popular Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party (SNP) won a fourth term as head of the British nation: receiving 64 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, according to the final results. announced on Saturday.

The Scottish Conservatives come in second with 31 MPs, with their leader Douglas Ross congratulating himself on “blocking the majority for the SNP and an independence referendum”.

But the SNP could be proud, which was confronted by London for refusing to accept a new referendum of absolute majority obtained by the independence camp: the Greens, also in favor of seceding from the United Kingdom, won eight seats. . He was also successful in ousting the new Alba party from former Scottish Prime Minister and former SNP leader Alex Salmond, who had become a staunch opponent of Nicola Sturgeon and who did not win any seats.

“The people of Scotland have voted to give pro-independence parties a majority in the Scottish Parliament,” Nicola Sturgeon told her supporters.

“There is simply no democratic justification for Boris Johnson, or for anyone, for trying to block the Scottish people’s right to choose their future,” she said. “This is the will of this country”.

opposition to Brexit

Boris Johnson, who has the final word on whether or not to authorize this referendum, strongly opposes it, believing that such consultations can only happen “once in a generation”.

In the 2014 referendum, 55% of voters rejected independence. However, the SNP believes that Brexit has been a game-changer, with Scots opposed by 62%, and the British nation should now be able to join the EU as an independent state.

Boris Johnson, who did not visit Scotland during the campaign, congratulated the Scottish prime minister and invited him for a meeting with the British government, saying there was a need to “work together” on “common challenges” such as recovering from the pandemic . claimed the lives of more than 127,000 people in Britain.

London mayor re-elected

In the rest of Britain, Thursday’s election, a massive Tories victory in the 2019 legislative elections and the first vote since Brexit, was a test for Boris Johnson’s Tories.

In England, Labor protests have persisted across several major vassals, most notably in London where Sadiq Khan, who became the European capital’s first Muslim mayor in 2016, was re-elected against conservative Sean Bailey. Labor have also won in Manchester and Liverpool.

But overall, the results are positive for the prime minister’s party, on the strength of the success of the anti-Covid vaccination campaign, progress in the non-industrialized and Brexit-winning regions of the north, and the victory of the deputy seat of ‘Hartlepool’, 50 A labor stronghold for years.

After this severe defeat, the Labor Party finds itself in the throes of internal strife. Called in for questioning, its centrist leader Keir Starmer promised that he would do “whatever is possible” to gain the confidence of the popular classes, but above all his first decision sparked anger in Labor’s left.

UK Labor number two Ms Angela Renner has been removed as the party’s election officer, according to the PA news agency.

In Wales, Labor can claim good results: they get 30 out of 60 seats in the local parliament, while 16 seats for the Tories allow them to remain in power.

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