The Scottish Government has proposed holding a second referendum on Scottish independence (commonly shortened to indyref2) from the United Kingdom (UK).

A first referendum on independence was held on 18 September 2014, with 55% voting “No” to independence. Ahead of that referendum, the Scottish Government stated in its white paper proposing independence that voting Yes was a “once in a generation opportunity to follow a different path, and choose a new and better direction for our nation”. Ahead of the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) said that a second independence referendum should be held if there was a material change of circumstances since the 2014 referendum, and specified one of those as the UK leaving the European Union (“Brexit“). The SNP formed a minority government after the 2016 election, and the “leave” side won a referendum on UK membership of the EU in June 2016, although 62% of votes in Scotland were opposed to Brexit. In 2017, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gained approval of the Scottish Parliament to seek a Section 30 order under the Scotland Act 1998 to hold an independence referendum “when the shape of the UK’s Brexit deal will become clear”. No UK prime minister has approved the transfer of power for another independence referendum under Section 30, and current Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will not sanction it while he is in office. In January 2021, the SNP stated that, if pro-independence parties won a majority in the 2021 Scottish parliament election, the Scottish Government would pass a bill allowing a referendum to take place without a Section 30 order. It is unclear whether the Scottish Government can legally hold a referendum through this means. A case was brought to the Court of Session regarding the legality of Holyrood holding a referendum without a Section 30 order, but was dismissed as being “hypothetical, academic and premature”. On 28 June 2022, it was revealed that Sturgeon is seeking to hold a second independence referendum on 19 October 2023.

Building a New Scotland