NICOLA Sturgeon will today unveil her legislative programme with plans for the bill on a second independence referendum expected to take centre stage.
The First Minister will outline a series of bills in the annual Programme for Government (PfG) this afternoon, the same day MPs return to Westminster for a clash over no-deal and speculation that Boris Johnson may call a general election to be held next month.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland yesterday she drew attention to the referendums bill, introduced before recess, and which sets out the rules for a new vote.
She added: “We go back into the Holyrood session tomorrow. The bill we introduced before the recess, the referendums bill, to put the rules for a referendum in place, will resume its parliamentary progress. So we are getting ready for that. And with every day that passes right now, the arguments for giving people in Scotland that choice and for people in Scotland choosing independence becomes ever stronger.”
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The FM, who declared a climate emergency in April, is also expected to set out what her government will do to tackle climate change.
Pressed on when Scotland would “turn off the tap” on North Sea production, she told the BBC no date had been set to stop production “right now” and doing so could mean having to import oil and gas “at a higher carbon density” to meet energy requirements.
She added: “I will set out a very ambitious package of measures tomorrow to start that process of upping our game in response to the climate emergency. Nobody, I think, when they listen to the programme for government tomorrow will doubt the intent of the Scottish Government to lead by example as we have been doing and make sure Scotland ends its contribution to climate change by 2045 at the latest which is ahead of any other part of the UK.”
The PfG for 2019/20 will be the last one to cover a full year in the current Parliament; the one after it will come in the run-up to the 2021 election.
Constitutional Relations Secretary Michael Russell published a list of changes announced last year which he said were already improving lives. It included £12.9m of new Best Start Grant Payments; more than 1500 new electric vehicle charge points in homes, businesses and communities; free period products in schools, universities and college; and bursaries for care-experienced students in both further and higher education to £8,100 per year.
He said: “After 12 years in government, we have delivered significant improvements for the people of Scotland and we will continue to work hard every day to make people’s lives better and boost our economy. Our new Programme for Government will demonstrate the huge ambition we have for Scotland and how Scotland can meet the challenges ahead.”
Scottish Tory chief whip Maurice Golden said: “Every year Nicola Sturgeon sets out a range of warm-worded promises, and every year she fails to deliver. This is what happens when a nationalist government obsesses about breaking up Britain at the cost of the everyday priorities that should be its concern.”
The Scottish Green’s Patrick Harvie said: “The First Minister declared a climate emergency six months ago, but there has been little in the way of an emergency response since. In the face of this crisis we need to accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy. We know we can do this in a way which will create thousands of highly skilled jobs, and improve the quality of life for the people of Scotland. Scotland’s economy needs to be transformed, so it serves the people of Scotland and the planet.”
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