NICOLA Sturgeon will this week formally request the powers to allow Holyrood to hold a legally watertight second referendum on independence.
The First Minister was jubilant yesterday after her party won 48 of Scotland’s 59 constituencies, up from 35 at the last election.
The result far exceeded even the SNP’s most optimistic predictions and, said Sturgeon, “renews, reinforces and strengthens” the mandate for indyref2.
Speaking at a press conference in Edinburgh, the SNP leader said: “This is not about asking Boris Johnson or any other Westminster politician for permission.
“It is an assertion of the democratic right of the people of Scotland to determine their own future.”
During one of only two campaign stops to Scotland, Johnson made clear he is not prepared to grant a section 30 order.
He guaranteed activists at the Scottish Tory manifesto launch at the end of November that there would be no new vote.
“If the outcome of this election is a strong Conservative majority government, then I can guarantee that we will reject any request from the SNP government to hold an independence referendum,” he said.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon to publish new legal case for indyref2 next week
“There will be no negotiation – we will mark that letter return to sender and be done with it.
“You already made your decision five years ago, when two million Scots said no to independence. Nicola Sturgeon promised you this was a once-in-a-generation decision and I will hold her to that.”
But yesterday, Sturgeon said the Tories and their staunch opposition to indyref2 had suffered a “crushing defeat in Scotland”.
“When I launched the SNP campaign in this room just over a month ago, I could not reasonably have hoped for a more emphatic victory for the SNP in this election,” she said.
“I acknowledge that not absolutely everyone who voted SNP yesterday is ready to support independence.
“But the point of unity that I do believe exists is this, whether or not Scotland becomes an independent country must be a matter for the people who live here – and for all of us, wherever we come from.
“It is not a decision for any Westminster Prime Minister – and certainly not for one who suffered a crushing defeat in Scotland last night.
“The Tories fought the campaign in Scotland on a single issue.
“They spoke about nothing else. They bombarded people in Scotland with the same relentless message day after day and night after night.
“They said a vote for them was a vote to deny people in Scotland the right to decide our own future.
“They said it was a vote to reject an independence referendum.
“Well, yesterday, the people of Scotland rejected the Tories instead.
“This stunning election win last night for the SNP renews, reinforces and strengthens the mandate we have from previous elections to offer the people of Scotland a choice over their future.”
READ MORE: Bernard Ponsonby destroys Scottish Tory's argument against indyref2
Johnson and Sturgeon spoke on the phone yesterday evening. A spokesperson for Number 10 said the the Prime Minister “made clear how he remained opposed to a second independence referendum, standing with the majority of people in Scotland who do not want to return to division and uncertainty”.
Responding Sturgeon tweeted; “And I made clear that @theSNP mandate to give people a choice must be respected – just as he expects his mandate to be respected.”
Yesterday, SNP politicians were sharing a graphic on social media pointing out the party had won 45% of the vote and 81% of the seats in Scotland. Across the UK, the Tories, they said, had only managed 43.6% of the vote and 56.1% of the seats.
The MP Peter Grant tweeted: “Tories claiming that it doesn’t count as a proper SNP mandate because we didn’t win as many seats as 2015.
“In other news, England’s 1966 world cup has been rescinded because they scored fewer goals in the final than Brazil did in 1958.”
Meanwhile, there were reports yesterday that the SNP had asked big money backers not to hand over donations this campaign.
A party source told the Guardian that the Sturgeon’s party had asked its wealthiest supporters to wait until next year’s independence referendum.
“There’s no need to ask just now,” they said.
The paper reports that the SNP spent around £1.7 million on the campaign, with funds coming mostly from reserves, membership fees and crowdfunding.
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