NICOLA Sturgeon confirmed she will "take the next steps" to secure a second Scottish independence referendum in the next week as she gave a speech on Thursday's election results.
Addressing Holyrood, the SNP leader praised her party's result, saying "the election was comprehensively won in Scotland by the SNP".
She said the Scottish Parliament would now need to consider whether it gives Boris Johnson's Brexit deal bill consent.
"The kind of future desired by most people of Scotland is very clearly different to that favoured by much of the rest of the UK."
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 17, 2019
SNP leader @NicolaSturgeon is making the case for a second referendum on Scottish independence in Holyrood.
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She went on: "If the UK Government was to press ahead without that consent it would be further proof of Westminster’s contempt for devolution and its willingness to tear up established constitutional rules in its pursuit of Brexit."
Responding to the First Minister's speech, interim Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw said last week's election confirmed the UK's four nations would be leaving the EU on January 31. The MSP said Brexit is now a "political reality".
He then asked Sturgeon to constructively engage with the UK Government on the matter of EU withdrawal, prompting heckling from members of the Chamber.
Replying, the SNP leader called the removal of Scotland, which voted 62% to Remain, from the EU a "democratic disgrace".
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon to urge MSPs to back right to have indyref2
Sturgeon also called out the Tories for claiming they have a pro-Brexit mandate when they were beaten in Scotland, while claiming the SNP, which secured 47 of the country's 59 seats, did not have a mandate for indyref2.
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard then spoke, stressing the importance of the Scottish Government being involved in Brexit negotiations. He called on Sturgeon to use all of Holyrood's powers to reject Tory austerity, to which the FM explained the work her government had done to offset its impacts.
Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie then said his party would support the push for independence, but asked the First Minister to recognise that protecting Scotland from austerity is a "more urgent task".
Scottish LibDem leader Willie Rennie then challenged the First Minister on her push for a second independence referendum, questioning whether SNP votes could be counted as votes for indyref2.
Sturgeon rejected there was confusion on the matter, replying: "The more contempt they pour on Scottish democracy, the more support for Scottish independence will rise."
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