NICOLA Sturgeon has said it will be "utterly untenable" for the UK Government to deny indyref2 if the SNP secure a majority victory at next year’s Holyrood election.

The party is aiming to win a record fourth term in power and the First Minister says the ballot will be the most important in Scotland's history.

Voters will be presented with a "stark choice" between the SNP and the "utterly regressive" Conservatives in the May 2021 ballot, Sturgeon added.

She also made clear the SNP manifesto for the election will include a commitment to hold a second Scottish independence referendum and insisted it will be "utterly untenable and unsustainable" for the Tory Government at Westminster to deny such a vote in the event of an SNP victory.

In an article for Holyrood Magazine's 2020 annual review, the First Minister says she will "relish the chance to return to politics as normal once circumstances allow, especially as we look ahead to next year's election".

READ MORE: Boris Johnson warned that he can’t say no to indyref2 mandate

The FM wrote: "That election will be, in my view without question, the most important in Scotland's history.

"Not only will it provide a stark choice between the progressive policy platform offered by the SNP and the utterly regressive agenda of the Conservatives, it will be an election which is, at its heart, about democracy.

"We are privileged to live in a democracy. But if that is to mean anything it must mean accepting the results of free and fair democratic elections."

She confirmed the SNP manifesto for May will include a commitment for a second referendum, adding "in the event of another election win for the SNP, it would be utterly untenable and unsustainable for the Conservatives to stand in the way of the democratic will of the people of Scotland".

Sturgeon’s comments come after opinion polls suggested the SNP could be on course for an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament – and that a majority of Scots now favour independence.

Analysis of a Panelbase poll last month indicated the SNP could have 74 MSPs out of 129.

The same survey also found support for independence at 54%, with 46% wanting Scotland to stay part of the UK.

Meanwhile, a YouGov poll last week found 53% of those it surveyed were in favour of independence – and a greater proportion (57%) will vote for Sturgeon's party in May.