Proposed second Scottish independence referendum

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A second referendum (commonly referred to as indyref2) on Scotland regaining its independence from the United Kingdom (UK) and once again becoming a sovereign state has been proposed by the Scottish Government. An independence referendum was first held on 18 September 2014, with 55% voting "No" to independence. The Scottish Government stated in its white paper for 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".^[1] Following the "No" vote, the cross party Smith Commission proposed areas that could be devolved to the Scottish Parliament; this led to the passing of the Scotland Act 2016,^[2] formalising new devolved policy areas in time for the 2016 Scottish Parliament election campaign.^[3]

The pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) said before the 2016 election that a second independence referendum should be held if there was a material change of circumstances, such as the UK leaving the European Union.^[4] The SNP formed a minority government following the election.^[5] The "Leave" side won the Brexit referendum in June 2016. 62% of votes in Scotland were opposed to Brexit.^[6] 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".^[7][8] No Prime Minister to date has transferred power under Section 30.^{[9][10][11][12][13]}

In January 2021, the SNP stated that, if pro-independence parties won a majority in the 2021 Scottish parliament election, the Scottish Government would introduce a bill for an independence referendum.^[14] The SNP and Scottish Green Party (who also support independence) won a majority of seats in the election, and entered government together under the Bute House Agreement. In June 2022, Sturgeon announced plans to hold a referendum on 19 October 2023. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected Sturgeon's request to hold a referendum in July 2022.^[15] The question of whether a referendum can take place without the UK government's agreement was referred to the UK Supreme Court,^[16][17][18] which ruled in November 2022 that an independence referendum is outside the competence of the Scottish Parliament.^[19]