NICOLA Sturgeon has not ruled out pushing for a second independence referendum to be held next year.
The First Minister insisted she has not "put a date on it yet" but another vote should be held "in the earlier rather than the later part of the next parliament".
It follows SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford and Constitution Secretary Michael Russell both suggesting a referendum could be held in 2021.
Ms Sturgeon was asked if she intends to hold a second independence referendum next year during an interview with ITV Border.
She said: "I've not put a date on it yet. I've not ruled that out, nor have I ruled it in.
"I think it's right, not least because of the challenges countries face in coming out and rebuilding from Covid, that Scotland should have the opportunity to choose whether or not to become independent in the earlier rather than the later part of the next parliament.
"Before the election in our manifesto I would anticipate we will put a more precise timescale on what we believe should happen.
"But right now - this is getting to the heart of why I'm just not prepared to put a specific date on it right now - we are still in the middle of a pandemic.
"While I'm a lifelong campaigner for, passionate believer in independence, I'm also the First Minister of Scotland with a very serious responsibility to continue to lead the country through a pandemic."
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack recently said the UK Conservative Government would not agree to a second referendum "for a generation".
However the SNP hopes this position will become unsustainable if the party secures a majority at the Holyrood elections in May.
Ms Sturgeon was speaking ahead of the SNP's conference this weekend, which is being held virtually.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said another referendum was "the last thing Scotland needs".
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "On the day the SNP government is questioned on its inability to keep care homes safe, we find the First Minister had been spending time planning a referendum.
"We need a government that's focused needle-sharp on recovery from this crisis."
Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: "Seeking to divide us with another referendum is the wrong priority and it is not the priority of the people of Scotland."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel