Nicola Sturgeon attacked by opposition leaders who say Scots are 'sick to death' by demands for second referendum

Scottish ministers bite back after First Minister uses Holyrood debate to argue there is an 'unquestionable democratic mandate' for another vote

Nicola Sturgeon has been attacked by opposition parties who argued Scottish people were “sick to death” of her second referendum demands and claimed her push for independence was distracting from other issues facing Scotland.

Speaking during the opening session of a two-day debate at Holyrood, the First Minister faced fierce criticism from ministers, who accused her of hypocrisy after she insisted Theresa May had to respect the Scottish Parliament’s call for a second independence referendum.

Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, said Ms Sturgeon was putting forward an “unworkable proposal”, arguing that the majority of Scots were “sick to death of the games” and didn’t want another referendum in the near future.

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale meanwhile accused the First Minister of neglecting issues such as education and child poverty, claiming independence was “the only thing that has ever really mattered to the SNP”.

Ms Sturgeon used the debate to argue there was an “unquestionable democratic mandate” for a second vote, highlighting the SNP’s 2016 Scottish election manifesto, which argued a second referendum could be held in the event of a “significant and material” change in circumstances — such as Scotland being taken out of the EU.

The First Minister added: “The suggestion that an emphatic election victory on the basis of a clear manifesto commitment and a parliamentary majority on an issue does not provide a mandate begs the question what does? And it runs the real risk of undermining the democratic process.”

But the First Minister’s mandate for holding another vote was repeatedly questioned during the debate, with Ms Davidson highlighting her repeated pledges before the 2016 Holyrood election that she would not demand a second referendum without clear public support.

“The SNP’s plans last week weren’t about trying to hold a fair legal and decisive referendum, what it is really about is a very well-rehearsed game, which is to put forward an unworkable proposal. To wait for Westminster politicans to point that out," Ms Davidson added.

“Most people in Scotland are sick to death of the games, most people in Scotland don’t want another referendum any time soon, just three years after the last one, and most people in Scotland see the plain common sense in our own position.

"That Brexit is going to be and major challenged for this country and none of us know how it will play out.”

Ms Dugdale argued Ms Sturgeon was focused on “the only thing that has ever really mattered to the SNP”, saying the push for independence was distracting from other issues in Scotland. “Nicola Sturgeon wakes up every single day thinking of ways to engineer another referendum," said Ms Dugdale.

”Because leaving the UK is the only thing that matters to her. It isn't improving education in Scotland. It isn't lifting children out of poverty. It's independence. That will always come first and it always has.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie also argued that having another vote on independence in response to Brexit would bring “chaos on chaos” and “divide” families, communities and friends in Scotland.

Amid the criticism, however, Ms Sturgeon also drew support from ministers during the debate — which is expected to see a majority of MSPs vote to start discussions with the UK Government on a second referendum.

Scottish Greens co-convener Patrick Harvie, whose party backs the call for another referendum, said: “It is absurd to suggest that we should not respond to and react to the fundamentally-changed circumstances we now find ourselves in.

“The situation is changed not only by the EU referendum result, but by everything the UK Government has done with it."

Ms Sturgeon wants a vote to be held in the autumn of next year or the spring of 2019, and is asking the Scottish Parliament to back its plans to ask Westminster for a section 30 order — needed to make a referendum legally binding — after the UK government said it would block the move until after the country leaves the EU.

The First Minister said she was willing to have “reasonable discussions” with Theresa May over the timing of a new plebiscite, but warned it would not be determined by what is convenient for Downing Street.

She has also made clear that an independent Scotland would seek full membership of the European Union, dismissing suggestions the country would have to join the back of the queue.

A recent poll by ComRes for The Independent found that Scottish people are split over whether the Prime Minister is right to block a second independence referendum while Britain negotiates its exit deal with the EU.

The survey found that 44 per cent of Scottish respondents agreed with the statement: “Theresa May should insist that any second Scottish referendum on independence takes place only once Britain has concluded the process of leaving the EU,” while 48 per cent disagreed and eight per cent didn’t know.