Nicola Sturgeon: I don't know when I will call a second independence referendum

Nicola Sturgeon has admitted she does not know when a second independence referendum will be held following the SNP’s mauling in the snap general election.

The First Minister said she was “thinking pretty deeply” about her demand for another vote on separation in the wake of the Brexit vote and she recognised that “people feel very uncertain about everything just now.”

Asked by the New Statesman what the timescale is for another referendum, she said: “The honest answer to that is: I don't know." The magazine originally reported that she had questioned whether there would be another referendum at all but the First Minister claimed this was incorrect and issued a clarification.

Ms Sturgeon also gave a strong indication the SNP will swing behind the Liberal Democrats’ calls for another referendum on the final Brexit deal, saying it “may become very hard to resist”.

In wide-ranging discussion, she dropped further hints she is planning to increase income tax in Scotland for those with the “broadest shoulders” and claimed Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, was overrated.

But Adam Tomkins, the Conservatives’ constitution spokesman, said the Nationalists know “dream is over” as “another divisive and disruptive independence referendum is not going to happen in their lifetime."

Her admission marked a partial retreat from a defiant parliamentary statement she made to MSPs at the end of June, in which she said she was persisting with plans for a second referendum that could be launched next year.

The First Minister told MSPs she will “reset” the timetable for another referendum, which she originally wanted between autumn 2018 and spring 2019, but later said it was still "likely" another vote would be held before the May 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

Ms Sturgeon faced a fierce backlash in June’s snap general election over her demand for a second referendum, with the SNP losing half a million votes and 21 MPs including Alex Salmond and Angus Robertson, the party’s Westminster leader.

Asked whether she regretted her demand in the wake of the election result, she said: “Obviously I'm thinking pretty deeply about it. I think Brexit is a complete and utter car crash – an unfolding disaster.

“I haven't changed my views on that, and I think it's deeply wrong for [Scotland] to be taken down that path without the ability to decide whether that's right or not.”

She said her announcement that another referendum would not be considered “at this stage” recognised the uncertainty the electorate feel, “partly because the past few years have been one big decision after another.”

Ms Sturgeon said a decision would be made when things are clearer and decide whether we want to do it and in what timescale." 

Although she acknowledged that critics had described the Scottish Government’s White Paper for the 2014 referendum as “crap” she argued “it was there, people were informed and they knew what they were voting for.”

"That was not the case in the EU referendum. People did not know what they were voting for. There was no proposition put forward by anyone that could then be tested and that they could be held to account on,” she continued.

“The very fact we have no idea what the final outcome might look like suggests there is a case for a second referendum that I think there wasn't in 2014. It may become very hard to resist."

Describing the Brexit talks as a “shambles”, she questioned how the EU could hold a negotiation with “a government where you don't actually know what their position is.”

Ms Sturgeon recently disclosed she is considering increasing income tax north of the Border, including the basic rate, despite the SNP’s 2016 election manifesto promising the latter would not be touched.

She claimed that “most people” think there is a case for a rise for those who can afford to pay and insisted: "It's not particularly Corbyn that's made me think that.”

Ms Davidson has pledged to oppose the increases but Ms Sturgeon said her main rival in the Holyrood chamber “often doesn’t do her homework very well” and “slips up.”

Despite some recent polls showing support for the SNP slipping back further, she said the party is usually still 10 points ahead and “I’m in a good place and really up for it.”