Was the Scottish referendum vote rigged? It could have been. But the accusations of vote counters discounting Yes votes, of vans crashing, of people filling in voting forms at the count or whatever are likely to be the result of suspicious minds and nothing more. May 20, 2019 Was the Scottish referendum vote rigged? It could have been. But the accusations of vote counters discounting Yes votes, of vans crashing, of people filling in voting forms at the count or whatever are likely to be the result of suspicious minds and nothing more. VOTER FRAUD: Was the Scottish Independence Referendum Rigged to Fail?, allegations of widespread rigging in the Scotland referendum vote. Nov 28, 2020 Scottish independence 'in clear sight', says Nicola Sturgeon – video Nicola Sturgeon has opened the Scottish National party annual conference by telling members she has “never been so certain.
Nicola Sturgeon has kept open the possibility she will launch her push for Scottish independence in a referendum next year.
The first minister said she was not ruling the possibility out, but warned 'we don't know' yet when the pandemic will end so while coronavirus grips the world her 'energies are focused on that'.
She has only revealed she wants the vote to be in the early part of the next Scottish parliamentary term, following elections to Holyrood in spring 2021.
If the Scottish National Party win a majority, senior figures claim it will give them the mandate to demand Boris Johnson grant MSPs the power to call a referendum.
But the prime minister has said he will refuse to do so, leading to unanswered questions about what the SNP would do next.
That is a subject that divides hardliners who want a Catalonia-style illegal referendum and those prepared to play the long game who think the refusal to allow a vote will only fuel support for independence.
Scottish Independence Opinion Polls
Scots voted by 55% to 45% for the country to remain part of the UK in 2014.
More from Nicola Sturgeon
Asked by Sky News when she wants the next referendum to be, Ms Sturgeon said on Monday: 'We are still, like other countries the world over, in a global pandemic. There's lots of uncertainties ahead of us right now.
'We don't know - I think we're all a lot more hopeful the end of the pandemic is in sight - but we don't know yet exactly when that will be so my energies are focused on that.'
Pressed to name her preference for a date, Ms Sturgeon said: 'I want to see it in the early part of the next term of the Scottish parliament rather than the later part.
'I'm not ruling anything out, I'm not ruling anything in,' she said. 'I'm clear that I think for all the reasons I've set out, the sooner Scotland can have the powers of independence so we chart our own future, the better it will be for all of us.'
Scottish Independence Results
But Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Tories - the second biggest party in Holyrood - said 2021 should be about 'improving schools and hospitals' instead.
'They won't get a look in if Nicola Sturgeon gets her way and demands indyref2 next year,' he tweeted. 'The SNP's obsession is crippling our country.'