Nicola Sturgeon warned Scots are 'sick to death' of her second referendum demands

• Parliament debates second Scottish referendum 

• 'Scottish people sick and tired of Sturgeon's political games'

• SNP and Green MSPs are expected to vote it through

• Theresa May has already rejected timetable for vote 

• The best lines and put-downs from the Scottish Independence debate

• Telegraph poll: Brexit more important than keeping the UK together ​

• The five charts that show how economically risky independence would be

• Brexit can't just be for England ​

Scottish Independence | How Scotland voted in 2014 5:01PM

Ruth Davidson: Scottish people sick and tired of Sturgeon's political games

4:46PM

'I fail to see how it's in Spain or Belgium's interests'

Jenny Marra, the SNP politician, says an independent Scotland would find it very difficult to become an independent member of the European Union. 

She says:

4:33PM

'As changeable as a Highlands summer day' 

Donald Cameron, the Tory,  says the SNP won't offer firm answers on EU membership because it has dawned on them that Brexiteers may be "politically useful"

He describes SNP's policy on EU as "as changeable as a Highlands summer day" and that they use Holyrood as a "fairweather friend to be used when required and ignored when convenient".

He says: 

4:30PM

'Now is not the time' means there is a time'

The SNP's Ivan McKee says Theresa May has "conceded" the principle that "there will be a referendum". 

He says:

He adds that the UK government regime "lurches to the right".

4:22PM

'Poll after poll shows there is no appetite'

Alex Rowley, the Labour MSP , says there is not a majority demanding a second vote.

In fact, "the opposite is the case- poll after poll" shows "no appetite at this time". 

He says he has "no truck" with the Tories and Holyrood should "unite" against them dictating the terms of Brexit deal. 

Adding:

4:12PM

'If it wasn't Brexit, it would be something else' 

Douglas Ross, a Conservative Scottish MSP,  says "if it wasn't Brexit, it would be something else". 

He says triggers for a second Scottish referendum include "anything the SNP can hang their hat on".

Adding:

3:59PM

'The SNP is not Scotland'

John Lamont, Scottish Conservative MSP , says last week Nicola Sturgeon can no longer claim to be the first minister of the whole of Scotland.

He got involved in politics to "improve the lives of the most vulnerable in society" and that another referendum will just increase divisions. 

He says:

3:53PM

'A pointless debate' 

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw says the "pointless" two-day debate has "frustratingly" delayed the potential to address issues that are in great need of being discussed.

He says the SNP has continuously stated that it is not obsessed with independence, but its actions  show otherwise. 

“It’s clear people don’t want another referendum, they want a government that spends its every waking hour improving standards across all areas," he says.

 “When issues like health and education are crumbling under SNP leadership, Nicola Sturgeon and her party is completely failing Scotland by neglecting these issues and instead focusing on an unwanted referendum.”

3:47PM

Scotland faces 'economic catastrophe'

We've just been sent this by the London-Dubai-Mumbai wealth management company Sun Global Investments.

Mihir Kapadia, CEO and Founder of Sun Global Investments, has said:   

3:42PM

'We need an escape route'

Richard Lochhead, the SNP MSP for Moray, says Brexit is a "profound illustration" of why Scots "need an escape route".

He says tomorrow's vote will be "another milestone in Scotland's story" . 

He insists its of Theresa May's own making. 

3:37PM

Rennie: SNP playing low politics for narrow gain 

Here are the best quotes from Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie MSP.

Speaking this afternoon he said: 

3:32PM

'Greens protect the Yes alliance first, and Scotland second'

Labour MSP Anas Sarwar accuses the Greens party of seeking to "protect the Yes alliance first, and Scotland second".

He says there are nationalists first and environmentalists second.

Patrick Harvie bites back and says that Jeremy Corbyn's "lacklustre" campaigning for Remain is in part to blame for the "blank cheque Brexit". 

3:20PM

SNP are 'clueless' 

Tomkins argues another referendum should not take place until Britain's relations with the EU is decided and the SNP can provide answers on independence.

He says they are "clueless" on the currency and Scotland's future relationship with Scotland and the UK.

He concludes "we said no and we meant it".

3:17PM

'Holyrood alone should dictate the timing'

Prof Adam Tomkins, the Scottish Tory constitution spokesman, says the UK made clear before 2014 that if there was a Yes vote Scotland would leave.

He says the UK takes a "remarkably generous" approach to secession compares to Spain with Catalonia and the US But he says secession takes place by agreement, not a nationalist government making demands alone.

He contrasts the two governments agreeing the 2014 referendum's timing together and Sturgeon making unilateral demands.

Sturgeon intervenes and says the UK Government should come to the negotiating table.

But Tomkins points out the motion says Holyrood alone should dictate the timing.

3:12PM

There is a 'clear mandate' for another referendum

Senior SNP backbencher Bruce Crawford wins applause from across the chamber by calling for everyone to be respectful of their opponents' views.

He claims all his colleagues respected the 2014 result but it was delusional to think that had not been affected by Brexit.

He says the SNP manifesto last year gives a clear mandate for another referendum.

Voting no in the last independence referendum ended up being the "guaranteed way" of leaving the EU, he argues.

3:04PM

'Response to a hard Tory Brexit is not hard SNP independence'

Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie again highlights the fact Alex Salmond has said Scotland would join EFTA, not the EU in the first instance.

He says the SNP was 'cynically' courting the third of independence supporters who voted Leave.

He accuses them of planning to sell out pro Europeans who voted Leave and attacks the Greens again for ignoring their manifesto. 

Rennie says a second referendum will divide families, friends and communities and if the SNP are deaf to that 'they need to get a life'.

He says "the response to a hard Tory Brexit is not hard SNP independence".

He accuses the Nationalist benches of "slavering" at the prospect of another independence debate while the economy and education system are struggling.

He says today "has blown apart any idea that they are in this for the greater good."

Rennie says the economic case for the U.K. is even stronger than in 2014 and says there is a positive compassionate case for the UK, citing foreign aid to the needy.

He says the nationalists will never make him ashamed of the UK.

Rennie says the SNP are breaching the Edinburgh Agreement, which transferred the powers for the last referendum and said both sides would respect the result.

He mocks Salmond over the former First Minister's claim at the weekend that he never said the 2014 referendum was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

2:48PM

An 'act of political wreckage'

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie says the 2016 result was an expression of the will of the people to stay in Europe.

Ruth Davidson intervenes and says thousands of Scots are furious that their Remain votes have been appropriated for independence.

Harvie says leaving the EU is an 'act of political wreckage'.

He claims the citizens of Scotland would be the only people of Europe who are "voiceless" in the Brexit process if there was not another independence referendum.

Harvie attacks the lack of a Brexit plan and accuses the Scottish Tories of reneging on their support for staying in the EU single market even if it meant keeping free movement.

He says Ruth Davidson's abandonment of this stance is "disgraceful".

Harvie says EU nationals have been treated in the shabbiest way possible since Brexit He describes Labour and Lib Dem calls for a federal UK as fantasy.

He says they have played the Gordon Brown card early in this campaign and asks what they will do in the final weeks.

2:45PM

'Where does it end?'

Dugdale challenges Sturgeon's claim that the last referendum was not divisive, saying communities were split down the middle.

She asks 'where does it end?' And she says people do not want to go back for the past.

She pledges that labour will 'campaign with everything we have' for the Union in another referendum.

Dugdale says she believes in the United Kingdom, citing the state pension, Royal Navy shipyard contracts, the U.K. single market and the pooling and sharing of resources.

She says she values the fact that 'our four nations' that come together.

Dugdale says the SNP cannot escape from the fact that independence will make things worst for the poorest in society.

She says the SNP wants to replace Tory austerity with turbo-charged austerity She highlights Scotland's £15 billion deficit and argues independence would mean cuts to pensions.

She confirms Labour will vote against the motion.

She says: 

2:40PM

'Brexit is only the latest in a long line of excuses'

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale says Nicola Sturgeon wakes up every day trying to think of ways to engineer independence and this has always been her priority instead of alleviating poverty. 

Dugdale says Brexit is only the latest in a long line of excuses the SNP has used to call for independence.

She calls for the 2014 result to be respected, pointing out that turnout was 85pc.

She also argues that the SNP government has repeatedly ignored votes in Holyrood. 

2:34PM

SNP accused of betraying their Holyrood election manifesto

Davidson says only former minister Alex Neil has had the guts on the SNP benches to admit he voted Leave (in a Daily Telegraph interview).

She attacks the Scottish Greens for betraying their Holyrood election manifesto, which said another referendum should only take place in line with the will of the people and not for political advantage.

They are also expected to vote for Sturgeon's motion.

Davidson reels off a list of occasions on which the minority SNP government has ignored votes in the Scottish Parliament.

She questions why Westminster should respect votes in the Scottish Parliament when the SNP does not.

Davidson ends barnstorming speech by calling for a strong Scotland in a strong U.K. 

Here is the best of what Davidson said:  

2:24PM

'Separation not education'

Ruth Davidson begins her speech by saying the past week shows the SNP's top priority is separation and education.

She reels off a series of promises Nicola Sturgeon made ahead of last year's election that there would not be another referendum without public support.

Davidson says it doesn't wash that the Tories are forcing Sturgeon to call a referendum She says the Tories will not submit to the SNP's will.

She says Sturgeon's "bulldozer approach" is in stark contrast to the way the 2014 referendum was organised. 

She says it is not enough to say a "big Tory did this and ran away".

Rather than the gold standard of 2014, Davidson accuses Sturgeon of pursuing a tinpot approach.

She says "most people in Scotland are sick and tired of the games".

Davidson says Sturgeon does not have a plan for the currency or EU and Scots would be forced to vote blind.

2:21PM

'Wrong, unfair and utterly unsustainable'

Sturgeon sets out her preferred timescale of between autumn 2018 and spring 2019 and challenges the British Government to set out its preference so discussions can be held.

But she warned a U.K. Government being a 'roadblock' to a referendum taking place would be "wrong, unfair and utterly unsustainable". 

Sturgeon says she wants to end on a note of consensus and says most MSPs would rather not be in the position of coming out of the EU.

But she said there is no evidence that the UK government is listening to the Scottish Parliament She says the question is who gets to make the decision on what kind of country Scotland should be .

2:14PM

'No meaningful attempt to find common ground'

Nicola sturgeon claims she didn't immediately demand a second independence referendum after Brexit.

But Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader,  intervenes and points out she ordered her civil servants to draw up legislation for another referendum within three hours of the Brexit result becoming known on June 24 last year.

She says the Scottish Government's "efforts at compromise" have been "rejected" by the British government.

There has been "no meaningful attempt to find common ground", she says. 

Sturgeon says her efforts at compromise have been ignored and Scotland is being dragged out of the EU against its will

She argues the U.K. Government is pursuing a 'harder and harsher' Brexit than many Leave voters would have accepted.

If this happens, she argues it undermines the claim that the UK is a partnership of equals .

She also repeats her claims that Labour will be out of power at Westminster until the 2030s.

The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader points out Alex Salmond has said Scotland will seek EFTA and not EU membership in the first instance. He questions what mandate she has for a referendum on this basis

2:07PM

'Change is now inevitable'

Sturgeon says she has not taken the decision lightly to call another referendum.

She argues that Brexit means change is inevitable and the question is whether it is change decided by Scotland or for it by the UK.

She claims her Holyrood election manifesto gives her a cast iron mandate for another referendum.

The First Minister says people questioning SNP mandate for a referendum "run the real risk of undermining the democratic process".

2:03PM

'Scotland's Choice'

Here is the motion MSPs will debate: 

1:21PM

'Brexit more important than keeping the UK together'

Brexit is more important to voters than keeping the United Kingdom together, an opinion poll for The Telegraph has indicated. 

Sixty per cent of respondents agreed that Britain’s EU departure mattered more than stopping the UK’s break-up, while just 27 per cent disagreed. 

Furthermore a majority of people said they would still vote for Brexit even if they knew it could trigger Scotland’s independence. 

The results suggest there is no "buyer’s remorse" over Brexit despite a dramatic week in which the UK’s future has been called into question. 

Polls show Brexit bigger than the Union 1:11PM

How economically risky would Scottish independence be? 

The SNP was widely believed to have lost the economic argument during their first stab at independence in 2014, and it is difficult to see how they could win a re-run this argument in the current climate.

Falls in the price of oil have taken a hefty toll on Scotland's economy since 2014 and, coupled with the country's huge deficit and sluggish rate of growth, independence is an even riskier prospect now than it was two and a half years ago.

Chart - oil prices have halved since 2014

Scotland's oil revenue is running dry

Back in 2014, the SNP made a big noise about just how well an independent Scotland could perform on the world stage. Central to this thesis was the amount of money the country could make from North Sea oil.

Estimates as to just how much revenue could be produced from North Sea oil varied significantly depending on who you asked - but the price of oil itself seemed to be relatively stable at between $90 and $110 per barrel.

In September 2014 - the month of the referendum - crude oil prices were ticking along at $91 per barrel.

It is expensive to produce oil in the UK

Scotland's deficit is larger than that of Greece

Nicola Sturgeon's pitch for independence looks set to centre on a desire for Scotland to remain in the European Union and the single market.

However, the terms by which an independent Scotland could enter the EU are extremely uncertain. Countries face a lengthy application process in order to become members and Scotland may well be forced to adopt the euro as the price of membership.

One of the target metrics the EU enforces on its members is for each state to aim for a budget deficit of no more than 3pc of GDP.

In quotes | A second referendum on Scottish independence

Scotland is a terrible performer in this regard, spending £1,200 a head more than the rest of the UK and receiving £400 per head less.

The Scottish government's latest annual estimate puts the country's deficit at £15bn or 9.5pc of GDP. This would be comfortably the worst score for any EU member state.

Scotland may have to prove it can reduce this deficit before EU membership becomes a possibility and this would take time.

Scotland has a huge deficit, relative to GDP

Could Scotland go it alone?

While it could be argued that, with greater fiscal autonomy, Scotland might be able to reduce its deficit were it to become independent, its general economic performance is less that impressive.

In the first quarter of 2015 Scotland outperformed the rest of the UK, achieving 0.75pc quarterly growth. Since then, growth has been slow with the UK as a whole outperforming Scotland in every quarter.

Scotland's economy only narrowly avoided contracting in the first quarter of 2016 with growth of 0.01pc based on the previous quarter.

Scotlands GDP growth is slow compared to the UK 1:01PM

Parliament debates second Scottish referendum 

Good Afternoon, 

MSP's will debate Nicola Sturgeon's proposal for a second independence referendum this afternoon.

Theresa May has already rejected the timescale for the vote, arguing that Scots cannot make a judgement until they know how Brexit has bedded in.

She said she was making her position clear so that week’s Holyrood debate and vote would be “informed.”
This is the programme: 

2.05-5.00 pm Scottish Government Debate: Scotland’s Choice

(6min open debate speeches)

Opening speeches    

• Government          17mins

• Conservatives      12mins

• Labour                   9mins

• Greens                  9mins

• Lib Dems               9mins

READ MORE ABOUT:

• Scottish Independence Referendum

• Theresa May

• EU Referendum

• Nicola Sturgeon

• Brexit

• Show more