A second referendum on Scottish independence “must happen next year”, Nicola Sturgeon has told the SNP conference.
Ms Sturgeon confirmed that she will ask the UK government for formal consent by the end of this year.
She said Westminster had “no right” to block the request, and its opposition to indyref2 is “not sustainable”.
But she stressed any referendum had to be legal if the result was to be recognised internationally.
She said this was because her aim was not merely to deliver a referendum – but to deliver independence.
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Ms Sturgeon told delegates at the conference in Aberdeen: “My call is that the referendum must happen next year.
“And we are getting ready. By the new year, we will have completed our legislative preparations. We are already working to update the independence prospectus.
“And I can confirm today that before the end of this year, I will demand the transfer of power that puts the legality of a referendum beyond any doubt.”
The UK government has repeatedly said it will not grant a Section 30 order, which was used to ensure the legality of the independence referendum in 2014 in which Scottish voters opted to remain in the UK by 55% to 45%.
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Delegates overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to have Plan B debated when the SNP conference opened on Sunday
This has led to calls for Ms Sturgeon to outline a so-called Plan B, with some activists and elected politicians arguing that the SNP winning a majority of Scottish seats in an election would be enough for independence negotiations to begin with the UK government.
Others have called for an unofficial referendum to be held, similar to the disputed one in Catalonia in 2017.
But Ms Sturgeon told the conference that the question should not be what the SNP will do if Westminster refuses to agree to a Section 30.
She said: “The question should be demanded of the Westminster parties – what gives you any right to deny people in Scotland our ability to choose our own future?
“The Westminster refusal is not sustainable. We can already see the cracks appearing.
“Just like us, they know there is going to be a referendum. And they know that when there is, Scotland will choose independence.”
SNP conference: Nicola Sturgeon says indyref2 ‘must happen next year’}