Nicola Sturgeon urges parties to unite around indyref2

Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs that parties should come together in the way they did around devolution

Nicola Sturgeon has urged parties to "come together" around an independence referendum in light of a "new danger" from Boris Johnson's government.

The first minister told MSPs there was a "growing recognition" that the issue "must be decided by the people".

This week the Scottish government will publish the "democratic case" for the transfer of power to hold such a vote.

UK ministers are opposed to such a move and have said the result of the 2014 referendum should be "respected".

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On the day of his election victory Mr Johnson told Ms Sturgeon he had an "unwavering commitment" to the union, while at the weekend Michael Gove insisted there was "absolutely" no prospect of a referendum in the next five years.

But the the SNP leader has described the election result, which saw her party win a landslide of seats north of the border, as a "watershed moment".

Labour's poor performance has also prompted a number of Scottish Labour figures to question the party's opposition to a second independence referendum.

In a parliamentary statement summing up the results from the election, Ms Sturgeon said: "People were faced with a clear and distinct choice, and they made their verdict clear.

"They have rejected a Tory government, said no to Brexit and endorsed the proposition that they should be given a say on their own future.

"That position is increasingly winning support from across the political spectrum, including from senior and prominent members of the Scottish Labour Party, who may not yet back independence but who recognise the fundamental democratic principle which is now at stake.

Ms Sturgeon wants to hold a new independence referendum in the second half of 2020

The first minister said the Conservative general election victory in 1992 paved the way for devolution, as the Tory government "had no mandate" in Scotland.

She added: "This new wave of Brexiteer Tories, with a mission to reshape Scotland and the UK in their right-wing image, presents a new danger - one that very few would have predicted at the dawn of devolution.

"So I hope in the coming days and weeks we will see a similar coming together around the idea of Scotland's right to choose."

'Political reality'

Scottish Conservative interim leader Jackson Carlaw said the real outcome of the election would be that "the whole of the UK will be leaving the EU" next year, saying that "Brexit is no longer a what if, it's a political reality for us all".

He urged Ms Sturgeon to "engage constructively" with the UK government to facilitate this - but the first minister replied that it was a "democratic disgrace" that Scotland was being taken out of the EU.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said his party would "work on a cross-party basis to resist the attacks that Boris Johnson will wage on the people", urging Ms Sturgeon to use all of Holyrood's powers in a "campaign of resistance" against this.

Patrick Harvie said his Scottish Greens were "more than ready to campaign" for and win independence, but said the government had "a more urgent task first" in protecting Scots from the "brutal" Conservatives.

And Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie questioned whether the SNP's election win with 45% of the vote was a mandate for a referendum, saying: "The country has had enough of the division - we need to learn the lessons of Brexit, not repeat them with independence."