Sturgeon: No indyref2 until all Covid restrictions lifted
- Published
Independence supporters held a march in Stirling on Saturday
A new independence referendum will not be held until all restrictions on daily life in Scotland have been lifted, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The first minister wants to hold a poll on independence in the next two years - but not before the pandemic is over.
SNP conference delegates backed a motion stressing that a vote should not be held "before it is safe to do so".
And Ms Sturgeon told Sky News that it would not come until pressure on the NHS has eased and all curbs are lifted.
She said if a campaign was to be given the proper focus, it was "crucial" that there was "an overall environment in the country where people are not in their day-to-day lives being asked to limit or restrict their behaviour".
The UK government and opposition parties at Holyrood have called for the immediate focus to be on the economic and social recovery from the pandemic.
Meanwhile former first minister Alex Salmond told a meeting of his new Alba Party that Scotland was trapped in a "time loop" with no progress being made towards independence.
Ms Sturgeon has said since May's election campaign that she wants to hold a fresh referendum on independence within the first half of the new parliamentary term - ideally by the end of 2023 - once the health crisis has passed.
She has tasked civil servants with drawing up a "detailed prospectus" for independence, so that voters can make a "fully informed" choice.
Delegates at the party's national conference - delayed from spring due to the pandemic, and held virtually - overwhelmingly endorsed the leadership's position on Sunday.
They backed a motion saying that "people in Scotland should not have their health, wellbeing and future economic potential compromised by holding a referendum on independence before it is safe to do so".
It said the timing of a vote should be "determined by data-driven criteria about the clear end to the public health crisis, which would enable a full, normal and energetic referendum campaign".
Speaking to the motion - which passed by a vote of 535 to 10 - SNP policy development convener Chris Hanlon said substantial numbers of people were "not convinced that the threat has truly passed", and said "we must put data before dates".
The SNP conference is being held virtually, with Nicola Sturgeon set to make her keynote speech from home on Monday
Ms Sturgeon was pressed on the potential timing of a referendum during an interview on Sky News, and said she was "not going to set a precise level of infections" where she would be comfortable embarking on a campaign.
She said: "You want to see the Covid situation under control, the pressure on our National Health Service significantly lower than it is now, a sense that we weren't still in the acute phase of this crisis.
"But also - and I think this is crucial - an overall environment in the country where people are not in their day-to-day lives being asked to, even if not comply with legal restrictions, still limit or restrict their own day-to-day behaviour.
"Ultimately of course it will be a matter of judgement and it's important that I get that judgement right, because the most serious responsibility on my shoulders is steering the country through the biggest health crisis for a century."
This message was echoed by party strategist and former MSP Andrew Wilson on the BBC's Sunday Show programme, who said "the timing has to be right".
However a contrasting tone was struck at the Alba Party conference in Greenock, where former SNP leader Mr Salmond likened the situation to the 1993 Bill Murray film "Groundhog Day".
He said: "The theme of someone caught in a time loop has been dealt with many times in film, usually as comedy. But for Scotland and independence is it becoming a tragedy.
"Bill Murray was only trapped in his time for a few months - Scotland's referendum Groundhog Day has lasted six years."
Ms Sturgeon has brought the Scottish Greens into government, cementing the pro-independence majority at Holyrood
The Scottish government has drawn up legislation for a new referendum, which is likely to be tabled for debate at Holyrood in the coming year.
The bill is sure to pass, with the SNP having signed a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens to cement a comfortable pro-independence majority - but it could be subject to legal challenge if there are questions over whether it falls within devolved powers.
Opposition parties have spoken out against the plans, calling for Scotland's focus to remain on recovery from the pandemic.
Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells said the SNP "have nothing else to say" beyond constitutional rhetoric.
She said: "The nationalist coalition of chaos will wreck Scotland's recovery with their push for another divisive referendum, on the back of 14 years where they've let down Scotland time and time again.
"They're ramping up division to distract from their decade of disasters that have hit our schools, hospitals, jobs, businesses, ferries and just about everything else in Scotland."
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar meanwhile has accused the Scottish government of a lack of ambition, saying that "there are ideas that are bigger than independence".