Overview
- First Minister John Swinney plans to bring a debate at Holyrood to press the UK Government for a Section 30 order to enable a second independence referendum.
- The UK Government says its stance is unchanged and it does not support another vote on independence, citing Scotland’s 2014 decision to remain in the UK.
- The SNP remains the largest party without an outright majority, and together with a record 15 Greens there are now 73 pro‑independence MSPs in the 129‑seat parliament.
- A Section 30 order is the legal tool Westminster used in 2014 to let Holyrood run a binding referendum, so without it a fresh vote would lack a clear legal basis.
- Labour MSP Paul Sweeney has proposed a cross‑party convention to agree a trigger for any future referendum, arguing the long‑running stalemate has frozen normal politics.