Nicola Sturgeon will start her campaign to hold an independence referendum in late 2023 with the publication of the first in a series of papers on the benefits of ending the Union.
The Prime Minister will give a press conference on Tuesday in Edinburgh alongside Patrick Harvie, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens.
Sturgeon has pledged to hold an IndyRef2 by the end of next year, but faces stiff opposition from the UK government and pro-Union parties in Holyrood.
It comes when former SNP leader Alex Salmond used an interview last weekend to urge the Scottish government to drop “the gun” in a new campaign for independence.
In an interview with BBC Scotland, Sturgeon was asked if tomorrow’s event marked the formal start of an IndyRef2 campaign.
The Prime Minister said: “Yes. We said we would do it after the covid situation allowed.
“Tomorrow we will publish the first of a series of documents that will once again claim independence in an interdependent world.
“The world, both nationally and internationally, has changed substantially since Scotland voted in 2014.
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“The first article will be largely a scenario: it will examine through a wealth of evidence the economic and social performance of the UK and Scotland within this, compared to a number of other European countries.
“The bottom line is that Scotland could be doing much better as an independent country.”
When asked when a bill will be tabled to pave the way for a referendum, Sturgeon said he would say more about the legislation in the “coming weeks.”
He added: “There are two principles that are really important in all of this.
“Democracy is the first. The Scottish people gave my party, my government, a mandate for an independence referendum in last year’s election. I intend to honor it.
“The second principle is the rule of law. Any process must be lawful and lawful.
“If we had a UK government that respected democracy, that would be resolved the way it was in 2014 with a Section 30 order.”
But the event was condemned by opposition politicians who insisted that ministers should focus on resolving the NHS and the cost of living crisis.
Scottish leader Lib Dem Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Nicola Sturgeon has launched more independence campaigns than Ferris.
“This coalition is one thing and only one thing. Ministers are devoting their attention, senior officials and tens of millions of pounds to independence.
“He cares more about his obsession with independence than about all those who are stuck on the longest NHS waiting lists in history, the cost of living crisis or the climate emergency.
“No one believes that education is Nicola Sturgeon ‘s top priority.
“The SNP and the Greens take people for granted. Let’s put aside talking about an independence referendum and get in touch with what’s important right now.”
Conservative MSP Donald Cameron said: “Nicola Sturgeon is deliberately ignoring Scotland ‘s priorities for pushing ahead with plans for a second division independence referendum in 2023.
“The vast majority of the Scottish people do not want to be distracted by another referendum next year.
“They want the government to focus 100% on our recovery from the pandemic, the global crisis of the cost of living, supporting our NHS and protecting jobs.
“However, Nicola Sturgeon goes on recklessly with his obsession anyway. This is a shame when the country faces so many momentous challenges.
“The distraction and interruption of another bitter referendum debate is the last thing Scotland needs right now.
“Nicola Sturgeon should be fully focused on helping people in this difficult time, not diverting government resources and large sums of public money to the SNP’s obsession.
“The Scottish people want to see a SNP government focused on key tasks such as building ferries, not breaking the UK.”
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