Scotland gears up for second vote

SNP, the party that rules Scotland, will set out a timetable for a possible second Scottish independence referendum in its 2016 Holyrood manifesto, Nicola Sturgeon has revealed.

The Scottish First Minister said the decision would be driven by the people of Scotland and that the proposal would not be final.

"Our manifesto will set out what we consider are the circumstances and the timescale on which a second referendum might be appropriate, but we can only propose," she said.

"It's then for people in Scotland, whether it is in this election or in future elections, to decide whether they want to vote for our manifesto and then if there is in the future another independence referendum, whether that's in five years or 10 years or whenever, it will be down to the people of Scotland to decide whether they want to vote for independence or not.

A recent poll for the STV news channel found that 53 per cent of Scots would vote for independence in the event of another vote. Another poll conducted in the same week showed a similar result.

Sturgeon previously warned that changes at Westminster such as "English Votes for English Laws" could trigger another independence referendum, as could forced Scottish withdrawal from the European Union.