Scotland's First Minister has vowed to find another way "for Scottish people to express their will", after UK judges ruled another independence referendum cannot be held without the backing of Westminster.
After the judgment on Wednesday, Nicola Sturgeon said she will continue to push for independence, declaring: "We must and we will find another democratic, lawful and constitutional means by which the Scottish people can express their will.
"In my view, that can only be an election."
Speaking in Edinburgh, she said: "As long as there is breath in my body, I refuse to give up on the basic principle of democracy."
She continued: "This is no longer about whether Scotland becomes independent, vital though that decision is. It is now more fundamental.
"It is now about whether or not we even have the basic democratic right to choose our own future.
"Indeed from today, the independence movement is as much about democracy as it is about independence."
De facto independence referendum
Ms Sturgeon said the next UK general election, which must be before January 2025, would be a de facto referendum on independence.
"A party can be, indeed should be, crystal clear about the purpose for which it is seeking popular support," she said.
"In this case, for the SNP that will be to establish - just as in a referendum - majority support in Scotland for independence so that we can then achieve independence."
Ms Sturgeon said the SNP will "launch and mobilise a major campaign in defence of Scottish democracy" and that if the Scottish people continually express they want to be independent, that will have to eventually be accepted.
Scottish independence supporters marching through the streets of Glasgow, Scotland in January 2020. Picture by: Kay Roxby / Alamy Stock PhotoJudges in the UK Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Scottish government would need approval from Westminster for a second independence referendum.
Announcing the ruling, Robert Reed, the court's president, said legislation for a second vote would relate to "reserved matters", making it outside the powers of Holyrood.
Ms Sturgeon had proposed a second referendum - nicknamed Indyref2 - for October 2023.
Scotland held an independence referendum in 2014 and just over 55% voted to remain in the UK.
The pro-independence SNP, which has led the country since 2007, believes it has a mandate to hold another vote because of its continued success in elections and because of the change in circumstances since Brexit.
Ms Sturgeon added that this latest ruling "confirms that the notion of the UK as a voluntary partnership of nations is no longer, if it ever was, a reality."
Reporting by: IRN
