FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon has named her proposed date to hold a consultative referendum on Scottish independence as October 19 2023.

But that depends on a ruling from the Supreme Court.

Addressing MSPs at Holyrood this afternoon (Tuesday June 28 2022) Ms Sturgeon stated that she had asked Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain QC, Scotland's top law officer, to ask the Supreme Court if the Scottish Parliament had the power to legislate for a consultative referendum on independence.

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that she accepted that the lawfulness of the Scottish Parliament passing an indyref2 bill was contested and she was seeking to deliver clarity and legal certainty in a timely manner.

It will now be up to the Supreme Court as to whether it accepts this request and there is no timetable for a decision.

If the Supreme Court agrees, the bill will be introduced and the referendum will go ahead on October 19 2023 with the question to be asked the same as in the 2014 vote “Should Scotland be an independent country?”

If it rules against, Ms Sturgeon said that it would be the fault of Westminster legislation and any notion that the UK was a partnership of equals was false.

She pointed out this would be far from the end of the matter and the SNP would fight the UK general election on the single question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservatives responded by stating that the people of Scotland have put independence "on the back burner", and that the government's focus should be on dealing with the huge challenges which it faces right now.