Scottish Independence Movement to Demand a Referendum in 2020

The Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) and the Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Saturday kicked off the campaign to get London to negotiate a second U.K. separation referendum in 2020, an announcement which was made along with thousands of people gathered in downtown Glasgow.

RELATED: ​​​​​​

Scotland Will Hold Independence Vote by May 2021: Sturgeon

"we are gathered here for one simple purpose. And that purpose is to demand the right to choose a better future for our country. We are gathered here to demand the right to choose an independent future for Scotland," Minister Sturgeon announced.

"An independent Scotland is at hand," she streessed, adding that the December 12 general election is "the most important, probably in all of our lifetimes."

Clothed by Scottish and European Union flags, the pro-independence leader invited the people to "massively vote to escape the Brexit chaos, misery and division and put the future of Scotland in the hands of the Scots," she said.​​​​​​​

After the upcoming U.K. general elections, Sturgeon will formally ask the next British prime minister for the necessary authorization to hold a new referendum.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The Scottish Conservative Party (SCP) criticized Minister Sturgeon's plans and accused her of "not listening" to the electorate.

"She is obsessed with independence and we must send her a message... People have already had enough division and we just want to move on," the SCP leader Jackson Carlaw said.​​​​​​​

According to the latest polls, however, the SNP could obtain more than 50 of the 59 seats reserved for Scotland in the Westminster Parliament.

This potential political advantage, as well as the dissatisfaction of the Scots with right-wing governments, could further encourage trends in favor of their country's independence.​​​​​​​

In the 2014 referendum, Scotland voted mostly in favor of remaining in the European Union, a fact which has unearthed the secession debate, which many believed had died.