SNP conference: Nicola Sturgeon says indyref2 ‘must happen next year’

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Media captionLIVE: Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP party conference speech

A second referendum on Scottish independence “must happen next year”, Nicola Sturgeon has told the SNP conference.

Ms Sturgeon confirmed that she will ask the UK government for formal consent by the end of this year.

She said Westminster had “no right” to block the request, and its opposition to indyref2 is “not sustainable”.

But she stressed any referendum had to be legal if the result was to be recognised internationally.

She said this was because her aim was not merely to deliver a referendum – but to deliver independence.

Ms Sturgeon told delegates at the conference in Aberdeen: “My call is that the referendum must happen next year.

“And we are getting ready. By the new year, we will have completed our legislative preparations. We are already working to update the independence prospectus.

“And I can confirm today that before the end of this year, I will demand the transfer of power that puts the legality of a referendum beyond any doubt.”