“Whoever is elected Tory leader and becomes Prime Minister (of Great Britain) must realize that the will of the Scottish people and their elected parliament cannot be questioned indefinitely,” Salmond said at a meeting at the Foreign Press Association in London (FPA).

Salmond led the Scottish government from 2007 to 2014, stepping down shortly after a majority of Scots (55:45 per cent) voted against independence in a referendum he had negotiated with the British government. Salmond, who has been leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) for 20 years, founded a new independence group, the Alba Party last year.

Her successor, Nicola Sturgeon, announced at the end of June this year that she planned to hold a new referendum on 19 October 2023, although the outgoing Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson, did not approve of the referendum, arguing that the matter had already been resolved by 2014. and now is not the time to return to such a divisive issue.

In addition, two of his successor candidates, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, were reluctant to allow the voting to take place. Following the refusal, the Scottish government asked the British Supreme Court to investigate whether they could hold a referendum without government approval in London.

During the meeting, Salmond reiterated the arguments in favor of holding a re-referendum – that the Brexit relationship, opposed by a majority of Scots, has fundamentally changed the situation, and that pro-independence parties have a majority in parliament. Scottish Parliament and among Scottish MPs in the British House of Commons.

“The arguments for democracy are numerous, the only question is whether this will be done through an agreement with the British government – and I believe it will. History shows that Westminster has said it time and time again. Notand then, under pressure, he changed his mind “- he said.

He points out that even Scotland’s deeply disliked conservative prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, doesn’t question Scotland’s right to determine their future in principle, so Boris Johnson’s refusal to do so is a new situation. He also points out that since the end of World War II, some 50 countries under British sovereignty have gained independence, and in almost every case the government in London initially opposed, but eventually agreed.

“The common feature of these 50 countries, large and small, resource-rich and not, is that they all wanted to keep it after independence. None of you thought of returning to Westminster” – explains the former Head of the Scottish Government.

Salmond, when asked if he saw any arguments in favor of Scotland remaining in England, replied that he saw fewer and fewer of them.

“In 2014, the NO side in the referendum said that one of the reasons for choosing NO was to secure Scotland’s place in the European Union. They said that if Scotland voted for independence, it would not be accepted. true, also illogical, but that is one of the main arguments. So things in favor of unity (namely Great Britain) in 2014 changed fundamentally. Furthermore, my devotion to His Majesty is well-known and he is an extraordinary person, but it should not be expected that it will reign for many years to come, so this aspect will also be lost. Arguments in favor of unity are weakened and the camp will NOT find them increasingly difficult “- he stressed.

Pointing to the world’s ongoing energy crisis, he argues that there are more and more arguments for independence.

“We are one of the main producers of renewable energy in Europe. We produce five times more oil and gas than we consume, we have the potential to produce 10 times more energy from renewable sources than we consume. While in Scotland, we paid a lot of money. money to heat our house” – he said.

He added, however, that the ongoing debate over the referendum was also about something else. “The fundamental issue that pro-EU politicians underestimate is that the vast majority of Scots – regardless of whether they want to be independent or not because of the 50:50 corruption – believe in the right to self-determination. They believe they should have the right to self-determination . right to self-determination. to answer this question, and more importantly whether they support or oppose “- he concluded.