What is behind Nicola Sturgeon’s IndyRef2 gambit?

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the SNP, has announced that she wants to hold a second independence referendum on 19 October 2023. The constitutional debate was widely seen to be at a political deadlock, but now it enters a new phase.Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Chris Deerin, the New Statesman Scotland editor, to discuss the motivations behind this latest bid for independence and the means of securing it. They also touch on how Scots have said they would vote in recent polls, and whether plans to fight the next general election on this single issue could backfire, presenting an opportunity for Scottish Labour. Then in You Ask Us, Anoosh is joined by the New Statesman’s political reporter Freddie Hayward to answer a listener’s question on whether, by rejecting Corbynism, Keir Starmer has dropped the party’s most appealing policies.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.