Nicola Sturgeon has committed to running the next general election as a “de facto referendum” on Scottish independence.
Campaigners for Scotland's independence from the UK are vowing not to give up after judges blocked their bid to hold a new referendum without London's approval.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish National Party will use the UK election due by early 2025 as a "de facto referendum".
"The Westminster establishment may think it can block a referendum. But let me be clear: I am sure on your behalf that today no establishment, Westminster or otherwise, will ever silence the voice of the Scottish people," declared Nicola Sturgeon.
The ruling by UK Supreme Court judges was not on whether Scotland should be independent but rather on whether Scotland's parliament has the right to call a vote on the issue without Westminster's permission.
And the verdict against what independence supporters wanted to hear.
But Scotland's last parliamentary election did return a majority of pro-independence lawmakers for the first time, and the Scottish National Party is to hold a special conference in the New Year to prepare its independence push.