Scottish leader says U.K. election results are mandate for independence referendum

• Brexit, which the majority of Scottish voters oppose, has driven a wedge between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom, invigorating calls for another independence referendum as the U.K. prepares to leave the European Union on Jan. 31.

Because the Conservatives won a huge majority in Friday's election, however, Johnson's government is under no obligation to take up Sturgeon's request, as the BBC's Andrew Marr pointed out.

• Sturgeon countered that it would be "fundamentally not democratic" for Johnson to ignore her, noting that the Conservatives lost seven of their 13 Scottish seats while standing on a platform opposed to independence.
• "It's a fundamental point of democracy — you can't hold Scotland in the union against its will," Sturgeon argued. "You can't lock us in a cupboard and turn the key and hope everything goes away. ... [I]f Boris Johnson is confident in the case for the union then he should be confident enough to make that case and allow people to decide."

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