The bill would then be ready for “immediate” introduction if it becomes clear that there was voter support for Scottish independence, Sturgeon said, without giving a timeframe.
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The SNP has pushed for Scottish independence for years and Sturgeon was an instrumental figure during the last referendum campaign and vote, when she was deputy first minister of Scotland under Alex Salmond’s leadership.
The UK’s referendum vote to leave the European Union was won 52 per cent to 48 per cent – but Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in Europe.
Giving a speech in Stirling – the town where William Wallace won a historic battle against the English – Sturgeon pledged to trigger the “biggest ever political listening exercise” to convince Scottish citizens a second referendum is needed.
The claims come after Ms Sturgeon launched a “new conversation” on Scottish independence on Friday, with the aim of targeting up to two million voters before the end of November.
Speaking ahead of her statement in Holyrood, Sturgeon said: “Today we will publish our programme for government – an ambitious plan to improve the lives of people across Scotland”.
He said: “If the SNP were really listening to the people of Scotland they would be focusing on the bread and butter issues that matter to Scots like our public services”.
Scottish Labour fell to third in this year’s Holyrood, behind the Tories – and today’s poll suggests that the party’s support has yet to hit rock bottom.
Many Scots had voted to remain in the United Kingdom based on the premise that an independent Scotland would not be given immediate access to the European bloc, an argument which has now been made null and void with the eventual British departure.
She added: “We know it takes additional money and a shift in priorities, but the benefits of such a drive are obvious”.
SNP says European Union membership was a key factor in Scottish voters’ decision to remain a part of Britain.
In addition to this, Ms Sturgeon announced the SNP would establish a party growth commission, which will look at the prospects for Scotland’s economy and also consider key matters such as currency.
“Re-heating the referendum debate will only add a further cloud of uncertainty over Scotland’s future, just at the moment when we need a government dedicated to security and stability”, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said, according to Reuters.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said he intends to use the next parliamentary year to provide a “clear, hopeful, optimistic, moderate and progressive voice”.
James Mitchell, professor of politics at Edinburgh University, believes the current independence debate is a “phoney war”.
“I’d like to think yes, because I could have shown that having a child wasn’t a barrier to all of this, but in truth I don’t know”, she said.
The book describes how Sturgeon, who is married to the Scottish National party’s chief executive, Peter Murrell, was in the early stages of pregnancy and preparing to share her news with friends and family when she had a miscarriage.
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The First Minister stressed the initiative will not be a “rerun” of the 2014 arguments, which saw Scots vote by 55% to 45% to remain in the UK.
