MSPs to vote on legal authority for independence referendum next Wednesday

Nicola Sturgeon's bid to seek the legal authority to allow Holyrood to stage a second independence referendum will be voted on by MSPs next Wednesday.

The Scottish Parliament is due to spend two afternoons debating whether the First Minister should be given the authority to seek a Section 30 order from Westminster.

The issue is then likely to be decided in a vote on March 22 - with the timetable expected to be confirmed by MSPs in a vote on March 15.

While the Conservatives, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats have all vowed to oppose a second referendum, a majority of MSPs support Scotland leaving the UK.

Although Ms Sturgeon's SNP lost its overall majority in 2016, the election of six Scottish Green MSPs means 69 of the 129 politicians at Holyrood are in favour of independence.

The vote comes after Ms Sturgeon announced on Monday she intended to "seek the authority of the Scottish Parliament to agree with the UK Government the details of a section 30 order - the procedure that will enable the Scottish Parliament to legislate for an independence referendum''.

The SNP leader is also determined the terms of a second independence referendum be "made in Scotland", saying Holyrood must be allowed to decide the question that will be put to voters and the timing of the ballot.