苏格兰首席部长约翰·斯温尼加大了对第二次独立公投的推动力度，以回应首相安迪·伯纳姆共同合作、设计新的地区赋权模式的提议。作者：阿拉斯泰尔·里德斯温尼在周六于阿伯丁举行的苏格兰民族党年度大会上的讲话中指出，由于该党在5月的选举中赢得第五个连续执政任期，独立的论点比以往任何时候都更有力。他在伯纳姆一天前宣扬维持英国统一的好处之后发表了这些言论，标志着他试图就苏格兰的宪法未来向西敏施压的一次新尝试。
Scottish First Minister John Swinney intensified his push for a second referendum on independence, countering Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s offer to work together and design a new model of regional empowerment. By Alastair Reed Swinney used his address to the Scottish National Party’s annual conference in Aberdeen on Saturday to make the point that the case for independence is stronger than ever after the SNP won a fifth consecutive term in government in May’s election. His comments, a day after Burnham espoused the benefits of keeping the UK together, marked a fresh attempt to pressure Westminster over Scotland’s constitutional future.
“苏格兰独立运动的风帆如今已 firmly 装满风，”斯温尼说。“我们之所以获胜，是因为一个简单的事实。苏格兰已准备好独立。”宪法事务属于西敏的管辖范围，而英国最高法院在2022年裁定，苏格兰议会若未获得英国政府同意，则无权就独立公投立法。与北爱尔兰不同，北爱尔兰的1998年《贝尔法斯特协议》（即《好 Friday 协议》）在英国政府认为多数人可能支持爱尔兰统一时，提供了一条举行爱尔兰统一公投的法律途径，而苏格兰没有等效的法定机制。
“The wind is now firmly in the sails of Scotland’s independence movement,” Swinney said. “We are winning because of one simple truth. Scotland is ready to be independent.”Constitutional matters are reserved to Westminster and the UK Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that the Scottish Parliament could not legislate for an independence referendum without the UK government’s consent. Unlike in Northern Ireland, where the 1998 Good Friday Agreement provides a legal route to a referendum on Irish reunification if the UK government believes a majority is likely to support it, Scotland has no equivalent statutory mechanism.
伯纳姆言论后苏格兰领导人推动独立公投伯纳姆昨天在苏格兰南部的一次演讲中重申，他不会改变自己对苏格兰独立的立场，并主张政界人士应将精力放在诸如生活成本等实际挑战上，而不是宪法争议上。他警告说，如果苏格兰议会（Holyrood）不效仿英国工党政府试图赋予英格兰部分地区更多自治权的做法，苏格兰社区可能会落后。
Scotland Leader Pushes Independence Vote After Burnham Remarks In a speech yesterday in southern Scotland, Burnham reiterated that he wouldn’t change his position on Scottish independence, and argued politicians should focus on practical challenges such as the cost of living rather than constitutional disputes. He warned that Scottish communities risk falling behind if Holyrood doesn’t mirror how Westminster’s Labour government is trying to grant parts of England more control over their own affairs.
斯温尼则反驳称，更大程度的下放权力对解决苏格兰宪法未来问题帮助甚微，最终只会拖慢国家的发展。
Swinney countered that greater devolution would do little to resolve the question of Scotland’s constitutional future, and would ultimately hold the country back.
“有人认为我们应该像曼彻斯特一样，”斯温尼在提到伯纳姆担任市长期间磨炼政治资历的地方时说。“不过我恐怕不同意。苏格兰不是城市。我们不是地区。我们是一个民族，而且很快我们将成为一个独立的民族。”斯温尼没有进一步呼吁修改法律框架以允许举行新的公投，而是利用讲台宣布了一项针对尚未接受苏格兰主权概念的人士的运动。
“Some think we should just be like Manchester,” Swinney said in a reference to where Burnham polished his political credentials as mayor. “Well I’m afraid I disagree. Scotland is no city. We are no region. We are a nation, and soon we will be an independent nation.”Swinney stopped short of sounding another call for revising the legal framework that would allow a new referendum, and instead used the podium to announce a campaign targeting those who are yet to sign up to the concept of Scottish sovereignty.
“我们的反对者可能不愿承认，但我们关于苏格兰独立的公投运动已经开始了，”他说。“独立非常、非常接近，”他补充道，但未作更具体说明。
“Our opponents may not want to admit it but our referendum campaign on Scottish independence has already begun,” he said. “Independence is very, very close,” he added without being more specific.
民意调查显示形势胶着。由苏格兰民族党委托、Survation于9月18日至10月12日进行的民意调查显示，在排除未决定选民后，支持独立的比例为52%，反对的为48%。
Close Call Public opinion remains finely balanced. A Survation poll commissioned by the SNP and conducted from Sept. 18 to Oct. 12 put support for independence at 52% to 48%, excluding undecided voters.
苏格兰在2014年独立公投中以55%对45%的投票结果选择留在英国，该公投是在威斯敏斯特临时转移了举行公投所需的权力之后进行的。
Scotland voted to remain in the UK by 55% to 45% in the 2014 independence referendum, held after Westminster temporarily transferred the powers required for the vote.
此后，这场辩论因英国脱欧而发生了变化。在2016年的公投中，苏格兰以62%对38%的投票结果选择留在欧盟，而英国整体则投票选择脱欧。独立派人士认为，脱离英国将为苏格兰重返欧盟提供一条途径。
That debate has since been reshaped by Brexit. In the 2016 referendum, Scotland voted by 62% to 38% to remain in the European Union, while the UK as a whole voted to leave. Independence supporters have argued that leaving the UK would give Scotland a route back into the bloc.
“我们不必被困在脱欧之中，”斯温尼说。“回到欧洲的心脏地带，那就是我选择的苏格兰。”但伯纳姆最近表达了对英国重新加入欧盟的开放态度，这可能会使该论点复杂化，因为它提供了一条无需苏格兰独立就能重返欧盟的潜在途径。
“We don’t have to be trapped inside Brexit,” Swinney said. “Back at the heart of Europe, that is the Scotland I choose.”But Burnham has recently signaled his openness to Britain rejoining the EU, which could complicate that argument by offering a potential route back in without Scottish independence.
斯温尼的最新推动发生在苏格兰民族党在5月的选举中赢得霍利罗德议会129席中的58席之后，而亲独立的苏格兰绿党赢得了15席，使得亲独立党派拥有有史以来最多的多数席位。
Swinney’s latest push comes after the SNP took 58 of Holyrood’s 129 seats in the May election, while the pro-independence Scottish Greens won 15, giving pro-independence parties their largest-ever majority.
斯温尼还试图与英国其他地区的民族主义领导人协调，与威尔士和爱尔兰民族主义代表一起呼吁进行宪法改革，并最终以独立国家的身份加入欧盟。“联合主义者因恐慌而团结一致，”斯温尼说。
Swinney has also sought to coordinate with nationalist leaders elsewhere in the UK, joining Welsh and Irish nationalist representatives in calling for constitutional change and eventual EU membership as independent nations. “Unionists are united in their panic,” Swinney said.